What's Happening in Iran?

Hi, everyone. I haven't written in a while, and I have a lot to fill you in on. For one, I'm in tenth grade now (wow!) and I'm taking an honors middle east course. It's crazy to think that I'm doing what my younger self could never have imagined: being more well informed on the middle east than even my dad (who's incredibly well-read and knowledgable about the topic).

What I wanted to write about today is current events. More specifically, Iran. Iran is currently undergoing a wave of anti-government demonstrations and protests in all of it's provinces. People are angry. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. Inflation prices have made the Iranian rial worth almost nothing. Because 1 USD equals over 1,400,000 Iranian rials, a single rial is worth $0.0000007. From the 1979 revolution, the rial has depreciated 99%.

2. The Iranian theocratic regime is not only outdated, but it doesn't resonate with the Iranian people anymore. Polls suggest that over 80% of the population is unhappy with the regime, and a recent leaked poll suggests that that percentage might even be 92%.

3. The regime has also mismanaged money and led Iran deep into a water crisis. While surrounding Arab countries like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait have invested hundreds of millions into desalination plans, Iran has continued to invest in nuclear development. Its desalination plants provide water for a meager 3% of national needs. Not only this, but Iran has also over-pumped their aquifers that once held large amounts of water. This has lead to the usage of the term "aquifer death": extracting water faster than it can be replenished.

   
   

   Ayatollah Khomeini (the supreme leader of Iran) has cut Iran off from the rest of the world by imposing government-imposed internet blackouts. This has been going on since January 8th. Under this black night, the world can't gauge the casualties exactly: they could be anywhere from 3919 (confirmed) deaths to over 12,000.

   This is the most brief and shortened version of what is going on right now. If you know any Iranian friends or anybody else involved in the region, ask them about what's going on and what they know. If you are Iranian, or have relatives in Iran, I pray for your safety and the safety of your loved ones. Keep fighting for the might of your nation and for the future of the next generation.

"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." -Winston Churchill