Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Iran Today
Feeling the Pressure
Iran is a country under intense pressure. With the Arab Spring felling regimes across the re-
gion, the isolation of international sanctions, dangerous levels of inflation, high unemploy-
ment and the ever-present threat of a targeted military strike, you could be forgiven for
thinking something has to give.
In 2009, 18 months before Tunisia kicked off
the Arab uprisings, it seemed to many that
change would come through the ballot box.
When that didn't happen millions took to the
streets in support of the opposition Green Move-
ment, protesting what they claimed was a rigged
election and calling for the president to step
aside. But a violent crackdown ended the
demonstrations, its leaders were put under house
arrest and thousands of regime opponents have
since been jailed or disappeared.
The Green Movement was the sort of spontaneous uprising that Iranians had been pre-
dicting for 10 years. That it failed, followed by the ruthless efficiency shown in rounding
up opponents, has left many people feeling hopeless and paranoid. Some Iranians we spoke
with would remove the battery in their already-switched-off phone before discussing polit-
» »» Population: 78 million
» »» Area: 1,648,195 sq km
» »» GDP: US$480.3 billion
» »» GDP growth: 2.5%
» »» Budget surplus: US$35 billion
» »» Inflation: 22.5%
» »» Unemployment: 15.3%
» »» Population living below the poverty line: 18%
Search WWH ::




Custom Search