Iran: Year in Review

Overview:

Iran dominated the headlines in 2009. While Iranians inspired us with their fight for their right to have fair elections, the Iranian government kept on disappointing us with their crackdown on post-election protests and their controversial nuclear program. The 2009 Iranian presidential election between Ahmadinejad and Moussavi generated an unprecedented level of anticipation. The debates between the candidates were fiercer, where accusations ranged from corruption to torture, and even targeted wives. In the Western media, the elections was touted as the most significant election in Iran since the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. In the end, that prediction was true. When the results declared Ahmadinejad the winner, the country erupted in protests as election fraud was evident. Even though the Supreme Leader repeatedly asked the Iranians to stop protesting, his words yielded little influence. As 2009 comes to an end, the protests against Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader show no signs of ending anytime soon. The other big story regarding Iran was its nuclear program. Discovery of a new enrichment plant near the city of Qom reinforced the belief that the Iranian government cannot be trusted. But still the G5+1 and Iran met on October 1^st to come up with a compromise. Initially the talks seemed like a success as Iran agreed to open its newly revealed uranium enrichment plant near Qum to international inspection and to send most of its openly declared enriched uranium outside Iran to be turned into fuel for a small reactor that produces medical isotopes. Though officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency inspected the newly discovered Iranian uranium enrichment site near Qom, the Iranian leaders failed to respond in time to meet the deadline. As 2009 comes to an end, a compromise on Iranian nuclear program seems unlikely.

Person of the Year:

While every single protester who took to the street against the election fraud deserves to be named as the person of the year, but as I have to pick one person, I choose Neda Agha-Soltan. The bloody video of her death, circulated in Iran and around the world, made Neda, a 26-year-old whose relatives said was not political, a symbol of the green movement. Protesters supporting the Iranian opposition in cities around the world have held aloft pictures of her and carried banners declaring: “I am Neda.” Her name is now a rallying cry for Iranian pro-reformist campaigners.

Most Unexpected Event:

Without a doubt, it was the election fraud that took place in the presidential election. The Iranian electoral process, while not perfect, was still able to make a statement regarding the sentiments of the Iranian citizens. Once the candidates had been filtered out by the unelected Islamic Guardian Council, fair competition did take place between the candidates. But the 2009 election changed that and Iranians did not take this new development lightly. As election fraud became clear, Iranians took to the street, ushering in a new era in Iranian politics. This Al Jazeera program analyzes the election fraud and the protests that took place in response:

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What to Watch for in 2010:

Recent protests on the National Student Day highlights the fact that the protests against the current regime are not over. In 2010, this blog will be closely monitoring the green movement and the government reaction to it. It will be interesting to see if the Iranian government will yield to the protesters and admit election fraud or if it will continue with its repressive techniques.

Another big story that will dominate the headlines in 2010 is obviously Iranian nuclear program: will Iran be sanctioned, will Iran cooperate, will Israel or even the US attack Iran to put an end to Iranian nuclear program. Moreover, Iran’s relationship with Russia, China and other states such as Turkey, Venezuela, Bolivia are worth watching as discussions about sanctions becomes more serious.

A small story that might have big impact in the future is the Yemen’s civil war. Yemen has become the stage for the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It will be worth watching if this civil war will lead to an all out boycott of Iran by the Saudi Arabia and other gulf states.

2009 was certainly an interesting year in Iran. I look forward to analyzing and writing about this fascinating country in 2010.