Average Iranians are Suffering in Post-Deal Iran
When the Iran deal was initially being drafted and agreed to, one argument that was consistently made was that it would help the situation of average Iranians in the country. Citizens dancing in the streets, rejoicing at the hopes that they would re-enter the global community, gave a false perception that the deal would provide new means of progress for the domestic circumstances. With the belief that Iranians would be reintegrated into the international community, many thought that the deal would be a pre-cursor to better socioeconomic conditions and political freedoms, given that the domestic population would become exposed to the Western world.
A little more than a year after the deal, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify in what ways it has benefitted average Iranians. As the Iranian economy remains destitute, executions increasing at near exponential rates, and basic freedoms being repressed to a greater extent, Iranian citizens continue to await the fruits of the nuclear agreement. However, as they wait, the egregious regime grows stronger by the day. Whereas Iranians are waiting for the outcomes of the deal, the mullahs have taken full advantage of the situation. Oil sales have increased, assets have been unfrozen, and their quest for regional hegemony draws closer. Thus, the question remains, how has the situation for average Iranians changed over the course of the last year? The answer to that question provides a picture of false hope on the behalf of Iranians, as they see their safety and security diminish under a regime that cares so little for it’s people.
Executions in Iran are the highest since 1989
One would think that, given the concerns surrounding Iran’s excessive executions in the past, that the regime may reduce their unjustified killing of innocent citizens as a show of good-heart to the world community. Well, they would be wrong.
Reports from United Nations investigators claim that nearly 1,000 people were executed in 2015 alone. This should also be taken with a grain of salt, considering Iran’s shady history of hiding many of their executions from legal records. As the deal takes into full effect, human rights abuses in Iran remain prevalent, as can be summed up in a quote seen in this Huffington Post article:
The masses suffer at the interests of the elite
With the “official” unemployment rate increasing to nearly 12% in the first quarter of 2016, the claims that the deal would help average Iranians is discredited and delegitimized. Many believed that opening to the international community would bring economic advantages for all, and provide jobs to alleviate the burgeoning unemployment issues. Yet, despite the fact that the regime has seen an increase in GDP and, to some extent, economic growth, average Iranians continue to live in degrading conditions. The cronyism that is so heavily embedded within the ranks of the Islamic Republic has caused this money to be allocated to the politically-connected, while teachers, laborers, and others are left without pay for months at a time.
As if to throw salt on an open wound, the regime has also continued to deteriorate family cash benefits given to impoverished citizens which, often times, are the sole source of income to those who are unable to find work in a degraded and corrupted economic system. While the elite see their benefits increase, the masses are forced to resort to whatever possible to provide a means of subsistence for them and their families.
Iranian’s continue to be blocked off from the outside world
This was one of the primary arguments made by pro-deal individuals, believing that agreeing to terms on Iran’s nuclear program would allow Iranian citizens an avenue to reintegrate into the global community. However, it seems as if the regime has attempted to diminish this belief within the country, as access to the outside world continues to be restricted by means of online censorship and spewing of pro-regime propaganda. As of now, the mullahs are on a mission to ensure as little contact with the outside world as possible, going so far as to ban the widely-popular Pokemon Go, citing security concerns, but giving very little detail as to the specific security issues the game poses. Although this sounds ludicrous, consider that this is the very same country that has banned Iranians from accessing Facebook and Twitter, given that the social networks also degrade the “sanctity” of the nation and its population.
Perhaps a more blatant example is seen in the unwarranted arrests of dual-citizens traveling to Iran after the deal. Many outspoken Iranian-Americans, Iranian-Canadians, and other dual-citizen holders are being detained on false pretense, given that Iran does not recognize the idea of dual citizenship. Despite the fact that the deal was to open the world to Iran, and vice versa, the regime has maintained strict repressive behaviors to ensure that the average Iranian does not become too optimistic for hope, freedom and change.
The goal of implementing a knowingly-terrible deal as a means of providing more opportunities for average Iranians has been ambitious, at best. For those who believed such an agreement would allow the domestic population with some extent of alleviation from horrific circumstances, many of us wished for the very same. Yet, the false idea of a moderate Iran has plagued the general public into forgoing the very real dangers and repressions faced by Iranian citizens, and must not continue to be implied.
It is time that the Western world stands up for not only the safety and security of the international community, but also for the aspirations of true freedom and democracy that all Iranians dream for. The United States and its allies can no longer appease a dictatorial regime that aims to subjugate its own people. If democracy is our true intention, then it cannot just be said, it must be acted upon.
