![\"Iran-Protests-Will-Only-Grow\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/Iran-Protests-Will-Only-Grow.jpg\" "\\"Iran-Protests-Will-Only-Grow\\"")
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NCRI Staff<\/p>\n
NCRI –\u00a0The Iranian people\u2019s uprising that began in late December 2017 is far from over. It may have started over a sharp rise in the cost of basic foods, but it soon became political and the anti-regime protests spread to 142 cities in just days.<\/p>\n
In response to the protest, the Iranian Regime cracked down violently on protesters, as it usually does, with at least 50 protesters being slain in the streets by the security forces and another 8,000 arrested facing the death penalty. Of those arrested, at least 14 have since died under torture in jail.<\/p>\n
The Regime thought that they had solved the problem after this crackdown, but the people rose up again, this time demanding the return of their imprisoned loved ones and justice for those who had died, as well as regime change. Simply, these protesters were not a flash in the pan. They were representative of the Iranian people\u2019s desire for regime change and these protests will not stop until the mullahs are out.<\/p>\n
Of course, many in the West were caught by surprise during the protests. They believed, as the Regime\u2019s lobbyists had been saying, that:<\/p>\n
\u2022 the Regime enjoyed the support of the people \u2013 particularly the poor and the devout<\/p>\n
\u2022 the Regime was strong and stable<\/p>\n
\u2022 the Regime could suppress dissent with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)<\/p>\n
\u2022 the nuclear deal was helping the Iranian people<\/p>\n
\u2022 that the so-called moderate element of the Regime should receive help from the West to defeat the \u201chardliners\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the protests made it clear that the Regime does not enjoy the support of the Iranian people and that the diversionary tactics taken by the Regime (i.e. nuclear programmes, foreign interventionism) were actually a way for the Regime to cover up for its domestic weakness. The Iranian people also took it upon themselves to tell the world that there is no substantive difference between hardliners and moderates, as evidenced by their chant \u201creformists, hardliners, the game is over\u201d.<\/p>\n
Many wondered how these protests spread so quickly, especially as there seemed to be no clear leadership organising the protests.<\/p>\n