Iranian Americans Closely Watching Protests in Iran

 

Iranian Americans have been closely watching protests in Iran.

An Iranian government campaign against protesters led to the deaths of at least 21 people over the past week. More than 400 others were arrested.

Thousands of Iranians have also taken part in pro-government demonstrations¹.

Many Iranian Americans are hoping for a peaceful resolution and reform. Southern California is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran.

The largest number of Iranian immigrants live in the Little Persia neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles. People there are openly critical of Iran’s religious government, which they consider useless and corrupt².

“When you are mullah,” one immigrant says of Iran’s religious rulers, and “you want to manage a country like Iran, you destroy everything.” He added that Iranians are tired of the government.

Iran’s government has a history of repression³, said an immigrant named Ali. He told VOA that “the people are angry, especially young people,” and everyone is worried there will be more violence.

United States government officials have criticized the Iranian government’s actions.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has called on the Security Council to hold an emergency meeting over the protests and government actions.

Iranian officials have restricted the use of social media sites such as Instagram. U.S. President Donald Trump⁴ has promised “support from the United States” in messages posted on Twitter.

Some Iranian Americans say the U.S. government should react carefully because the anti-government protests are the result of internal problems.

Muhammad Sahimi works at the University of Southern California. He also follows Iranian politics.

“If the U.S. intervenes in any shape or form, or even supports some faction⁵ against another, the hardliners in Iran will use that as an excuse” for more violence, he said.

Iranian Supreme⁶ Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already blamed what he calls “enemies of Iran” for inciting⁷ the protests. The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council accuses the United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia of supporting the opposition⁸.

The demonstrations started last week as workers in a number of cities marched to protest corruption⁹ and high unemployment.

Sahimi does not believe that the protests are as popular as those in 2009. That was when students and members of the middle class denounced election results in a movement that came to be known as the Green Revolution.

Others believe the current protests will spread, as the earlier ones did.

Los Angeles publisher Bijan Khalili ?blames mismanagement of the Iranian economy. He says Iranian officials will not accept responsibility, and “the only thing that is left is blaming it on foreign countries and foreign people.”

Muhammad Sahimi says that U.S. measures set up to punish Iran for its nuclear activities are also an issue. He notes that President Trump has promised to strengthen those sanctions by removing waivers on Iranian oil. He says stronger actions will only worsen economic conditions in Iran.

Businessman Sam Kermanian says the nuclear agreement with world powers raised the hopes of Iran’s people. But when the economy did not improve, he adds, people became angry over corruption among religious leaders.

Los Angeles grocer Todd Khodadadi says Iranians are “trying to get their rights, and they raised their voices…Hopefully, peacefully, they (will) get what they want,” he says.

“What they want is freedom,” says travel agent Farhad Besharati. “It’s not too much,” he argues. “We’re in the 21st century. The government killing¹⁰ them? This is not fair. It’s not good,” he says.

These Iranian Americans say the nations of the world should defend the right to peaceful protest. They add that the demonstrations should be left in the hands of Iran’s people to avoid giving the government an excuse for more violence.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

mullah – n. a Muslim learned in Islamic teachings and religious law

hardliner – n. a member of a group, often a political group, who is not willing to compromise

sanctions – n. a threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule.

waiver – n. a document recording¹¹ the surrendering of a right or claim.

grocer – n. someone who sells food, meats, fruits, vegetables and usually other products

excuse – n. reason

manage – v. to direct or supervise someone or something

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

3 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。