Protests in Iran increase

[Ihatetomatoes]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7y0579lp8o.amp

I think that my worry here is that the rhetoric from the US and Israel about saving Iranians and the 12 day war generally is setting a dangerous precedent. As did what happened in Venezuela.

I understand that a lot of posters here are very partisan, but I don't think they see the bigger picture and I don't think they have properly thought through the consequences for most normal people of all this. They sound very naive.

Yet you have no issues believing statements from a regime that does exactly that to their own people and in large numbers?

I think you will find that I said that I am not giving personal opinions here. I reported what was being said. I don't approve of torture carried out by any government, anywhere. I don't approve of any government hammering down on free speech unreasonably, anywhere. Are you the same?

It seems to me that if anyone reports things from the other side, you get personal. Which is not very democratic of you.

@Vivi0 What you said about secularity, that most Iranians are not Muslim, can you link sources? I just googled and got "According to Iranian government estimates, Muslims constitute 99.4 percent of the population, of whom 90 to 95 percent are Shia, and 5 to 10 percent are Sunni. Most Sunnis are Turkmen, Arabs, Baluch, and Kurds, living in the northeast, southwest, southeast, and northwest provinces, respectively"

What you said about secularity, that most Iranians are not Muslim, can you link sources? I just googled and got "According to Iranian government estimates, Muslims constitute 99.4 percent of the population, of whom 90 to 95 percent are Shia, and 5 to 10 percent are Sunni. Most Sunnis are Turkmen, Arabs, Baluch, and Kurds, living in the northeast, southwest, southeast, and northwest provinces, respectively"

According to “Iranian government estimates”

Why don’t you try looking at the MANY and MULTIPLE other sources that are available that tell a very different story.

Someone said that the comment about women driving badly was old school, the comment was in relation to that.

Are you saying that the US, Israel etc are shooting the protesters? Is that what YOU think? Seriously, the protesters who want the current regime out are being slaughtered by THE REGIME.

The regime also have their supporters who might think it's ok to shoot protesters that 'go against' the regime.

So differing sides yet again. Just like Syria.

So sit back and do nothing to help those thousands who are being slaughtered due to the regime giving the orders? Is this a 'nothing to see here' moment just go away they are all happy and you've got it wrong....

I asked you to link your sources. Generally statistics come from within the relevant country - how could someone outside Iran do accurate reports on what all Iranians think? Genuine questions. There is a huge disparity between what you have been told and what google tells people.

If you link I will look at them later.

Are you not aware that not all Iranians are Muslims? They aren't you know.

Sorry, I mean that is my interpretation. I was just reading through their comments. I don't know that for sure.

Who‘s getting personal?
You do seem to place a particular value on the statements of the Iranian government though.
How can you otherwise say you don’t support torture, yet seem to be willing to believe statements about what arrested protesters had allegedly „admitted“?
I mean, just put two and two together.
Same about the Iranian government claiming 99.4% of the population are Muslims. What would stop them from claiming whatever they wanted? Surprised they didn’t say it’s 100%.

According to google the vast majority (over 90 percent) are Muslims, but if you have any other sources I will look at them (it will be later on now)

Lies.

Not according to Google at all, but according to the Iranian regime.

You are getting personal, you are telling me what I think where I have not said what I think. Which is gaslighting, basically. "Seem to" is not good enough especially as I have not come close to saying what I think and I have specifically said I am not passing comment as I don't have evidence in front of me.

I am not responding to your posts anymore so please don't direct any at me.

I am really struggling to believe that you are posting here in good faith.

Google search results bring up much, much more than the Iranian regime’s stats, so I won’t be linking anything for you.

It’s all there already, on your device.

Why are you pretending that this information isn’t already available to you?

Google is a fascinating thing.
I‘ve also just googled and this is the result I got:

Official Statistics vs. Independent Surveys

• Official Iranian Government/International Estimates: Government censuses and reports by some international bodies like the CIA World Factbook indicate that over 98% of the population is Muslim, with the vast majority being Twelver Shia, the official state religion.

• Independent Surveys: Anonymous online surveys, such as a prominent 2020 study by the GAMAAN institute, paint a different picture. That survey found that only 40% of respondents identified as Muslim (32% Shia, 5% Sunni, 3% Sufi), while nearly 50% identified as non-religious or having lost their religion. Other World Values Survey data from around the same time reported 96% identifying as Muslim, showing the difficulty of obtaining accurate data in a restrictive environment.

Why the Discrepancy?
The discrepancy exists because the Iranian government legally classifies individuals born to Muslim parents as Muslim, regardless of their personal beliefs.
Renouncing Islam is criminalized and can carry severe penalties, which means people may not report their actual beliefs in official records or face-to-face surveys.
Independent, anonymous online surveys are thought to better capture the significant secularization that has occurred within Iranian society, particularly among younger generations.

You're not going to win this argument right now.

There is a concerted, well funded campaign in order to effect regime change in Iran and manufacture consent for American intervention. You’re arguing with people on the same side as the War hawk Lindsay Graham and Tommy Robinson, who purport to know what Iranians want.

Iran is a country of 90 million people, however the voices being amplified are the voices of Iranians not currently in Iran.

There are also many unverified claims in the last week that amount to nothing more than misinformation. Like the woman lighting a cigarette using a burning picture of Khamenei (amplified by JK Rowling and many others) promoted by many to be in Iran. It turned out she was in a carpark in Canada.

The newest unproven claim is "12'000 killed" with this caveat:

"CBS News has not been able to independently verify the massive death toll indicated by the source"

Single unamed and unidentified source the perfect vehicle for propaganda and currently being reported by CBS, run by Bari Weiss who was hand selected by billionaire Larry Ellison, a fervent supporter of Netanyahu and Trump Donor.

https://www.972mag.com/ellisons-paramount-tiktok-israel-media-empire/

On American/Israeli involvement, former CIA director Mike Pompeo directly tweeted about "Mossad agents walking side by side" and ironically Israeli media has been open about Mossad involvement:
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-881733

What's currently hurting Iranians in Iran are the crushing sanctions that they've endured for over 40 years.

Are the shootings of protesters not true then @BelleHathor All made up or exaggerated? Your evidence for that is?

It is incredibly difficult to get news out of Iran. Reports are emerging of thousands of protesters being slaughtered. Young people who want a different way of life not a repressive regime.

Are the regime all fluffy and wonderful then? The protestors are wrong and must be 'funded by the West'. Bad west should just leave Iran alone and let them do whatever they want to their people.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/world/middleeast/iran-protester-deaths.html

Images from Pompeo and Mossad.

Video of the peaceful protestors:
https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/2011205227199021501?s=20

But, inamarina, this wasn't the first thing which came up, was it? I said what I quoted from (a US document by the way) was the first thing which came up.

Could you link the actual source for this so that i can look at the source?

https://news.sky.com/video/who-has-been-killed-in-iran-s-protests-13493971

Are these people not important then @BelleHathor

News is coming out.

You’re arguing with people on the same side as the War hawk Lindsay Graham and Tommy Robinson, who purport to know what Iranians want.

As opposed to those on the side of the regime that has murdered, tortured and is preparing to execute its young people and teenagers for protesting against them?

As I’ve heard many Iranian’s say “we are not extra’s in your ideology”. Stop dressing up authoritarian violence up as anti imperialism.

You don't speak for Iranians in Iran.

Actions speak louder than words and their brave uprising against the authoritarian regime speaks volumes. We may not know the exact number of protestors that have been murdered by their own government because of the internet blackout by Iran (140 hours and counting) but it runs into the thousands.

The US-based HRANA rights group said it ‍verified ‍the deaths of ‍2,571 people during ‍Iran's protests, including 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated individuals. The real number is going to be much higher when the truth finally emerges that Iran is going to such extraordinary lengths to hide.

Just keep scrolling down the page.

It’s not difficult.

What an odd thread. Defence and denial of atrocities committed by the ayatollahs for decades despite evidence to the contrary. Aw shucks it's all USA and Israel doing the nasty.

Why do you feel qualified and certain about what’s happening in Iran and against the people there?