Iran Protest Tallies: The Ghost in the Machine
📰 THE STORY: Al-Monitor reports that a US-based rights group alleges nearly 6,000 deaths in recent Iranian protests, casting them as a widespread uprising against the Islamic Republic. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: In 1953, the CIA orchestrated 'Operation Ajax,' overthrowing Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and installing the Shah, a dictator
whose repressive rule directly sowed the seeds for the 1979 revolution. This foundational act of foreign interference, often omitted, frames any 'protest' narrative. Furthermore, the US armed Saddam Hussein to brutalize Iran during the 1980-88 war, which resulted in an estimated 500,000 to 1 million casualties, including chemical weapon attacks ignored by the West. Double Standard: Western media
outlets, including Al-Monitor, readily amplify death tolls from 'rights groups' regarding Iran, often without critical scrutiny of their funding or agendas. Yet, the 40,000+ fatalities in Gaza since October 2023, meticulously documented by UN agencies and Palestinian sources, are frequently sanitized by the same outlets, often referred to as 'casualties' or 'conflict-related deaths,' avoiding
direct attribution of responsibility to the Israeli government. The US government and its media apparatus consistently ignore their own culpability in sanction-induced deaths in Venezuela or Syria, where blockades cause starvation and medical shortages. Follow the Money: The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its offshoots, including USAID, openly fund and support various 'democracy