"Death To Saudi Arabia": Thousands Of Iranians Pour Into The Streets In Anti-Saudi Protests
It’s now been nearly a week since Saudi Arabia set the Muslim world on fire (both figuratively and literally) by executing prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
The Sheikh was a leading figure in the 2011 anti-government protests staged in the kingdom’s Eastern Province and when the House of Saud moved to silence a dissident voice once in for all last Saturday, demonstrators poured into the streets from Bahrain to Pakistan to decry the execution.
For the Saudis, Nimr is a “terrorist,” but for the Shiite community he has now become a symbol of the oppression embodied by the Sunni Gulf monarchies. For those interested in a bit of background, here are some excerpts from The Atlantic:
The State Department cable added Nimr was gaining popularity among young people. His stature grew in spring 2009, after Shia pilgrims clashed with security forces in Medina over access to holy sites; Nimr denounced the security forces, but then was forced to go into hiding to avoid arrest. By January 2010, the State Department reported in another cable that Nimr had returned home and was living under something like house arrest. The diplomat, who wrote that cable, judged that Nimr had overestimated his sway, gone too big, and as a result had lost his influence. A neighbor said that the government “chose not to pursue him further out of concern they would elevate his status.”
The government changed its ignore-them-and-they’ll-go-away stance on Shia rabble-rousers once the Arab Spring began. In Bahrain, Shia protests threatened the stability of the regime, and the Sunni regimes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent troops to help quell uprisings. But protests also spread from Bahrain into the kingdom. Nimr preached forcefully against the regime, and was rare in speaking up both in favor of the domestic protests and those in Bahrain.
In another 2011 speech, Nimr said, “From the day I was born and to this day, I’ve never felt safe or secure in this country. We are not loyal to other countries or authorities, nor are we loyal to this country. What is this country? The regime that oppresses me? The regime that steals my money, sheds my blood, and violates my honor?”
That was all too much for the regime, and in 2012 it moved to arrest him. But during his apprehension, police claimed they came under fire. Nimr was shot in the leg. He was charged with sedition and various terrorism-related crimes.
In the six days since his death, Saudi Arabia and its allies have been busy cutting all ties (both diplomatic and commercial) with Iran. “Enough is enough”, was the message from Riyadh after protesters firebombed the Saudi embassy in Tehran last Saturday.
Now, with tensions running higher than ever, the feud threatens to derail a fragile peace “process” in Syria on the way to plunging the region into an all-out sectarian shooting war.
Each side accuses the other of being a state sponsor of terror and each side blames the other for fomenting sectarian discord. Needless to say, it’s difficult to look past the fact that Saudi Arabia’s promotion of Wahhabism is almost unquestionably to blame for the rise of extremist elements throughout the Islamic World. At the very least, Riyadh’s contention that Iran promotes sectarian strife is an egregious case of the pot calling the kettle black.
In any event, Iranians are in no mood to forgive and forget. "Iranians held mass protests on Friday across the Islamic Republic, angered by Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric that has enflamed regional tensions between the Mideast rivals," AP reports, adding that "after Friday prayers in Tehran, thousands of worshippers joined the rally, carrying pictures of al-Nimr and chanting "Death to Al Saud," referencing the kingdom's royal family." They also chanted "down with the US" and "death to Israel."
Below, find the visuals which underscore the fact that the sense of outrage is palpable - to say the least.
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If Israel pays its (Not her, IT) way in the world, why do the U.S. give it constant handouts, military equipment, etc
..and all that gas, is that the gas they are stealing off the Palestinians, or is it the stuff up in the Golan that they're stealing off the Syrians.
60 fucking years of reparations, and they've pissed it all away, attacking other peoples, building big walls and filling their own (Government) dirty, pockets.
Israel is like the Paris Hilton of countries, famous for fuck all, but living off, and squandering Daddies money, then expects people to respect them! HA!
Fuck Israel...and fuck Paris Hilton.
If it wasn't for joe sixs generosity, the shithole welfare state would've fallen long ago. It's the US Military Men and Women, the US citizen's tax dollars and the ZATO deception that keeps this tumor alive. Israel's biggest contributions to humanity = usury, theft, murder and deception.
^^^^ THIS
Israel won't fall.
It won't fall to military conquest due to its nuclear arsenal.
It won't fall for social reasons because it is a culturally coherent nation.
And I wouldn't bet on a nation of Jews going broke, either.
Like it or not, Israel is here to stay.
Israel will destroy all of humanity in their quest to rule them all.
I think a lot pf people have no problem with Israel "staying". It's Israel's illegal expansion, subjugating the weak, blatant hypocrisy and deceit that the rest of the world have problem with.
The rest of the world that's also engaged in illegal expansion, subjugating the weak, blatant hypocrisy and deceit?
We can thank the Bushes for hooking us up with the Saudis. That oil cartel was a great idea: it allowed the US companies et al to innocently tag along with the Saudis and brought us up from $10.00 oil back then. They partied hardy in Texas. Worked for awhile.
You actually have it backwards, ISRAEL gives the U.S. toys. On top of hundreds of medical advances in the last 30 years.
Iranians apparently have more freedoms than Saudi citizens. Let's see, is that ironic? I think not. Back when the usa had the puppet shah in iran he looted their country and oppressed them. Now they are freer than our "friends" the saudis. does anyone else see a pattern here? Wherever the usa goes freedom DOES NOT follow. Oh yeah, don't get me started on "our friend" Saddam the madman and terrorist. Funny, "our friends" are fond of looting, terrorism, murder, and oppression too. Funny that.
Iran was far more free under the shah than at any moment under the mullahs. The shah lost power precisely because he refrained from putting those animals and their allies down. Carter wouldnt listen to reason. He wanted to respect islamic radicals human rights. Sorta like Obama and Hillary.
Wow dude, that's some serious cognitive dissonance. You should probably see someone about that. May I suggest reality.
Death squads, cronyism, death squads, torture, and did I happen to mention death squads
Which part do you find incorrect? Under the shah the people were not subject to Islamic Law for fuck sakes. Since the mullahs took over, they are. In what area have they gained any freedoms they did not have before? Re Carter, he rather famously dropped hus support for the secularising, modernising shah.
The mullahs took over because of the installation of a tyrannical shah. The Mullahs are the product of US foreign policy. It's a classic definition of blowback. Saying the Shah was great is a bulshit argument because you know that what comes after a constrained system is chaotic until a new equilibrium is reached. Mossadech (sp) was normalcy, every body count after that was a result of US intervention. It's really a non-argument
Lets see. Under the shah, the islamists and communists were miserable and oppressed. Under the islamists, everyone is miserable and oppressed except for the mullahs and their families. This occured because the shah failed to suppress the evil people vigorously enough. Carter forced that.
Perhaps you should seek some information about life in Iran that doesn't come from the Western war machine's propaganda organs. You might be surprised.
I get my information from Iranians who lived through the events, and I regularly, at least once a week, interact with people living in Iran(by video conference), with people who travel there from here, and here from there. Will be flying to meet one halfway, in Europe, next week. Where do you get your ideas?
Oh for fuck's sake.
History. Jesus H. Christ. Its like everyone has forgotten it.
Western powers first colonize, then divide Middle East up into spheres of influence. Western corporations spend immense sums of money setting up oil extraction infrastructure. Middle Eastern countries begin to belive Western hypocrisy about democracy, self determination, and power from the people. Populists Qasim in Iraq and Mossadegh in Iran come to power in the 50s. Western politicians have to face a come to Jesus moment -- do they let these countries take their first step toward true sovereignty by nationalizing their oil industries, thus wounding the international oil companies who are the patrons of the politicians? Of course not. Politicians are universally bought and paid for, the public face of the democarcy farce, so enter MI6 and CIA, who support coups to install puppet governments that will do the bidding of the Western powers, specifically the Shah in Iran and the Baathists/Saddam Hussein in Iraq. It's been declassified man, it's not like it's a secret any more. Operation Ajax and the "health alteration committee."
These governments are of necessity repressive, since their purpose is to prevent the emergence of true popular will and popular sovereignty. Iran rebels first, and deprived of secular leaders rallies behind religious ones instead in the 70s after 20 years of repression, abductions and assasinations at the hands of the Savak. This rebellion forces Western powers to side with the more radical and more repressive Sunni extremists, and the Shia become part of the "axis of evil" because they were evil enough to overthrow the dictator the Western powers assigned to them. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, becomes a Western power client state as the petrodollar phoenix rises from the ashes of Bretton Woods, and Saudi Arabia is allowed to do any perverted and nasty thing it wants in its own room as long as it keeps selling oil for dollars and only dollars.
Of course, repression and intrigue always implode, so it will be interesting to watch the house of Saud topple as the Shia sweep across them in an unstoppable wave. You can only keep the people bottled up for so long. Oil is heading towards $10 a barrel and the house of Saud has been rich and lazy for far to long now to be worth a shit at fighting, and they are trapped between simultaneous declining revenues and a population that expects ever more political hush money and a need to suddenly fight their own wars as their Uncle Sam suddenly seems to have lost his balls somewhere under the couch.
But trying to spin the Shah as better for the people than the mullahs? That's drinking really stale Kool Aid.
both the shah and the mullahs
suck
I get my ideas from imaginary Persians just like you do.
TBT's wife is Persian, he's just too much of a gentleman to bring it up leaving her out of it, of necessity because the mullahs have their own version of the CIA along with the Basij and her family still lives there.
He knows what he's talking about.
You're at zerohedge where Islam is the religion of peace and America is very bad.
Perhaps you should.
I have spoken to real Iranians back when this whole thing occurred.
While he was a dictator there was much more freedom there in general.
The entire country went from a sectarian society to a islamist one.
BIg you want a current day equivalent then it went from being like Syria to being like Saudi Arabia.
That shah was put in place by the CIA who overthrew another sectarian and democratically elected government is another issue all together.
Go watch the Rick Steves documentary on Iran. It's not that opressive. Though good luck getting a beer (though it is available if you know the right people). Thank the US for that. Iran is actually pretty damn secular considering it's run as a Muslim state. People aren't very religious.
Fuckin' brainwashed! Go back and rad how the CIA overthrew the democratically elected leader in the 50's. The rest is history.
Yes, because they had the temerity to want own and manage THEIR natural resources. If there had not been intervention Iran would have become a prosperous secular country.
Check out the SAVAK
You think we've got it bad with the NSA, FBI, CIA, DHS and fuckface in office? Not even close.
Re death squads, they were quite the appropriate reaction to communists and islamists alike. The Shah knew them well, by their fruits. Trenches full of rotting bodies everywhere they have gained power. Carter on the other hand thought the Soviet Union wasnt all that bad and as to Islamists, well, look how he fucked over the Iranian people.
Please explain why any of it was Carter's decision to make in the first place.
actually the girls had more freedom under the shah and didn't have to wear the hijab
scroll down to see iranian women protesting the hijab
https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2015/12/06/the-day-iranian-wome...
Let's see now:
Libya and Iraq are pretty good examples of this but we're still waiting for the Iraq war to pay for itself. Libya led to Bhengazi and our ambassador being dragged through the streets. #Winning!
#4 is "steal all the gold and set up a central bank"
Personally, I would not regard either one of these countries as bastions of liberty. If paid to live there, I would use the money to hire a coyote to get me back across the border.
i was just making a point. i would rather be dead than live in either one.
List of synagogues in Iran:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_synagogues_in_Iran
Are you saying the Persians percieve a difference between Jews and Israel (Zionists)?
Great, let them kill each other and we can get the hell out.
We lost a Green Beret on Tuesday in Aghanistan, leaves behind a Wife and infant Son.
No excuse for that bullshit, NONE. They're grinding our good Men and Women into dust, for what?
for the fucking bankers, that's what for. i would have thought you figured that out by now.
It's downright fucking mind-boggling that the general public STILL haven't figured it out.
It's a testament to over-medication and propaganda.
And, the bankers will pay his kids GI Bill, other assistance and then stick the bill to many later generations of Americans. I think you also get a 'Support The Troops' sticker for the family sedan.
Amazing how many people still believe this war on terrorism is real. Wake the fuck up!
Pity all the families in the countries that the US has intervened in. They have lost many relatives, their businesses, probably living in camps, subject to the violence of religious fanatics, etc. I guess their lives are worth a lot less. The US and its vassals have fermented all the issues we see today. Madeline 'child killer' Albright sums up the sociopathy and psychopathy of Washington as she thought that the death of an estimated 500,000 Iraqi kids via sanctions was a price 'she' was prepared to pay. They are monsters. The difference is that they wear suites and dress suites and they don't care how many and who dies.
At this point it is getting harder to feel so bad for the guys who go over there with guns. When they start refusing such orders I'll start rethinking it.
Go get em Khamenei. The people of America are behind you on that one. Our government can go get fucked. Oh and please take our government leaders and do what you wish to them when you're done with Saudi.
where's all the hot chicks?
Dude, they're right there. They make the ugly ones demonstrate in back.
1. LA. Their grandmas moved there in 1979.
2. Tel Aviv. Great-grandma made aliyah in 1948.
3. The amateur porno tube of your choice. Iran has computers, if you can believe that.
May I have your attention please.
The demonstration of spontaneous outrage will begin in five minutes. All employees of the DMV will report to the demonstration site at once. And don't forget to pick up the signs we have issued you. You must have a sign in order to be paid for the rest of the day.
In addition, all citizens who would like for the DMV to actually process their paperwork anytime in the next six months are urged to attend as well.
The second group may pick up their anti-dmv sign at the door.
I noticed the screen printed signs, too. How do these get spontaneously mass produced?
I you look at any demonstration in the US, you see the same thing. The only time you didn't was when the TEA Party was out in force, and they were ridiculed for their amature signs and being astroturf.
Next protest, look at the signs and banners. If they're professionally produced it's a signal that the whole thing is a ruse.
Down with Israel? Even if that were an option, how are executions of political prisoners the fault of Israel when they happen in a country that does not recognize the State of Israel in the first place? Or is that just what you do at mandatory protest hour in Tehran?
Israel is just about as sick of Saudi's and Uncle Sugar's shit as anybody on the planet. I'm trying to think of a good reason why any sane Jew would mourn the downfall of the House of Saud. I can't think of any.