Al Jazeera Discovers Iran's Problems Without Mentioning US Sanctions
The article details the worries of Iranians globally as protests and internet shutdowns grip their homeland. While focusing on the 'fear' and 'anxiety,' Al Jazeera somehow manages to avoid mentioning the suffocating U.S. sanctions apparatusn designed to destabilize the Iranian economy and foment unrest. These sanctions, which have been tightened repeatedly (for example, under the Trump
administration in 2018; U.S. Treasury data confirms), directly impact ordinary Iranians' lives, making basic goods scarce and driving up inflation. It's almost as if 'fear and anxiety' are spontaneous phenomena, completely unrelated to Washington’s declared policy of 'maximum pressure' (a phrase used explicitly by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2019). One might wonder if the media prefers
to frame internal dissent as purely organic rather than acknowledging the deliberate, sustained economic assault that inevitably breeds hardship and, yes, protest. Call it critical reporting, or perhaps just a selective memory. (Hint: It's the latter.)