5 ms·

Mapping Protests in Iran

57 points by nsoonhui 10mo ago

ulrischa 10mo ago
[flagged]
- 53p3h2 10mo ago
  [flagged]
  - ulrischa 10mo ago
    Is there also a page mapping protests in the usa? I guess not
    - dmos62 10mo ago
      Feel free to make one. Would you expect someone to cry "propaganda" if you did?
  - ozlikethewizard 10mo ago
    While there are ongoing protests in Iran we should support, its never bad to question a source of information and examine it for bias. From their own footer: "FDD conducts in-depth research, produces accurate and timely analyses, identifies illicit activities, and provides policy options – all with the aim of strengthening U.S. national security and reducing or eliminating threats posed by adversaries of the United States and other free nations." Think its safe to say the majority of the world views the US as one of the largest threats to peace and democracy right now, so any source so obviously biased should be questioned.
    - dmos62 10mo ago
      That's true, and it's worth mentioning that both your parent and grandparent comments are painfully low-effort.
      - ulrischa 10mo ago
        And this comment is more low effort than mine. See my addition from Wikipedia for more effort
        dmos62 9mo ago
        That's more like it.
    - ulrischa 10mo ago
      Exactly. Why is this pushed to HN front page with only 21 upvotes? > "The American political blog ThinkProgress criticized FDD for what it called "alarmist rhetoric and fear mongering" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Defense_of_Democracies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Defense_of_Demo...
    - deleted 10mo ago
      [deleted]
- mobtrain 10mo ago
  [flagged]
  - dmos62 10mo ago
    I think it's good to explicitly point out that low-effort participation is discouraged on HN. It might not affect the actual "offender", but it's meaningful to the rest of the readers.
  - deleted 10mo ago
    [deleted]
- coffinbirth 10mo ago
  From Wikipedia: > The FDD is a think tank based in Washington, D.C., United States.[6][7] It has been described as a pro-Israel, anti-Iran lobby group > CEO is Mark Dubowitz > Mark Dubowitz is [...] a proponent of sanctions against Iran[2] and was a leading critic of the Iran nuclear agreement, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Conclusion: U.S./Israel "Think Tank" pushing for regime change in Iran financed by Isreal/Wallstreet money. So boring, always the same playbook. Of course, the underlying goal is to deny China oil exports from Iran. Venezuela as a major oil supplier to China is already coup d'état successfully. Go U.S.A, go!
  - ulrischa 10mo ago
    Thanks for this addition.
  - deleted 10mo ago
    [deleted]
- deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]
deleted 10mo ago
[deleted]
harel 10mo ago
My Iranian friends live between a state of high hope (at times like this) to crushing frustration when it does not succeed. I'm hoping we avoid the latter state this time around.
- jillesvangurp 10mo ago
  We can hope but I'm not very optimistic about this not getting crushed again or there being any more than a vague thumbs up from abroad for the protesters. It seems they are on their own. But I could understand Iranians choosing to stay safe rather then risk their lives protesting given the way this has gone in the past. On the other hand the sudden collapse of the Assad regime in Syria shows these things sometimes do happen. But I don't think similar conditions exist in Iran. There seems to be a lot of anger but very little organized opposition. But there are some reasons to assume the regime might fracture internally where religious extremists and conservative but more pragmatic opportunists running e.g. the military part ways. An Egyptian model might be more lucrative for those types where you get a kleptocratic elite getting more diplomatic about restoring international relationships in exchange for sanctions lifting and access to international markets to get filthy rich from the natural resources that Iran is currently sitting on. My impression is that the current unrest is caused by economics, not ideology. But a lot would need to change in Iran for this to happen. The poor health of Khamenei might trigger such a thing in the context of a wider leadership battle.
  - buzzwords 10mo ago
    Have friends with relatives there. I think the fear of what's next is as potent as the frustration of what is happening with the current government.
  - breppp 10mo ago
    > restoring international relationships in exchange for sanctions lifting and access to international markets to get filthy rich The issue is the Iranian elites are getting filthy rich from sanctions and have a vested interest in them. The IRGC has its own smuggling networks and its own companies which it can use to evade taxes and sell its own imported goods for lower prices locally
nisalperi 10mo ago
We did something similar during the 2022 Sri Lankan protests: https://protests.watchdog.team/heatmap https://protests.watchdog.team/heatmap
throwaw12 10mo ago
why don't we see such maps when it happens in the US (ICE, black lives matter, Palestine) or EU? Some people are very passionate about problems in other countries, or just contributing to propaganda
- deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]
- Cthulhu_ 10mo ago
  Because you don't go and look for it but instead expect others or The Algorithms to do it for you? Sorry to be so blunt but this comes across as a "why isn't anybody doing anything!!" when many people are doing many things, just not you. Please do some googling before commenting. Anyway. https://usprotests.liveuamap.com/ https://usprotests.liveuamap.com/
  - throwaw12 10mo ago
    who funds the link you shared? it also looks so incomplete fyi: FDD is funded by the US government, which probably means incentives the propaganda (e.g. to get promoted and so on)
- waffleiron 10mo ago
  Because this is funded and published for the following reason: > FDD conducts in-depth research, produces accurate and timely analyses, identifies illicit activities, and provides policy options – all with the aim of strengthening U.S. national security and reducing or eliminating threats posed by adversaries of the United States and other free nations.
  - FuturisticLover 10mo ago
    The .org websites are not trustworthy anymore
- fcpk 10mo ago
  It's a Foundation with strong evidence of ties to Israel and an open agenda against (current) Iran. Don't be surprised.
oldpersonintx2 10mo ago
[dead]
cuuupid 10mo ago
Incredible to see so many comments claiming this is propaganda and claiming there are no such maps of the US, when a simple google search results in dozens of hits for such maps. It is impossible to walk around in any major US city without witnessing protests about various topics, we have never been shy about protesting and it’s a key element of modern American culture. Feel like every submission that I see on HN which is even vaguely political just devolves into “America bad” and conspiracy theories. I honestly preferred the “AWS bad” meta over this
- GordonS 10mo ago
  [flagged]
  - keybored 10mo ago
    Conspiracy theory isn’t even a smear anymore. It used to refer to idiocy like Reptile Overlords. Now Conspiracy Theory just means the belief that organized groups have an agenda and can lie about their real agenda. People who yell Conspiracy Theories are just smearing themselves at this point.
- coffinbirth 10mo ago
  You see, Iran is sanctioned by the west for decades now, and these sanctions eroded the Iranian economy greatly, causing much pain and suffering for the people of Iran. These sanctions a major reason for the protest, so they are largely legitimate. To archive regime change, mix in (paid) violent protesters with AK's and Molotov Cocktails and add a Truth Social Post like > If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J.TRUMP there is your regime change!
wiz21c 10mo ago
Check "Monthly Protest Count" since september 2022 and you'll see things don't change much...
- OhioMan2943 10mo ago
  Numbers might be similar- but that doesn't mean the circumstances are. https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/iran-ayatollah-khamenei-escape-moscow-protests-revealed-h5f95ctb5?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqfGqD0XaqINJlDLKqtR-BV5s6SIuR5qAaPRrVMxG0XGK4OcLwes_9KxVVFvwwM%3D&gaa_ts=695c4991&gaa_sig=aB8OiBQCqKUssuS75CCPjQLjj-OV3lE8uxGzi30KGpgTLHZ9OIMmouvW0lXi0P5z8shQRA0Za-40yT74xfrNxA%3D%3D https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/iran-ayat... Remember. The axis is quickly being diminished (venezuela), and the financial and water situations are far worse now, as is the political one (coming off of a war which destabilised leadership). Just hope that it's not out of the frying pan and into the fire. I have a great appreciation of the everyday Iranian, and they deserve better.
throwfaraway135 10mo ago
Although I fully understand why Iranians would protest, considering what happened to Syria and Libya, I would be very cautious.
boston_clone 10mo ago
[flagged]
abalone 10mo ago
I tried clicking on every number on this site and none of them linked to any primary sources. I clicked through on the first news item I saw, "Security forces open fire on woman filming them." This led to a post on X captioned 'Yasuj; "Firing a shotgun at a lady who was filming."' The attached video[1] did not show a weapon. It appeared to show uniformed forces on motorbikes and some kind of muted firing sound. A subsequent comment said: "Don't write the wrong text, it's marking with paintball so the operations team can arrest him. The sound of a shotgun is like this, don't give wrong information." To be clear, this is not meant to defend security forces firing paintballs at or arresting people recording them, just calling into question the integrity of this particular claim suggesting lethal force, and the overall lack of support for the figures claimed. [1] https://x.com/ManotoNews/status/2008440556867702830 https://x.com/ManotoNews/status/2008440556867702830
- breppp 10mo ago
  I don't know about this specific incident but Iranian forces have a history of firing at protestors with shotguns including last week https://iranwire.com/en/features/122471-crackdown-survivor-500-pellets-in-a-22-year-olds-body/ https://iranwire.com/en/features/122471-crackdown-survivor-5... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/31/armed-officers-confront-iranian-protesters/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/31/armed-offi... https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/iran-security-forces-use-live-ammunition-and-birdshot-to-crush-khuzestan-protests/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/iran...
fcpk 10mo ago
FDD -> Founded 2001 after 9/11 as "Emet"(truth in hebrew). Foundation for improving Israel's image in North America. Focused on "militant islamism" and has as primary architect a "maximum pressure against Iran" Mark Dubowitz. Consider the bias that this can imply. This is not to give credence to either side, just that there are very strong partisans everywhere pushing specific agendas.
aaomidi 10mo ago
Meanwhile Reza Pahlavi supported Israel bombing Iran and now: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-882490 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-882490 It's genuinely gross what US/Israel is doing by co-opting real grievances against the Iranian government to push their own puppet to lord over Iran. > "You have a very strong prime minister in Israel who is clearly on our side. I think that [US President Donald] Trump, unlike his predecessor, is definitely on a different path vis-à-vis what’s happening in Iran today. And you have Marco Rubio at the State Department. I believe he’s perhaps the first secretary of state ever since the Iranian revolution who truly gets it," Pahlavi said, praising the political echelons in both Jerusalem and Washington. Sigh.

57 points by nsoonhui 10mo ago

ulrischa 10mo ago

[flagged]

53p3h2 10mo ago
[flagged]
- ulrischa 10mo ago
  Is there also a page mapping protests in the usa? I guess not
  - dmos62 10mo ago
    Feel free to make one. Would you expect someone to cry "propaganda" if you did?
- ozlikethewizard 10mo ago
  While there are ongoing protests in Iran we should support, its never bad to question a source of information and examine it for bias. From their own footer: "FDD conducts in-depth research, produces accurate and timely analyses, identifies illicit activities, and provides policy options – all with the aim of strengthening U.S. national security and reducing or eliminating threats posed by adversaries of the United States and other free nations." Think its safe to say the majority of the world views the US as one of the largest threats to peace and democracy right now, so any source so obviously biased should be questioned.
  - dmos62 10mo ago
    That's true, and it's worth mentioning that both your parent and grandparent comments are painfully low-effort.
    - ulrischa 10mo ago
      And this comment is more low effort than mine. See my addition from Wikipedia for more effort
      - dmos62 9mo ago
        That's more like it.
  - ulrischa 10mo ago
    Exactly. Why is this pushed to HN front page with only 21 upvotes? > "The American political blog ThinkProgress criticized FDD for what it called "alarmist rhetoric and fear mongering" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Defense_of_Democracies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Defense_of_Demo...
  - deleted 10mo ago
    [deleted]
mobtrain 10mo ago
[flagged]
- dmos62 10mo ago
  I think it's good to explicitly point out that low-effort participation is discouraged on HN. It might not affect the actual "offender", but it's meaningful to the rest of the readers.
- deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]
coffinbirth 10mo ago
From Wikipedia: > The FDD is a think tank based in Washington, D.C., United States.[6][7] It has been described as a pro-Israel, anti-Iran lobby group > CEO is Mark Dubowitz > Mark Dubowitz is [...] a proponent of sanctions against Iran[2] and was a leading critic of the Iran nuclear agreement, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Conclusion: U.S./Israel "Think Tank" pushing for regime change in Iran financed by Isreal/Wallstreet money. So boring, always the same playbook. Of course, the underlying goal is to deny China oil exports from Iran. Venezuela as a major oil supplier to China is already coup d'état successfully. Go U.S.A, go!
- ulrischa 10mo ago
  Thanks for this addition.
- deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]
deleted 10mo ago
[deleted]

deleted 10mo ago

[deleted]

harel 10mo ago

My Iranian friends live between a state of high hope (at times like this) to crushing frustration when it does not succeed. I'm hoping we avoid the latter state this time around.

jillesvangurp 10mo ago
We can hope but I'm not very optimistic about this not getting crushed again or there being any more than a vague thumbs up from abroad for the protesters. It seems they are on their own. But I could understand Iranians choosing to stay safe rather then risk their lives protesting given the way this has gone in the past. On the other hand the sudden collapse of the Assad regime in Syria shows these things sometimes do happen. But I don't think similar conditions exist in Iran. There seems to be a lot of anger but very little organized opposition. But there are some reasons to assume the regime might fracture internally where religious extremists and conservative but more pragmatic opportunists running e.g. the military part ways. An Egyptian model might be more lucrative for those types where you get a kleptocratic elite getting more diplomatic about restoring international relationships in exchange for sanctions lifting and access to international markets to get filthy rich from the natural resources that Iran is currently sitting on. My impression is that the current unrest is caused by economics, not ideology. But a lot would need to change in Iran for this to happen. The poor health of Khamenei might trigger such a thing in the context of a wider leadership battle.
- buzzwords 10mo ago
  Have friends with relatives there. I think the fear of what's next is as potent as the frustration of what is happening with the current government.
- breppp 10mo ago
  > restoring international relationships in exchange for sanctions lifting and access to international markets to get filthy rich The issue is the Iranian elites are getting filthy rich from sanctions and have a vested interest in them. The IRGC has its own smuggling networks and its own companies which it can use to evade taxes and sell its own imported goods for lower prices locally

nisalperi 10mo ago

We did something similar during the 2022 Sri Lankan protests: https://protests.watchdog.team/heatmap https://protests.watchdog.team/heatmap

throwaw12 10mo ago

why don't we see such maps when it happens in the US (ICE, black lives matter, Palestine) or EU? Some people are very passionate about problems in other countries, or just contributing to propaganda

deleted 10mo ago
[deleted]
Cthulhu_ 10mo ago
Because you don't go and look for it but instead expect others or The Algorithms to do it for you? Sorry to be so blunt but this comes across as a "why isn't anybody doing anything!!" when many people are doing many things, just not you. Please do some googling before commenting. Anyway. https://usprotests.liveuamap.com/ https://usprotests.liveuamap.com/
- throwaw12 10mo ago
  who funds the link you shared? it also looks so incomplete fyi: FDD is funded by the US government, which probably means incentives the propaganda (e.g. to get promoted and so on)
waffleiron 10mo ago
Because this is funded and published for the following reason: > FDD conducts in-depth research, produces accurate and timely analyses, identifies illicit activities, and provides policy options – all with the aim of strengthening U.S. national security and reducing or eliminating threats posed by adversaries of the United States and other free nations.
- FuturisticLover 10mo ago
  The .org websites are not trustworthy anymore
fcpk 10mo ago
It's a Foundation with strong evidence of ties to Israel and an open agenda against (current) Iran. Don't be surprised.

oldpersonintx2 10mo ago

[dead]

cuuupid 10mo ago

Incredible to see so many comments claiming this is propaganda and claiming there are no such maps of the US, when a simple google search results in dozens of hits for such maps. It is impossible to walk around in any major US city without witnessing protests about various topics, we have never been shy about protesting and it’s a key element of modern American culture. Feel like every submission that I see on HN which is even vaguely political just devolves into “America bad” and conspiracy theories. I honestly preferred the “AWS bad” meta over this

GordonS 10mo ago
[flagged]
- keybored 10mo ago
  Conspiracy theory isn’t even a smear anymore. It used to refer to idiocy like Reptile Overlords. Now Conspiracy Theory just means the belief that organized groups have an agenda and can lie about their real agenda. People who yell Conspiracy Theories are just smearing themselves at this point.
coffinbirth 10mo ago
You see, Iran is sanctioned by the west for decades now, and these sanctions eroded the Iranian economy greatly, causing much pain and suffering for the people of Iran. These sanctions a major reason for the protest, so they are largely legitimate. To archive regime change, mix in (paid) violent protesters with AK's and Molotov Cocktails and add a Truth Social Post like > If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J.TRUMP there is your regime change!

wiz21c 10mo ago

Check "Monthly Protest Count" since september 2022 and you'll see things don't change much...

OhioMan2943 10mo ago
Numbers might be similar- but that doesn't mean the circumstances are. https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/iran-ayatollah-khamenei-escape-moscow-protests-revealed-h5f95ctb5?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqfGqD0XaqINJlDLKqtR-BV5s6SIuR5qAaPRrVMxG0XGK4OcLwes_9KxVVFvwwM%3D&gaa_ts=695c4991&gaa_sig=aB8OiBQCqKUssuS75CCPjQLjj-OV3lE8uxGzi30KGpgTLHZ9OIMmouvW0lXi0P5z8shQRA0Za-40yT74xfrNxA%3D%3D https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/iran-ayat... Remember. The axis is quickly being diminished (venezuela), and the financial and water situations are far worse now, as is the political one (coming off of a war which destabilised leadership). Just hope that it's not out of the frying pan and into the fire. I have a great appreciation of the everyday Iranian, and they deserve better.

throwfaraway135 10mo ago

Although I fully understand why Iranians would protest, considering what happened to Syria and Libya, I would be very cautious.

boston_clone 10mo ago

[flagged]

abalone 10mo ago

I tried clicking on every number on this site and none of them linked to any primary sources. I clicked through on the first news item I saw, "Security forces open fire on woman filming them." This led to a post on X captioned 'Yasuj; "Firing a shotgun at a lady who was filming."' The attached video[1] did not show a weapon. It appeared to show uniformed forces on motorbikes and some kind of muted firing sound. A subsequent comment said: "Don't write the wrong text, it's marking with paintball so the operations team can arrest him. The sound of a shotgun is like this, don't give wrong information." To be clear, this is not meant to defend security forces firing paintballs at or arresting people recording them, just calling into question the integrity of this particular claim suggesting lethal force, and the overall lack of support for the figures claimed. [1] https://x.com/ManotoNews/status/2008440556867702830 https://x.com/ManotoNews/status/2008440556867702830

breppp 10mo ago
I don't know about this specific incident but Iranian forces have a history of firing at protestors with shotguns including last week https://iranwire.com/en/features/122471-crackdown-survivor-500-pellets-in-a-22-year-olds-body/ https://iranwire.com/en/features/122471-crackdown-survivor-5... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/31/armed-officers-confront-iranian-protesters/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/31/armed-offi... https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/iran-security-forces-use-live-ammunition-and-birdshot-to-crush-khuzestan-protests/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/iran...

fcpk 10mo ago

FDD -> Founded 2001 after 9/11 as "Emet"(truth in hebrew). Foundation for improving Israel's image in North America. Focused on "militant islamism" and has as primary architect a "maximum pressure against Iran" Mark Dubowitz. Consider the bias that this can imply. This is not to give credence to either side, just that there are very strong partisans everywhere pushing specific agendas.

aaomidi 10mo ago

Meanwhile Reza Pahlavi supported Israel bombing Iran and now: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-882490 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-882490 It's genuinely gross what US/Israel is doing by co-opting real grievances against the Iranian government to push their own puppet to lord over Iran. > "You have a very strong prime minister in Israel who is clearly on our side. I think that [US President Donald] Trump, unlike his predecessor, is definitely on a different path vis-à-vis what’s happening in Iran today. And you have Marco Rubio at the State Department. I believe he’s perhaps the first secretary of state ever since the Iranian revolution who truly gets it," Pahlavi said, praising the political echelons in both Jerusalem and Washington. Sigh.