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The protests appear sparked in Iran by social issues and a surge in prices of basic food supplies, that eventually turned into protests against the government with the people that started chanting slogans even directly against the change of power, expert in Iran Artyom Tonoyan told a press conference on Tuesday, reminding of the first calls for protests appeared on social media platforms that were later blocked by authorities.

Tonoyan referred to the speculations backed by Iranian leadership who blamed the unrest on the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

“There in an opinion that the Iranian unrest exposes an inter-political issue within the Islamic Republic, specifically the between hardliners and reformists. Certain divergences are observed between the spiritual leader of Iran and the government.  Reports suggested former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reportedly behind the unrest through calling for organization of mass protests,” Tonoyan said. 

Tonoyan reflected on the main difference between the 2009 protests following the presidential elections and the ongoing unrest. In the analyst’s view, the 2009 protests were focused in Iran’s main cities and provincial capitals and were mainly represented by educated people. In contrast, the past days’ unrest has burst out mainly in mid-size cities and towns with smaller numbers mainly by the poor population. “This comes to evidence that acute social conditions exist in Iran. Certainly, the current protests are on the decline, yet what happened should concern the authorities of the neighboring country,” the analyst said,

Meanwhile, Tonoyan expressed confidence any instability in Iran may directly affect Armenia, since our country has always preferred in having a peaceful and stable Iran, adding the current unrest in the Islamic Republic poses no real threat to Armenia’s national security.