Israeli
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said he believes “the Arab Spring will
be followed by a Persian Spring,” with international sanctions against Iran
leading to renewed domestic unrest.
“The
Arab Spring will be followed by a Persian Spring, instability is spreading in
Iran, and not just in Tehran,” Lieberman told Israeli military radio yesterday.
“There is no doubt that the protest movement will be strengthened by the
approach of the Iranian presidential elections next summer,” he added.
His
remarks came a day after scuffles broke out in central Tehran in the first sign
of unrest over Iran’s plunging currency, which has lost more than half its
value since last week as European and U.S. sanctions have bitten. Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s rivals claim that economic mismanagement is the
main cause of the currency crisis. He blames Western sanctions but insists Iran
will make no concessions on its nuclear program.
“The
Iranian regime is reaching a critical point. International sanctions will not
convince the leaders of the country to renounce their nuclear program, but what
is important is that the Iranian people have begun to realize that they are not
ready to be sacrificed to satisfy the revolutionary and fanatic ambitions of
their leaders,” he said.
Lieberman
called on Western governments to act to help opposition activists who rose up
against the regime when Ahmadinejad was re-elected in 2009 and the most
prominent of whom remain under house arrest.
“This
time, the West must help the movement, facilitating its communications, giving
money and mobilizing international organizations like the UN Security Council,
the European Union and other bodies,” he said.
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