Jerusalem Post: Iran accuses Israel of ongoing protests in country

The Iranian regime accuses external forces of inciting protests among ethnic Azerbaijanis against the authorities in the country, primarily, the regime accuses Israel. This accusation is repeatedly broadcast through the official Telegram channel of the Revolutionary Guard, Report informs referring to an article in The Jerusalem Post.

“The origin of current tensions is Tabriz, a city located in northern Iran. The city and all its surrounding area is populated by close to 25 million ethnic Azeris, who wish to break away from Iranian rule and create a separate state of South Azerbaijan,” reads the article.

“Another wave of protest against the Iranian regime recently occurred in the city.

Over recent months, the regime suppressed demonstrations and conducted a wave of arrests. Iranian security forces even resorted to a massacre where dozens of residents were killed.

It should be noted that this is a city of great importance to the murderous Iranian regime, and the fear among the channels of power is that should the city and its surrounding area declare independence, it would create a catalyst for the fall of the regime.”

“The demonstrators have recently been employing creative methods, and have attempted various elaborate means to sway public opinion in their favor. Activists have even begun hanging numerous signs displaying the flag of independent South Azerbaijan. Leaflets have also been stuck on surfaces at administrative and public facilities under the control of the security forces,” the article noted.

Further, the article tells about the skirmish on Twitter between the ambassadors of Israel and Iran in Azerbaijan. Diplomats exchanged critical remarks on social networks, which caused a wave of wide discussions.

Last year, the Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan, George Deek, tweeted a message in his Twitter account that particularly upset the Iranians. In his tweet, he wrote about a book he had read, which recounts the historical ties between Azerbaijan and its culture with the city of Tabriz, insinuating that the city belongs to the Azerbaijani nation and not Iran.

The tweet caused a violent response from the Iranian ambassador in Baku, Seyed Abbas Mousavi, who named him “pompous, evil Zionist [who] will be buried by the zealous people of Tabriz.”

“Tabriz is a historical place for the Azeri citizens,” says Rabbi Zamir Isayev, rabbi of the Georgian Sephardic community in Baku. Tehran blames the Jews and Israel for inciting protests and rebellion, but the Azeris don’t buy into this propaganda, reads the article.