<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[CO-OP NEWS]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://cooptv.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Coop Anti-War Cafe Berlin]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://cooptv.wordpress.com/author/zeitgeistmusic/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Protests in Iran &#8211; Made in the USA and Israel &#8211; By Stephen&nbsp;Lendman]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>stephenlendman.org  1-1-18</p>
<p>Protests in Tehran and other Iranian cities have a familiar character to them. They don’t erupt spontaneously. They’re manufactured, needing leadership.</p>
<p>Color revolutions are a US specialty, numerous ones staged earlier. Orange revolution 2.0, the most recent previous one, ousted Ukraine’s democratic government, replacing it with putschist tyranny.</p>
<p>What’s happening in Iran since December 28 followed agreement by Trump and Netanyahu to confront Iran, wanting its government toppled, replaced by pro-Wester puppet rule.</p>
<p>What’s going on for the past five days appears to be another attempted color revolution &#8211; doomed to fail, war perhaps the alternative follow-up option, the favored strategy of Washington and Tel Aviv.</p>
<p>On New Year’s day, Iran’s Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi said “a major part of recent demonstrations has been organized by foreign, anti-revolutionary elements.”</p>
<p>“They spread propaganda and manipulated public sentiment and the rightful demands of the people,” adding:</p>
<p>They’ll be addressed and handled equitably, “depriv(ing) enemies of the Islamic revolution of the opportunity to manipulate the present situation further.</p>
<p>On Sunday, two individuals were lethally shot in Dorud, a western Iranian city. According to Lorestan province political and security affairs official Habibollah Khojastepour, “no bullet was fired by military, law enforcement, and security forces at the people.”</p>
<p>Were pro-Western provocateurs responsible, perhaps recruited by the CIA or Mossad?</p>
<p>Khojastepour blamed the presence of Takfiri and “hostile groups…directed by foreign intelligence services.”</p>
<p>Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council Mohsen Rezayee slammed US interference in the country’s internal affairs, warning “US meddlesome policy…will not remain unanswered.”</p>
<p>According to Iranian television, 12 fatalities have occurred as of New Year’s day, without further elaboration. During the US orchestrated 2013/14 Euromaidan coup d’etat, Kiev snipers killed protesters and police.</p>
<p>Something similar is going on in Iran. Were CIA and/or Mossad-recruited assassins responsible for lethal shootings?</p>
<p>Iranian security forces are dedicated to preserving and protecting the Islamic Republic. They’re able to deal with the current situation and restore order.</p>
<p>How much longer will it take? How many more Iranians will foreign dark forces kill or injure before it’s achieved?</p>
<p>On Sunday, President Hassan Rouhani explained Iranians are free to criticize their government publicly, saying:</p>
<p>“We are a free nation, and based on the Constitution and citizenship rights, people are completely free to express their criticism and even their protest” &#8211; provided they act nonviolently, adding:</p>
<p>Iranians may openly express views on all issues. “We believe that the government and the country belong to the people, and the people must properly express what they want.”</p>
<p>“We must not allow an atmosphere to be created in the country under which supporters of the revolution and people will be concerned about their lives and security.”</p>
<p>At the same time, Rouhani slammed Trump, saying he’s “against the Iranian nation from head to toe has no right to feel sorry” for its people he doesn’t give a damn about.</p>
<p>As expected, Western media reports have been one-sided, expressing hostility toward Iranian governance.</p>
<p>On CBS Sunday’s Face the Nation, neocon Senator Lindsey Graham called for Trump “to lay out a plan” to confront Iran.</p>
<p>Does he have another US imperial war in mind, Washington’s favored strategy!</p>
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