Protests have subsided in Iran, but clerics cannot yet proclaim victory
The regime has quelled the protests but Iranians are still seething
IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, may be sighing with relief. After the death in September of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested for not wearing a “proper” headscarf, the country saw daily protests, many led by women. Four months on, the cries of “Women, life, freedom” have all but petered out. University campuses, where demonstrations continued longest, resemble citadels, policed by security guards and cameras. Banners praising the Islamic Republic abound. And yet Iranians are still seething.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The rope tightens”
Middle East & Africa
January 14th 2023- After eight dismal years, Nigeria prepares to replace President Buhari
- Ethiopia’s war in Tigray has ended, but deep faultlines remain
- Kenya’s blood shortage and the kicking of an aid addiction
- Protests have subsided in Iran, but clerics cannot yet proclaim victory
- A century-old choice created one of the Gulf’s oddest geopolitical features
- The Arab world’s rulers have turned journalists into courtiers
From the January 14th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
Khartoum changes hands, heralding a new phase in Sudan’s civil war
The national army may now try to push into Darfur
The war in Gaza has unsettled the Jewish diaspora
They have found uneasy alliances with their new protectors on the right
Israel courts the Middle East’s minorities
Why Israel seeks alliances outside the Arab and Sunni Muslim majority
Nigeria’s president pushes the limits of his power
A crisis in the oil-rich Niger Delta raises questions about the rule of law
A faster rollout of malaria vaccines would save many lives
But someone needs to pay for it—just when aid budgets are being slashed
The success of Ivory Coast is Africa’s best-kept secret
How has it managed to outshine its peers?