John Law (10:12)
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So head to livemomentous.com and use promo code TANGLE for up to 35% off your 1st order. That's livemomentous.com promo code TANGLE. Alright, first up, let's start with what the right is saying. The right supports the protesters, though many doubt they will topple the regime. Some say Trump is right to threaten intervention if state violence continues, National Review's editors wrote about the unrest in Iran. What's known as the Arab Spring was initially set off by the self immolation of a Tunisian street vendor protesting against harassment by local local officials. Authoritarian regimes are typically strong, but they can often be surprisingly brittle, too, the editor said. In Iran, the economy has gone very wrong indeed. The current unrest began in Tehran with shopkeepers and bazaaris, the latter a merchant class traditionally supportive of the regime, closing their doors as a protest against a further collapse in Iran's already collapsed currency. The regime is responding with vaguely conciliatory admissions that some of the complaints about the economy are valid, but it has not abandoned its time tested repertoire of threats, talks, talk of external enemies and the use of force, the editors wrote. There is no chance, however, that a Trump White House will repeat the mistakes made by the Obama administration, which allowed hopes of a deal with the mullahs to lead it to rein in its support for the massive unrest that followed rigged Iranian elections in 2009. On the other hand, President Trump's threat that the US is locked and loaded and ready to come to the rescue in the event that the regime kills peaceful protesters is hard to credit. Iran is not Venezuela. In the Washington Examiner, Ani Chikwadze praised Trump's righteous warning to Iran's Iran has found allies in its authoritarianism. From Belarus and Syria to Georgia and Serbia, repressive governments have reinforced each other. The result is that authoritarian regimes have grown more aggressive, while those defending liberties have become increasingly unsure that their righteous resistance will lead anywhere, chiguete said. Trump's statement may change that calculation. It does more than any US Presidential statement in the past two decades to signal to those resisting repression in Iran that they are not entirely on their own, that America might come to their defense. It thus tells the oppressors in Tehran that violence may cost them dearly. Trump has introduced ambiguity in US policy. He doesn't promise intervention, but neither does he exclude it. The ambiguity over what might come out of Trump's White House makes regimes afraid of crossing lines, chi Kwadze said. But there is a danger. If Washington issues this warning and does nothing when Tehran kills more protesters, it won't just fail Iranians. It will teach every dictatorship watching that Trump's threats mean nothing, undermining the credibility of the American president as well as US Power. Alright, that is it for what the right is saying, which brings us to what the left is saying. Many on the left say the protests have roots in Trump's first term foreign policy. Others question the president's motives for getting involved in the conflict. In Ms. Now, Ali Velshi explored how the protests in Iran can be traced back to Trump's first term. To better understand how we got here, we must go back eight years to May 8, 2018. That's when in his first administration, Trump withdrew the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran nuclear deal, Vilshi said. That landmark agreement was signed in the summer of 2015 during the Obama administration following years of intense negotiations. It was designed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, essentially by limiting Tehran's uranium enrichment capabilities and stockpiles. According to the United nations and Trump's own government, the deal was working at the time his administration ended it. After the US Withdrew from the deal, Iran built up the so called Access of Resistance, a loosely associated alliance of groups in the region that are trained, funded, supplied and supported by Tehran. After October 7, the axis of Resistance kicked into overdrive and acted much more aggressively. However, it has since been significantly weakened by Israeli and US attacks, which have in effect weakened Iran's overall influence and power, bill she wrote. US Sanctions are indeed causing tremendous ongoing economic suffering in Iran that appears to be coming to a head right now as these protests have erupted in several cities in the country. Also in Ms. Now, Steve Bennon said Trump's sudden interest in the rights of protesters is hardly in line with the he has espoused for decades. The demonstrations in Iran, an authoritarian society where mass protests are not common, are real and sizable. The unrest appears to have been caused initially by the collapse of Iran's real currency, but as NPR reported, it has become increasingly common to see crowds chanting anti government slogans, benin wrote. It was against this backdrop that Trump used his social media platform to publish a message that appeared intended to get Tehran's attention. If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. Time will tell whether, and to what degree Trump is serious about further intervention in Iran and whether the US military is actually locked and loaded for another Middle east operation. But it's worth noting for context that his sudden interest in the rights of protesters is not altogether in line with his broader vision, benon said. On the contrary, in the recent past, Trump has gone to great lengths to celebrate strongman and iron fist leaders abroad, including who seem to revel in cracking down on dissent. Is he now suddenly concerned about violence toward protesters in Iran? Or is the incumbent American president looking for an excuse to push fresh threats toward a foe in the Middle East? Alright, that is it for what the right and the left are saying. Which brings us to what Iranian writers are saying. Some Iranian writers welcome US Support of the protests and the regime's fall. Others say the protests were primarily caused by sanctions. In the Washington Post, Reza Pahlavi, a leader of the Iranian democratic opposition, wrote, iran is ready for a democratic transition. As 2026 begins, Iran is on the verge of a profound transformation across our country. From Tehran's Grand Bazaar to cities, towns and villages far from the capital, Iranians are risking their lives to reclaim their future. Their message is unmistakable. The Islamic Republic has exhausted its legitimacy and after almost 47 years, the country wants to be free, pahlavi said. The courage of these men and women deserves more than sympathy. It demands clarity, preparation and responsible leadership inside Iran and among those who influence global affairs. Because Iran's liberation will mean much more than a restoration of dignity to Iranians. It will bring a global peace dividend of almost unimaginable proportions. That's why I welcome President Donald Trump's clear and firm support for the Iranian people. His message that the United States stands with those who seek freedom rather than with a regime that exports terror and instability has resonated deeply inside Iran. Supporting the Iranian people is not an act of charity or interference. It is an investment in global stability. For almost 47 years, the Islamic Republic has fueled regional conflict, pursued nuclear blackmail and wrought global chaos. A free and democratic Iran will be a force for stability in the Middle east, not a source of endless crisis. In the Middle East's eye, Mohammad Reza Farzanigan argued Iranian protests are not for regime change, but for relief from US Economic war. In Washington and Tel Aviv, the narrative being pushed is one of a regime on the brink, where economic failure is framed as a precursor to total collapse. However, what we're witnessing is not a political revolution, but the desperate gasps of a society whose economic buffer, the middle class, has been systematically hollowed out by an inhumane, punitive policy of international isolation, farzanigan said. The primary driver of this economic death spiral is no secret. The US Weaponization of the global financial system, imposing the maximum pressure campaign and targeting Iran's oil exports has effectively hit at the life savings of every Iranian teacher, nurse and small business owner. The Iranians currently in the streets are not asking for their country to be dismantled. They are asking for the restoration of their dignity for economic relief and for an end to the collective punishment that has hollowed out their lives. Far zoning in said, the tragedy of the current U. S. Israeli strategy is that it has destroyed the very segment of society, the middle class, most capable of pushing for a stable, reformist and less confrontational future. By weakening this center, external powers, alongside domestic structural problems such as high corruption, have removed the moderate buffer that typically values incremental change over chaotic violence. All right, let's head over to will for his take.
