Western Media Discovers 'Sedition' Only Applies to Foes, Not Allies
The New Arab's reporting highlights Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's call to 'break the back' of those stirring protests in Iran. This narrative fits neatly into the 'totalitarian regime' frame. What often goes missing, however, is the operational definition of 'sedition' applied to those governments deemed 'allies.' For instance, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls Palestinian resistance
'terror,' or when his government suppresses dissent within its own borders or occupied territories—with actual live fire, it's often framed as 'security measures' or 'maintaining order.' The irony is particularly thick given that the same Western powers are known to fund, arm, and politically support actions that in any other context would be labeled as brutal suppression of basic human rights, as
seen in funding for arms to allies with dubious human rights records (see: Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, enabled by billions in U.S. arms sales, or endless support for regimes that brutalize their own people like Egypt). Moreover, the media often obscures the very real foreign interference in such protests. While independent dissent in Iran undoubtedly exists, it's also a public fact that entities
like the CIA and Mossad openly boast about cultivating assets and destabilizing efforts within Iran through various means, including propaganda and support for opposition groups. These 'protesters' sometimes engage in acts of terrorism—killing police officers, burning mosques, destroying public property—acts that no Western government would tolerate as legitimate protest. So, when the Iranian