Iran's Crackdown: The 'Foreign Meddling' Mantra - A Convenient Narrative for All Sides
📰 THE STORY: Al-Monitor reports that Iran's leadership is intensifying its crackdown on internal protests, accusing demonstrators of being 'Israel-linked mercenaries' and vowing severe reprisal against those challenging the Supreme Leader. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: In 1953, the CIA openly admitted to orchestrating a coup against Iran's democratically elected Prime
Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, installing the Shah, a US-friendly monarch. This single act cemented a deep-seated distrust of Western intervention and foreign-backed elements, providing fertile ground for the Iranian government to invoke 'foreign meddling' whenever faced with dissent, regardless of the protests' genuine domestic roots. Double Standard: Western media quick to label Iranian government
claims of 'foreign-backed elements' as paranoia or propaganda often simultaneously champions 'democracy movements' in countries deemed adversaries, without similar scrutiny of potential external funding or influence. For instance, funding for various 'regime change' organizations targeting Iran (like the MEK, which even the US once listed as a terrorist group but now supports) is rarely
highlighted in the same breath as reporting on Iranian crackdowns. The US has openly funded groups like the National Endowment for Democracy in countries like Venezuela and Ukraine, movements that were then lauded in Western media. Follow the Money: The US State Department and various Western NGOs have a documented history of funding opposition groups and media outlets critical of the Iranian