Happy New Year to Iran and western media

Happy New Year to all, and we say this especially to the Iranian people who have given the Khameini regime a run for their money recently.

As 2017 came to a close, the Iranian regime was not boasting about taking down the Syrians. Its fighters in Syria under its flag were not celebrating their victories and were not expressing happiness over putting an end to the late Yemeni President, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

They deterred those who rejected their divine authority until someone from within decided to put matters into perspective. How will this big revolution come to an end? Will the Khameini regime, shielded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Cops (IRGC) funds and weapons, collapse?

ALSO READ: Which way will the protests in Iran go?

We do not yet know answers to these questions as the protests are still in its early stages. The Khameini guards may be able to put an end to it, temporarily that is, however the purpose is clear. The incident has so far caused major damage to the image, presence, propaganda and the future of the republic.

It has also spread terrorism and chaos in the region with the help of comrades Mohammed Ali Jafari and Qasem Soleimani.

Western media

Speaking of those protecting the Khameini regime, it is interesting to see western media’s politeness, leniency and delicacy while dealing with the Iranian uprising. This is something journalists, researchers and politicians have picked up on.

We found Republican Senator, Ted Cruz, the former US presidential candidate, attacking the US network CNN because of its marginalization and misinformation regarding the Iranian people’s uprising.

ANALYSIS: How these protests in Iran differ from 2009

We also found American researcher and politician Elliot Abrams criticizing The New York Times’ coverage in an article of his in New York magazine. Abrams described the American newspaper’s coverage as “suspicious,” which belittles the value of the protests.

Even the British BBC, which initially focused on demonstrations supporting the regime, spoke about the uprising against the regime. “It does not seem to be operating on a large scale,” it said. The Iranian regime’s behavior toward this uprising has so far led to the deal of 10 people, with dozens wounded or in jails.

Social media

Social media platforms such as Telegram and Instagram were shut down in the country and according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency, one of the IRGC brigades, Ismail Kuthari, threatened saying that the regime will fight “with an iron fist.”

If this would have happened in Egypt, for example, how would have BBC, New York Times, CNN or German Deutchwelle covered this incident? Would they cover it extensively and pursued which angle?

ALSO READ: The view from Iran’s Mashhad

What does all this mean? How is it expected that the Saudi, Khaleeji and Arab recipients understand? Of course, this exempts Iranian Arabs and those who admire Qassem Soleimani’s heroism and his conquests.

As Shakespeare’s immortal play Hamlet says: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”. On that note, here’s wishing a happy new year for the Iranian people.

This article is also available in Arabic.
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Saudi journalist Mashari Althaydi presents Al Arabiya News Channel’s “views on the news” daily show “Maraya.” He has previously held the position of a managing senior editor for Saudi Arabia & Gulf region at pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. Althaydi has published several papers on political Islam and social history of Saudi Arabia. He appears as a guest on several radio and television programs to discuss the ideologies of extremist groups and terrorists. He tweets under @Malthaydy.