TEHRAN, Iran – Clashes between Iranian police and tens of thousands of protesters wracked central Tehran on Monday killing one person, as opposition supporters tried to evoke the spirit of Egypt's recent popular uprising. The opposition called for a demonstration Monday in solidarity with Egypt's popular revolt that a few days earlier forced the president there to resign after nearly 30 years in office. The rally is the first major show of strength for Iran's cowed opposition in more than a year. Police used tear gas against the protesters in central Tehran's Enghelab, or Revolution, square and in Imam Hossein square, as well as in other nearby main streets. Demonstrators responded by setting garbage bins on fire to protect themselves from the stinging white clouds.
Here we go Didn't they have a revolt last year where peeps made their Twitters green? I can't keep up with those people
Ahmadinejad the self procliamed Muslim with supposedly Jewish Ancestry aint going to play, he will shoot down any protester. At least Egypt and Tunisia were more a less peaceful, Iran will be a blood bath and I have a feeling the govt will win.
The success of any revolution is dependent on whether the legitimacy of the state is stronger than the will of the people. In Iran that legitimacy was unsuccessfully challenged in 2009, so I'm unsure if enough Iranians are up for another round of longterm protest. Unlike Tunisia and Egypt, Iran has no diplomatic relationship with the U.S., so we cannot pressure them in the same way we could Ben Ali or Muburak. Iran has diplomatic relations with European nations, but they tend to veer away from policies that prescribe democratization. I am also uncertain of the level of access that the average Iranian has to social and conventional media, both significant drivers in the lead up to regime change in Tunisia and Egypt.
