Iraq protests: ‘No to Iran, no to U.S.’

....Democratic Party politicians and the liberal press that backs them insist that the Trump administration is out to start a war. They claim U.S. actions have caused the Iranian people to line up behind the clerical regime and Iraqis to turn their backs on months of protests against the regime there.

But this isn’t true. Working-class protests against Tehran’s adventures abroad and crisis conditions at home rocked the country last fall. They were ended by brutal repression — the murder of over 300 people, arrests of thousands, shutting down the internet and social media.

“How do they expect people to rally behind them and support their cause for vengeance when they beat the same people on the streets and cut their internet just a few weeks ago?” 30-year-old Atena, who feared to use her last name, told Bloomberg News Jan. 4.

At protests in over 100 Iranian cities in November, Soleimani was often called out by name during chants in opposition to Tehran’s interventions in Syria, Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen. Pointing to the Iranian rulers, Atena said, “This is their loss, not mine.”

In Iraq, protests continue throughout majority Shiite areas in the country’s south. From the beginning working people have spoken out against interference in Iraq by both Tehran and Washington.

Hundreds of demonstrators chanted “No to Iran, no to America” at a protest in the southern Iraqi city of Diwaniyah Jan. 5. Participants in similar protests clashed with pro-Tehran militia forces mourning Soleimani and Muhandis in Nasiriyah and Basra the same day, reported Middle Eastern Eye News.

Soleimani’s recent visits to Iraq included helping direct Tehran-backed militia forces in carrying out deadly assaults on those protesting the government and Tehran’s interference there.

Full article:
Protests hit killing of Iranian general – The Militant