On a cold winter day in Tehran, as the sun lowered behind the domes of mosques and the city’s minarets cast long shadows, a familiar narrative resurfaced from the podium of power. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian — a figure both central and controversial in the country’s current political landscape — addressed the nation with a firm tone that blended grievance with defiance. In his remarks, he placed blame far beyond Iran’s borders, naming the United States, Israel, and European leaders as forces that had exacerbated unrest within his country.
The backdrop of his comments was a wave of protests that erupted in late December, sparked by deepening economic hardship — soaring inflation, rising living costs, and public frustration with what many Iranians described as systemic neglect. The demonstrations spread across cities large and small, leaving in their wake a heavy toll after a forceful government response. Rights groups estimate the death toll from the unrest in the thousands, while Iranian officials provide lower figures, often including security forces among the casualties.
Against this charged atmosphere, Pezeshkian’s speech shifted the focus from internal grievances to what he called external interference. He accused leaders in Washington, Jerusalem, and capitals across Europe of exploiting Iran’s economic woes to incite and expand the protests, saying these foreign powers provided both encouragement and material support that sought to “tear the nation apart.” These statements were broadcast on state media and echoed in government statements that framed the unrest as part of a broader strategy to weaken Iran’s social cohesion and political stability.
The president’s narrative is both political and psychological, aimed at framing public discord not solely as domestic frustration but as part of an external plot. This thread runs through Tehran’s long-standing rhetoric, where foreign influence is often invoked to explain internal crises. Iran’s government has repeatedly cited expressions of support for the protests from abroad — including public comments from U.S. officials and warnings from Western governments about human rights abuses — as evidence of international meddling.
In response to foreign criticism of Iran’s handling of the unrest, Tehran has also taken its case to international forums. Iranian diplomats have argued that external criticism and support for demonstrators crossed the line from observation to interference, pointing to social media amplification and political commentary from foreign leaders as part of a broader strategy to fan the flames of discontent.
From Washington’s perspective, support for protesters has largely been articulated as concern for human rights and calls for accountability amid reports of widespread casualties and arrests. Western governments — and European officials in particular — have urged restraint and transparency during the protests, while also imposing sanctions on Iranian officials implicated in the crackdown. Tehran rejects these actions as politically motivated and unjustifiably punitive.
Within Iran itself, the response to Pezeshkian’s accusations is mixed. Some Iranians echo government warnings about foreign interference, seeing external forces as opportunistically exploiting national challenges. Others dismiss such claims, insisting that the roots of discontent lie in economic hardship and demands for reform, rather than foreign provocations.
As the dust of the protest wave settles, the rhetoric remains a key battleground. For the Iranian president, linking unrest to Western antagonism serves both as a defense of his government’s actions and a broader assertion of national sovereignty. For critics, however, the focus on external blame risks obscuring profound domestic concerns that fueled the unrest in the first place.
In a region where geopolitical tensions are deeply entrenched, these competing narratives will continue to shape both domestic politics and international diplomacy, even as ordinary Iranians navigate the very real impacts of economic strain and political uncertainty.
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Sources Reuters BBC News Al Jazeera The Guardian Associated Press