The Iranian regime has reportedly enlisted the aid of foreign militias to keep civilian protests down, according to social network expert Effi Banai, who spoke to 103FM's Sivan Cohen on Thursday.
Social media content emerging from Iran paints a complex and increasingly tense picture, Banai said, adding that the regime appears to be trying to prevent a widespread outbreak of protests by reinforcing its presence on the ground.
“We see the pressure on the regime on social media. They have brought in militias from abroad, from Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. They are helping them impose order. They go around in trucks, in civilian clothing, carrying machine guns. The soldiers speak Arabic rather than Persian, [which the locals notice and comment about on social media]. They are imposing terror in the streets so that people won’t go out and protest. The regime knows its people are hungry, desperate, and are afraid they will take to the streets again,” he said.
The Iranian regime is growing increasingly concerned with the unsettled public
Banai, a lecturer and researcher of social networks, said the steps being taken reflect growing concern within the regime. “This shows weakness. The regime is under pressure. I don’t think it will take months for people to go out into the streets - it will take less. They went through a month-long war, and that war drained all their reserves.”
He added that internal power struggles are further fueling the instability. “Mojtaba [Khamenei] has disappeared, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has taken over the regime, and that’s why we are also hearing two voices. There is a major struggle between the elected government and the IRGC, who are more extreme, but they do not understand the meaning of hungry civilians. In my opinion, they will understand it the hard way.”