US Media Discovers Iranian Protests Just as Sanctions Need Justifying
CBS News, like clockwork, highlights videos of body bags in Tehran, framing the anti-regime protests as a purely internal uprising demanding an end to the Islamic Republic (CBS News, 'Videos show rows of body bags in Iran,' 2024). What's conspicuously absent is any mention of the decades-long US sanctions apparatus crippling Iran's economy, the persistent low-intensity covert operations by Western
intelligence agencies, or the chorus of hawkish US lawmakers—many of whom are significant recipients of AIPAC donations (OpenSecrets.org)—who consistently advocate for government overthrow in Tehran. For instance, Senator Lindsey Graham, who has received over $479,000 from pro-Israel groups since 2018, is a vocal proponent of 'tougher action' against Iran and openly discusses 'destabilizing' the
country (OpenSecrets.org, 2024). One might wonder about the timing of these sudden, heartbreaking reports of repression. This isn't news; it's a playbook. Remember Libya? Syria? Iraq? Same urgency, same selective focus on internal dissent, same deafening silence on external meddling. It’s almost as if the 'human rights' alarm only sounds when it aligns perfectly with Washington's geopolitical
objectives and the stated goals of its most powerful lobbying groups.