Why do atrocities in Iran seem to receive so little attention?

[MyCoralDreamer]

I was listening to Ian Dale LBC yesterday on the way back from a work meeting and this was one of the topics that was covered. I think he and various people who phoned in, raised some really interesting points.

Did anyone else listen to it? For example there was a public execution 2 days ago where 3 young men were to be hanged. One of them, only 18 years old, is reported to have died of a heart attack just before his execution was carried out. The regime were expecting cheers from the crowd. But instead, the crowd protested in disgust and the regime then chased and shot around 200 of the protesters.

Had I not listened to the this, I would have had no idea that this had happened. I think it’s important that these events are given more media coverage. We hear plenty about other events going on around the world and about Trumps latest peace deal with Iran (that never seems to materialise). But the media doesn’t seem interested in what the regime is inflicting on its civilians.

Dale also questioned why there’s no Free Iran Protests, when there’s plenty of Free Palestine Protests. Theres ONE that happens outside the Iranian embassy, but that’s it. Why aren’t more people bothered about atrocities in Iran?

During 8-9 of January this year, the regime killed an estimated 50,000 of its civilians. Again, had I not listened to LBC last night then I wouldn’t have know about this.

Its still available to listen back to if anyone’s interested. The podcast heading relates to reforms on social care but this topic came up in the last 3rd of the show.

A brief history of why intervention in Iran is stupid. AI but I knew a fair amount of this. I wonder if OP does.

The very short version is that almost every major outside intervention in Iran has produced consequences opposite to those intended. That’s why many historians, military analysts, and diplomats—across the political spectrum—are skeptical of new attempts to reshape Iran from the outside.

• 1907: Britain and Russia effectively divide Iran into spheres of influence without Iranian consent, breeding deep distrust of foreign powers.
• 1953: The UK and US back a coup that removes Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh after he nationalizes oil. The Shah returns with stronger authoritarian powers. Many Iranians see this as the defining example of foreign interference.
• 1979: The Islamic Revolution overthrows the Shah. Anti-Americanism becomes central to the new regime, rooted partly in memories of 1953.
• 1980–88: During the Iran–Iraq War, many Western and Arab states support Iraq to varying degrees. Iran emerges more militarized and convinced it must rely on itself.
• 1990s–present: Sanctions, covert operations, cyberattacks (such as Stuxnet), assassinations of nuclear scientists, and proxy conflicts weaken parts of Iran’s economy and capabilities but have not produced regime change.
• 2020s: Israeli and US strikes on Iranian-linked forces and nuclear infrastructure have degraded some military assets but have also reinforced the regime’s narrative that Iran is under external attack.

I see quite a lot about Iran when I look at the news online, some of it from dubious sources.

I just hope Trump doesn't use tactics to persuade the UK to join in with the war he has created with Iran.

It's too complicated to campaign clearly for any straightforward course of action.

The current regime actually were put in place by the nation rising up and overthrowing the authoritarian Shah (monarch) in 1979 - although most people didn't want the replacement they got.

The Shah was put in place by the UK and America, who intervened to replace an elected government who were set to nationalise British and American oil companies in Iran... Foreign intervention is generally not actually done altruistically to help ordinary people, no matter what rhetoric might be half heartedly offered to cover meddling for our own financial or geopolitical gain.

No-one was really talking about Israel in this thread (bar a brief mention by the OP) until posters showed up to ask why people talk so much about Israel.

I know there are people who feel that the situation in Gaza gets more attention than other humanitarian crises and/or crimes and that this is unfair and shows a bias against Israel. But I don't think it helps if, every time a different situation (in this case Iran) is being discussed posters start talking about Israel and Gaza. If your problem is the amount of attention Gaza gets you are sort of making the situation worse by trying to turn every unrelated conversation towards Gaza

The “pro Palestine” marches are funded by Iran, so there’s that…

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”

@yayers
It's also not the same as Gaza because even though foreign journalists couldn't get in at one point, there were still lots of people inside the area with phones and internet access. Plus it's a much much smaller area and the damage happening is very visual - buildings and neighbourhoods destroyed rather than people being executed in secret- and can be seen via satellite etc. There are also lots of journalists within Israel and social media posters (including soldiers) so there isn't the same information vacuum even if the information coming out is uneven.

The amount of information available isnt really comparable to Iran.

Honestly? Because it’s been happening consistently since before I was even born so nobody shocked or surprised and western interference in the Middle East only seems to lead to terrible outcomes like current Afghanistan.

This. You might as well ask why do we not hear more about China, Russia, Myanmar etc. Such atrocities have been happening since the 70s and we haven't been able to stop them.The BBC do decent coverage but as@Persephonia1966said, it's difficult to get information.

North Korea too

Absolutely despicable

Yes there are things that can be done. For one, I’ve heard Iranians on Ian Dales programme and on other podcasts saying that they need other countries to step in and give them weapons and ammunition to defend themselves. Strategic bombing of Iranian military sites. Join in the military effort to overthrow the regime and put a stable government in place. But so far all our government has done is empty platitudes. Nothing.

The civilians have been immensely brave so far and the demonstrations in the face of gunfire shows how desperate they are. But they aren’t winning and they need help.

Just imagine living there, seeing the cranes being wheeled out. And knowing that they aren’t for building/ construction work. But to hang innocent people.

China is complicated because there was a big kerfuffle about the social credits system a while back which has sort of faded away so maybe it was a bit exaggerated... On the other hand, the situation with the Rohingua sounds very real and very bad

But every online take on China is either extreme glazing "wow, high speed rail, China is living in the future, it's the most amazing country unfairly persecuted by the evil West" or "China is the most evil regime to ever exist, all their homes are made with Tofu concrete, there's only half the amount of Chinese people that the CCP says, black mirror, etc etc". I

Did you read my, and PP’s, posts about the history? We’ve intervened a lot. And fucked it all up.

The history of the modern world is a history of intervention gone wrong.

Giving one side guns against the other literally got us where we are. Crack a book.

You want the UK to arm people and bomb Iran? Were the people who are so keen to bomb Iran relatives of the 150 school girls who were blown up at their desks by the US, do they have children there that they are willing to sacrifice to British and American bombs or are these people living safely in the UK?

So what’s your solution then? Do nothing and look away?

My solution is to do the boring and hard work of making the world better. Support education, disaster relief, women’s rights, children’s health, democracy support, contraception and women’s economic strength. And all the other things that make majority world countries happier and healthier. Become less reliant on oil, so that countries with oil aren’t allowed to do what they like. Stop getting into bed with oligarchs, dictators and billionaires.

Promoting peace, health and education make dictatorships less strong.

It’s boring and takes forever. But it works.

Well for a start, why does an organisation that murders it’s civilians have an embassy in London 😳

I'm really interested in why some atrocities get so much more attention than others.

There are awful human rights abuses happening in many places all over the world.

Currently one gets much much more attention than any other, even though equally bad / even worse things are happening elsewhere.

Humans are tribal. Somehow, some people have been identified as part of our tribe so many care more than others who are not perceived as part of the tribe.

I'm really interested in the reasons for this, but I think frequently viewing trauma and becoming emotional about it, ie watching and seeking out videos, stills, articles is a huge part of why so many have identified with one cause over any others. And also, the othering of the common enemy, the harnessing of rightous rage against that common enemy.

Iranians, Christian Nigerians, Yemenese children starving, these are not our tribe. They don't have the visibility, the PR, the common enemy.

It's a basic human failure of empathy.

ICE has murdered civilians. You closing the US embassy too?

I think the interesting thing about Gaza is that ‘we’ don’t think Palestinians are our ‘tribe’, we think Israelis are. Hence the utter disgust at people who can look like us, have a government like ours, and all that, while raping detainees and killing babies. Seemingly as public policy.

’We’ expect Africa to be barbarous and corrupt. Not a western style democracy.

They are the baddies.

To be honest I actually expected this response.

But these people are in a living hell. They need rescuing now. I’m looking at my kids now, in our living room. They are happy and content. What if they had been born in Iran? What kind of life would they have had? I’m sorry but I keep thinking of those young men - especially the 18 year old. And it’s been playing over and over in my mind today.

Diplomacy is important. Both with the Iranians and the US. But if you want useless, blanket, uninformed nonsense responses, they should apply to everything.

And you still haven’t addressed that interventionism is stupid and doesn’t work. Now you’ve moved to empty signally disapproval.

Disagree.

Lots of people see the Palestinian cause as their cause. They are in that group.

Personally I don't expect Africans / Israelis / Europeans / any other tribe/ group to be any more barbarous than any other so I find your post a bit troubling tbh.

Many, many nations are currently killing civilians as public policy... thats literally the point of the thread. And I don't base my expectations of peoples behavior or whether or not they 'look like us'.

Its obvious that you care much more about Israeli atrocity than Iranian atrocity. Because Israelis 'look like us'? Do you have higher expectations of humans who look like us? I find that a little... prejudiced.

But thanks for proving my point I guess.

But you don’t have the foggiest HOW to ‘rescue’ them.

I’m out because there is no point.

I deal with enough, ‘couldn’t we just…’ and ‘just do something’ at work from well-meaning people who don’t understand the work.