Spontaneous gatherings of people in some Iranian cities to protest the signing of a cooperation document between the Islamic Republic and China
Following the increase in protests against the signing of the cooperation document between the Islamic Republic of Iran and China, a group of Iranian citizens who are opposed to this agreement participated in spontaneous rallies in various cities in Iran and expressed their opposition to the signing of this document.
According to videos sent to Voice of America as well as images published on social media, a number of people spontaneously gathered in various cities of Iran, including Tehran, Isfahan, and Karaj, holding placards and chanting slogans in protest of the signing of the "Iran-China Comprehensive Cooperation Plan."
A group of protesters in Tehran reacted to the agreement by gathering in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly building, chanting slogans including "Iran is not for sale."
Some citizens living in Karaj also spontaneously gathered, holding placards that read, "My homeland is not for sale."
In the city of Isfahan, opponents of signing this cooperation document gathered in the presence of police forces and demanded the cancellation of this 25-year contract.
A campaign with over 11,000 signatures
A number of activists launched an online petition titled “Stop Selling to Iran.” The petition, which has been signed by more than 11,000 people as of press time, addresses the Chinese president with the following message: “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s system, which is collapsing, does not represent the Iranian people.”
The foreign ministers of China and Iran signed a 25-year cooperation agreement between the two allies on Saturday in a ceremony broadcast live on state television, a document that officials from both countries have declined to provide details of and that critics have compared to the Turkmenchay Treaty of the Qajar era.
On Sunday, April 28, the President of the United States, in a brief response to the cooperation between the Islamic Republic and China, described it as worrying.
It should be noted that the signing of this contract brought widespread reactions on social media, with users expressing their opposition to it using hashtags such as "#Chinese_Turkmen_Tea," "#Iran_is_not_selling," and "#No_to_25-Year_Contract."
On Monday, Hassan Shariatmadari, a political activist living in Germany, told VOA, referring to the confidentiality of the information and contents of this cooperation document, that with the signing of this cooperation document, all of "the country's infrastructure, digital connections, Iran's military and defense affairs, petrochemicals, oil and gas, and Iranian industries" will be at the disposal of China.
On the other hand, Manouchehr Bakhtiari, the father of Pouya Bakhtiari, one of the victims of the November 2019 protests and one of the signatories of the "Stop Selling to Iran" statement, also told VOA: "We must stand together, and unless we are united and of one heart, we cannot do anything; a statement is useless and we must come to the field of action."
Last year, when the possibility of signing such a document was discussed, Michael Rubin, a well-known expert on Iran affairs and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said: "Every time the Iranian government allies with and approaches a new power to counter its dissatisfaction with a previous power, the result is bad for the Iranian people. Khamenei may not see it, but ordinary Iranians [see it.]"
He wrote in the National Interest magazine that "any agreement with China will cause Iran to regret it in the long run."
Source: Voice of America
