August 06, 2021
Just like in the 2009 anti-regime protests, the US government has avoided endorsing the opposition to the regime and only issued statements endorsing the Iranian public’s right to protest and opposing the regime’s repression.
However, much of the Iranian media has falsely reported that the Biden Administration is encouraging opposition to the regime.
The Iran Times has not seen any other government say even as much as the United States, although the UN’s human rights chair has loudly condemned Iran for violently suppressing the protests.
The US State Department avoiding saying anything about the protests until July 21, when State Department spokesman Ned Price was asked if Washington had any comment on the regime’s crackdown on protesters.
Price then picked up a sheet of paper and read this brief response: “We are closely following reports of protests in Iran’s Khuzestan province, including reports that security forces have fired on these protesters. We support the rights of Iranians to peacefully assemble and to express themselves. Iranians, just like any other people, should enjoy those rights without fear of violence, without fear of arbitrary detention by security forces. And so we’re monitoring this very closely.”
But he avoided endorsing or encouraging the protests themselves, just as the Obama Administration did in 2009.
The Mehr news agency correctly quoted Price, but it started its news story by saying falsely that the United States was “supporting protests in the southern Iranian province of Khuzestan.”
Other outlets made similar false reports of US backing for the protests.
Interestingly, the State Department statement was not entirely dissimilar from one issued by President Rohani, who said, “People may be protesting, which is the right of the people and there is no problem in expressing their protest within the framework of the law.”
However, Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, did not mince words. She said she was “extremely concerned about the deaths and injuries that have occurredÖ. The impact of the devastating water crisis on life, health and prosperity of the people of Khuzestan should be the focus of the government’s attention, not the protests carried out by people driven to desperation by years of neglect.”
A week after the US comment, the State Department issued another statement, again emphasizing the right to protest and condemning violence against protesters. Here is the full text of that second statement.
“Protests in Iran that began with a water shortage owing to drought and governmental mismanagement and neglect in the Khuzestan province have now spread across various cities including Tehran, Karaj and Tabriz. The Iranian people are now putting a spotlight not only on their unmet needs, but also their unfulfilled aspirations for respect for human rights rights to which individuals the world over are entitled.
“The Iranian people have a right to voice their frustrations and hold their government accountable, but we have seen disturbing reports that security forces fired on protesters, resulting in multiple deaths. We condemn the use of violence against peaceful protestors. We support the rights of Iranians to peacefully assemble and express themselves, without fear of violence and detention by security forces. We are also monitoring reports of internet slowdowns in the region.
“We urge the Iranian government to allow its citizens to exercise their right to freedom of expression and to freely access information, including via the Internet.