Posted
Update
Article written by
/2021/12/14/61b8b98e077d1_france-2.png)
Behind the repression in Iran, a complex regime, where the religious mixes with the political. Who really runs the country? Popular demonstrations have no place there, while the supreme guide controls all the institutions.
In Iran, women dare to burn their veils, and cries against “the dictator” rise in the night. Iranians question the foundations of the Islamic Republic. The street finds itself facing the Mullahs. Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who took over from Ayatollah Khomeini, controls everything in the country.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, spiritual son and likely successor of the Supreme Leader, is a hard-liner. “The laws in force today were also in force before, but were not as reinforced as today, argues sociologist Azadeh Kian. Mr. Raïssi is there to put himself completely at the dictates of the guide.”
The ultra-conservatives control all the institutions. Their armed wing, the Revolutionary Guards, is a paramilitary organization that does not hesitate to shoot the crowd with live ammunition. “Before, activists operated on an individual level, (…) and today we see a collective movement emerging”, explains Clément Therme, an academic specializing in Iran. In recent years, the popular demonstration has always ended under repression.