US: Iran Protests Transcend Ethnic and Geographic Boundaries and Lack Leadership

The US State Department spokesman said on Tuesday, December 3, that protests in Iran in recent months have transcended ethnic and geographic boundaries and lack leadership, which is why they have continued.

Ned Price, in response to a question about the US government’s reaction to a joint tweet by several opposition political figures on the eve of the new year, said: “First and foremost, this is a question for the Iranian people about how they want to organize themselves. What we have witnessed over the course of several months of protests by the Iranian people has been remarkable in many respects, in the sense that the spark was ignited by Iranian women and girls, and in various ways they have driven it forward.”

He added: “These (protests) have been organic, they have transcended ethnic and geographic boundaries within Iran, and in a sense have been leaderless.”

The US State Department spokesman emphasized: “This is what has enabled the protesters to continue their efforts in a way that previous protests in Iran could not.”

Ned Price, reiterating that it is up to “the Iranian people to decide how to organize their actions,” said: “Our responsibility and role is to support freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and all fundamental rights of the Iranian people.”

Several opposition figures to the Islamic Republic from outside Iran wrote on their social media pages on the occasion of the start of 2023: “2022 was a year of the glory of Iranian solidarity with every belief and language and inclination. With organization and solidarity, 2023 will be the year of victory for the Iranian nation; the year of realization of freedom and justice in Iran.”

Prince Reza Pahlavi, Golshifteh Farahani, Hamed Esmailion, Nazanin Boniadi, Ali Karimi, and Masih Alinejad were among the publishers of this message.

Following the announcement of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody of Tehran’s “Guidance Patrol,” Iranian cities have been the scene of nationwide and unprecedented protests since September 16 over the past four decades. According to human rights sources including Hrana, at least 516 people have been killed during these protests in the past four months. Among those killed, dozens of children have been identified.

“America is No Longer Focused on the Nuclear Deal”

Ned Price also said in response to a question about reviving the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA that the US is no longer focused on reviving this agreement.

The US State Department spokesman said: “The Iranians missed the opportunity to easily return to the JCPOA. They did this in September, when they turned their back on an agreement that by all accounts was essentially final. Since that time, the JCPOA has not been on our agenda.”

Ned Price clarified that America is now focused on issues such as the fundamental freedoms of the Iranian people and countering Iran’s military participation with Russia in Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, also said yesterday that the nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic is beyond revival and emphasized that the US government will increase pressure on the Islamic Republic.

Joe Biden explicitly stated in a leaked video in November on the sidelines of a campaign rally that Iran’s nuclear agreement is “dead.”

Source: Radio Farda