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Iran protests: What western media got wrong again

Two polls show that despite economic hardship, Iranians choose security over upheaval, support their government’s regional role, reject America & applaud the #IRGC‘s internal and external activities.

Western media excited about ‘new Iran revolution’, but polls tell a different story about protests

October 2019: On the IRGC…
– 82% of Iranians said IRGC made Iran more secure
– 89% gave IRGC top marks for aid during 2019 floods
– 63% say IRGC should engage in construction & economy
– 61% support IRGC continued presence in Syria
– 82% favor Quds Forces’s Qassem Soleimani
October 2019: Iranians see economy as single biggest challenge – not “repression, civil rights, injustice or foreign policy.” Increasing numbers blame this on US sanctions, but most pin it on Rouhani’s administration. His favorability numbers poll at all time low of 42%.
October 2019: 83% of Iranians view US sanctions as having a “negative impact on the lives of ordinary people.” An overwhelming 86% of Iranians view the US unfavorably, highest number in 13 years. Those who view the US as “very unfavorable” has grown from 52% in 2015 to 73% today.

Poll numbers directly after the 2017/2018 protests/riots:

63% percent of Iranians said the police used appropriate force & 11% said they used “too little force.” 85% of Iranians agreed that “the gov’t should be more forceful to stop rioters who use violence or damage property.”
The two Iran polls were conducted jointly by the University of Maryland’s Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and Toronto-based IranPolls.

You can find links to both the 2018 poll and the October 2019 poll in my new article:

Western media excited about ‘new Iran revolution’, but polls tell a different story about protests

 

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Sharmine Narwani

Sharmine Narwani has a Master of International Affairs (MIA) degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in both Middle East studies and journalism, and from 2010-2014 was a Senior Associate at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, Sharmine has written commentaries and analysis that have appeared in a variety of media publications, including Al Akhbar English, the New York Times, The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, BRICS Post, the Huffington Post, As-Safir, USA Today, Russia Today, Salon.com and others.

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