Over the past week, Iran lies in major headlines because roughly 1.5 million Iranians have protested in the streets against their authoritarian, theocratic regime. This is an extremely significant event that can change the course of the Middle East. 

This regime seized power in 1979, and is the current government. They proceeded to restrict access and gain a tight control over the country, and became a great disruptor in the region. By the mid 80s, they were at war with Iraq, then later Israel, and partnered with many other disruptive regimes, such as Syria. Before this time, in the 70s, Iran began modern and positive changes, under the Shah, which allowed more rights for the people, including women. Although there were optimistic reforms, people were unhappy with the Shah, and the current regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran, took advantage of the unhappiness and staged a revolution in 1979. This allowed them to come into power and to lead Iran into what it is today. 

“The protests are against the theocratic regime, which is a powerful movement. I think it demonstrates a strong feminist movement in Iran, especially under their Sharia law,” said Senior Kelsey Killgoar.

The government in Iran is very dissimilar to that in America. Iran, being a theocracy, is ruled by a strict adherence to the religion of Islam. The ruling ayatollahs are not elected, unlike America where a new president is elected every four years. 

In 2009, the Iranian protests began, with hundreds of thousands of people protesting against the leadership. This protest happened after the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which tragically led to many arrests, beatings, and killings. 

During the protests today, the Iranian government turned off the internet for the people, cutting them off from the rest of the world. Starlink is a satellite part of SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, which allows internet to anyone anywhere when turned on. When the reports came out about the government turning off internet access for the Iranians, Musk turned Starlink on for Iran, which allowed pictures and videos to come out about what really is going on during this protest. 

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Many people in America question whether we should do something to aid the Iranian people. We’ve seen an uprising and removal of a dictator in Venezuela, but Iran is different. Iran has a network of many terrorist organizations that have pushed terrorism onto neighboring countries, which are not factors for Venezuela. If we interfere, enemies with terrorist groups could be made. The United States has to weigh its next move more carefully with Iran than with Venezuela. The politics, the logistics are much more difficult in the Middle East. 

“​​Their future is very uncertain, but I don’t predict these protests will lead to peace fast. People always have a right to protest their government, but if your government views what you’re doing as wrong, there may be no end to the bloodshed. It’s very demoralizing and a very sad situation for the people of Iran,” said Jackie McKeon, high school AP World History teacher. 

We as a Catholic community should pray for the people of Iran to be freed from the brutal authoritarian regime that demands submission to its will in all aspects of life.