In the past couple of weeks, controversies have sprung worldwide concerning the internal and external conflicts in Iran, a country in the Middle East known for its strict government and religious culture.
Protests in Iran started on September 16 after the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman taken into custody by the Iranian morality police. Activists have used her death to escalate protests against the country’s regime over the last month causing many citizens to revolt against the government. While there have been many protests in Iran in the past couple of years, none have pushed as far as the Mahsa Amini protests, which call for reform and a complete overthrow of the government.
Despite their internal struggles, Iran’s problems quickly escalated to a worldwide scale on October 17 after a Russian drone strike in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Many countries promptly found evidence of these drones having been supplied to the Russian military by Iran. This turned the heads of politicians around the globe, the majority of which have been rallying behind Ukraine since the conflict with Russia began. This led to a barrage of economic sanctions on Iran from international superpowers, further weakening the government’s authority in their own country.
The Iranian government continued to deny committing any wrongdoings, stating the protests were under control and claiming they possessed no knowledge of or involvement with the Russian drone attack. However, many pieces of evidence including videos from Iranians provide significant evidence against these claims. While it can not be determined with certainty whether or not the Iranian government was affiliated with the drone strike prior to the current moment or whether the protests are genuinely under control, one thing is certain, countries are becoming more hostile and unpredictable as the world takes sides in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.