Jahangiri additionally asserted that the regime suffered from fundamental and structural flaws, stating that “our structure is such that stable solutions do not come from it. Jahangiri stated that “Iran is in danger, and were reaching a point where they could and still can endanger Iran.” Jahangiri called on regime loyalists and supporters to “show their credibility” and address protester grievances. Moderate and reformist politicians are urgently renewing their calls for the regime to address protester grievances. Former Rouhani administration First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri insinuated that Iranian leadership had lost touch with its people and urged the regime to apologize for its shortcomings in an interview on February 21. One cleric told the outlet that he strongly disapproved of the regime’s brutal protest crackdown and felt increasingly strained by Iran’s deteriorating economic conditions. All it needs is a spark.” The Associated Press separately reported enduring sociopolitical and economic grievances among several pro-regime individuals in the conservative city of Qom. Protesters added: ”we’re ready for the next clash. Protesters reportedly stated that the regime has failed to address their grievances and that they have begun stockpiling materials to fight security forces, including Molotov cocktails. The Washington Post reported on February 19 that protesters in Saghez, Kurdistan Province-the birthplace of Mahsa Amini and site of significant anti-regime activity in recent months-are preparing for further unrest. Western media outlets have reported lingering discontent throughout the Iranian population, corroborating CTP’s prior assessment that conditions remain present for the resumption of significant anti-regime activity. It is also unclear how long this uptick in protest activity will last. It is unclear if protest activity in this new phase will resemble the patterns that CTP first observed in the Mahsa Amini movement or what form acts of anti-regime defiance will take. This renewed protest activity could indicate that the movement has regained momentum after what was in effect an operational pause. The Mahsa Amini protest movement has likely entered a new phase, although it is unclear what pattern of anti-regime activity will characterize this new phase. Protest activity has increased substantially in recent days, including at least 15 protests on February 16, 12 protests on February 19, 14 on February 20, and seven on February 21. This increased turnout is the most that CTP has recorded since assessing that the Mahsa Amini movement culminated in January 2023. To receive Iran Updates via email, please subscribe here.Ĭontributors: Anya Caraiani and James Motamed
The Iran Updates are produced by the Critical Threats Project (CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute with support from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Kitaneh Fitzpatrick, Nicholas Carl, Annika Ganzeveld, Zachary Coles, Johanna Moore, and
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