The enduring hostility felt toward Israel is in no small part due to its close ties with the shah and Israel’s role in his sustained oppression of the Iranian people. At the very least, Iran’s leaders have reacted to the assault with encouragement and support.įor Iran’s leaders, Israel and the United States represented immorality, injustice and the greatest threat to Muslim society and Iranian security. But when the smoke settles, only one country’s interests will have been served: Iran’s.Īlready, some analysts are suggesting that Tehran’s fingerprints can be seen on the surprise attack on Israel. As an analyst of Middle East politics and security, I believe that thousands on both sides will suffer. In the weeks ahead, the Israeli military will surely retaliate and kill hundreds more Palestinian militants and civilians. In the first day of reprisals, close to 400 Palestinians were killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas and launched airstrikes in Gaza. Hundreds of Israelis have been killed, more than 2,000 injured, and many taken hostage. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters infiltrated Israel by land, sea and air. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.In an operation coined “ the Al-Aqsa Storm,” Hamas, whose formal name is the Islamic Resistance Movement, fired thousands of rockets into Israel on Oct. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. SIMON: NPR's Peter Kenyon in Istanbul, thanks so much for being with us, Peter.Ĭopyright © 2022 NPR. Is there another shift in store? So that will also bear watching. Then, it morphed into a call to topple the government. KENYON: I think, first, will the protests grow smaller or possibly see a resurgence? Will there be another shift in their demands? Now, this started after the death of a young Kurdish woman in police custody. SIMON: Peter, what do you anticipate or look for to see what direction these protests might take next? KENYON: Hassanlou says he's proud of his brother even though there could be consequences now for his family or his colleagues. He didn't confess on something that he didn't do. HASSAN HASSANLOU: On something that he believes, he would be as stubborn as hell. Hassan told me he's not surprised because his brother has very strong beliefs. Hamid Ghareh Hassanlou, who faces execution after being convicted of demonstrating against the regime. I reached one man, Hassan Hassanlou, in the Netherlands. KENYON: Well, nearly two dozen people could face a death sentence, say rights groups. SIMON: Peter, there's been an awful lot of international attention and outcry over Iran imposing death penalties on protesters and carrying out two known executions. But now Iran does want to focus attention back on its nuclear program. And then, the Biden administration basically signaled that concluding this deal and restoring the nuclear deal was unlikely to happen while Iran is beating, imprisoning and killing its own citizens. Talks in Vienna had stalled when Iran began throwing up objections and demands. and Western countries that have themselves been dealing with protests and reacting in the most violent manner continue to try their best to destabilize Iran."Īnd now, beyond that, Iran has suddenly become a lot more interested in another topic, reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement. and other, quote, "enemies of Iran." Iran's foreign minister at a regional conference in Jordan said recently that, quote, "irresponsible interventions by the U.S. KENYON: Iranian officials are doubling down on their main contention that this is all being engineered by the U.S. SIMON: Peter, what's the government say about the protests? But the counterargument to that is the protesters are still continuing to take to the streets in spite of the violence inflicted by security forces and in spite of the death sentences being handed out by Iranian courts. It could also suggest to some that the fierce crackdown is finally starting to work. This could be just a lull, or some event might spark a resurgence. But Iranians and analysts say the demonstrations are a bit smaller, a bit less frequent recently. KENYON: The demonstrations are still going on especially in the major cities. SIMON: We've seen several waves of intense protests over, I guess, the last 90 days. NPR's Peter Kenyon has been following the developments from Istanbul. Iran's government has responded by cracking down on those protests and recently imposed death penalties for some participants including a prominent Iranian doctor. The demonstrations began after the death of an Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police. Iranians have been protesting for more than three months.
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