Spontaneous Gatherings of People in Several Iranian Cities Protesting the Signing of Iran-China Cooperation Agreement
Following increased protests over the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and China, groups of Iranian citizens opposed to the accord gathered spontaneously in various Iranian cities to express their opposition to the signing of this document.
Based on videos sent to Voice of America and images published on social media, a number of people spontaneously gathered in various Iranian cities including Tehran, Isfahan, and Karaj, holding placards and chanting slogans in protest against the signing of the “Comprehensive Iran-China Cooperation Program.”
A group of protesters in Tehran gathered in front of the Iranian Parliament building, chanting slogans including “Iran is not for sale” in response to the agreement.
Some residents of Karaj also spontaneously gathered holding placards that read “My homeland is not for sale.”
In the city of Isfahan, opponents of the cooperation agreement also gathered in the presence of police forces, calling for the cancellation of this 25-year contract.
Campaign with Over 11,000 Signatures
Activists launched an online petition titled “Stop the Sale of Iran.” In this petition, which had been signed by more than eleven thousand people at the time of this report, addressing the President of China it states: “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s system, which is in a state of collapse, does not represent the Iranian people.”
The foreign ministers of China and Iran signed the 25-year cooperation agreement between the two allies on Saturday in a ceremony that was broadcast live on state television. A document whose details the officials of both countries have refused to disclose, and which critics compare to the Treaty of Turkmenčai during the Qajar era.
On Sunday, March 29, the President of the United States briefly responded to the Islamic Republic’s cooperation with China, describing it as concerning.
It is worth noting that the signing of this agreement sparked widespread reactions on social media, with users expressing their opposition through hashtags such as “#Chinese_Turkmenčai,” “#Iran_is_Not_for_Sale,” and “#No_to_the_25-Year_Agreement.”
On Monday, Hasan Shariatmadari, a political activist based in Germany, referring to the classified nature of the information and contents of this cooperation agreement, told Voice of America that by signing this agreement, all “the country’s infrastructure, digital connections, military and defense affairs of Iran, petrochemicals, oil and gas, and Iranian industries” will be under Chinese control.
On the other hand, Manouchehr Bakhtiari, father of Pouya Bakhtiari, one of the victims of the November 2019 protests, and one of the signatories of the “Stop the Sale of Iran” statement, also told Voice of America: “We must stand together and without solidarity and unity of heart, we cannot do anything; a statement is not useful and we must come to the field of action.”
Last year, when the possibility of signing such an agreement was being discussed, Michael Rubin, a recognized expert on Iranian affairs and prominent researcher at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, had said: “Every time the Iranian government, to counter its dissatisfaction, aligns with a new power from a previous one and draws closer to it, the result is bad for the Iranian people. Perhaps Khamenei does not see this issue, but ordinary Iranians [do.]”
He had written in the National Interest magazine that “any agreement with China will in the long term result in Iran’s regret.”
Source: Voice of America
