The ‘Arab Spring’ and Iran: What’s become of the Green movement?

An interesting post on PBS Frontline by Hossein Borujerdi discusses Iran and the ‘Arab Spring. The  subject is the focus of tonight’s First Wednesday where we will be looking at the power struggles within the government and what has become of its Green pro-democracy movement.

Here’s an extract from the article:

Even as the Arab Spring blossoms, the Islamic Republic of Iran seems to have dexterously repressed the democratic aspirations of its people. The Iranian leadership has gone so far as to tout the recent developments in the Arab world as a victory for the Islamic Revolution of 1979, with Egypt and Tunisia walking in Iran’s proverbial footsteps.

At a glance, the recent developments in the region certainly appear to favor Iran. Since the Islamic Revolution, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s offer of sanctuary to the exiled Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, and the Camp David Accords of 1978 that lead to the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, the two countries had frosty relations for decades. Sadat’s decisive shift into the Western camp also made the prospects of good relations between the two nations highly unlikely.

With the demise of the Mubarak regime, which sought to perpetuate this state of affairs, the prospects of greater cooperation between the estranged states are conceivable, especially regarding peace negotiations addressing the nature and parameters of a future Palestinian state. There was a possible sign of things to come in late February when two Iranian warships were permitted to pass through the Suez Canal, much to the chagrin of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.

 

Tonight’s event discussing Iran’s Green Revolution and the Arab Spring starts at 7pm and you can watch it live here.