BERKELEY, California, Jul 8, 2010 (IPS) - Although the United States and its allies insist that the latest round of U.N. sanctions against Iran targets high-level government officials rather than the general population, interviews with a number of analysts, activists and journalists in Tehran reveal a growing concern over the impact on the country's middle class.
"The government will use the oil money to prevent pressure on the lower classes, but the main pressure will be on the middle class, the majority of whom are anti-government," a former governmental official told IPS on the condition of anonymity.
"The sanctions are in fact going to punish the social group who carried the burden of confronting the government last year. It is the middle class who engages in trade and sanctions would destroy it [while] the government's oil money would help it to remain in power," the official said.
>>>Person | About | Day |
---|---|---|
نسرین ستوده: زندانی روز | Dec 04 | |
Saeed Malekpour: Prisoner of the day | Lawyer says death sentence suspended | Dec 03 |
Majid Tavakoli: Prisoner of the day | Iterview with mother | Dec 02 |
احسان نراقی: جامعه شناس و نویسنده ۱۳۰۵-۱۳۹۱ | Dec 02 | |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Prisoner of the day | 46 days on hunger strike | Dec 01 |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Graffiti | In Barcelona | Nov 30 |
گوهر عشقی: مادر ستار بهشتی | Nov 30 | |
Abdollah Momeni: Prisoner of the day | Activist denied leave and family visits for 1.5 years | Nov 30 |
محمد کلالی: یکی از حمله کنندگان به سفارت ایران در برلین | Nov 29 | |
Habibollah Golparipour: Prisoner of the day | Kurdish Activist on Death Row | Nov 28 |
Target the government's oil money
by AMIR1973 on Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:11 PM PDTthe government's oil money would help it to remain in power," the official said.
The key, in my opinion, should be to target the government's oil money. The IRI's oil money fuels its repression.