Iranologist and orientalist Anna Davtyan-Gevorgyan wrote on her Facebook page:
“I can’t remember any New Year’s Eve or the first days of the new year when there were no violent events in Iran (even events unrelated to the New Year, since it’s not New Year’s Eve there, and there are still several centuries until 2026).
Protests are happening again in Iran: on the one hand, due to the internal economic and financial crisis (due to the regular fall in the rial exchange rate), and on the other hand, due to unresolved foreign political tensions (Netanyahu is in Washington again, and the US is issuing more warnings and threats).
The Iranian government’s strategy of emphasizing the importance of dialogue, both with protesters inside the country and with the US on foreign policy matters, can resolve the crises, but it still faces many obstacles.
