• Commentary
  • Research
  • Experts
  • Events
Carnegie China logoCarnegie lettermark logo
{
  "authors": [
    "Karim Sadjadpour"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

The Continuing Protests in Iran

The street calm in Iran is misleading, although the scale of demonstrations has subsided, the depth of people’s sense of outrage and injustice has not.

Link Copied
By Karim Sadjadpour
Published on Jul 1, 2009

Source: BBC Newshour

The strong opposition among the Iranian people to the highly controversial Presidential elections has generated a wave of repression from the Islamic regime. Karim Sadjapour asserts that the “official counts of those imprisoned and killed are vastly understated, we are looking at probably several thousand individuals who have been imprisoned and several hundred killed.”

Over the last several days the street protests have seemed to quiet, but, according to Sadjapour, “the street calm is misleading, although the scale of demonstrations has subsided, the depth of people’s sense of outrage and injustice has not. One way of measuring this is too listen to people’s chants, which they are making from their rooftops at night, of “Allahu Akbar” (God is great). This is reminiscent of the chants from the 70’s during the revolution and from all accounts these cries are as loud as they have ever been.”

About the Author

Karim Sadjadpour

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

    Recent Work

  • Q&A
    What’s Keeping the Iranian Regime in Power—for Now

      Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour, Robin Wright

  • Q&A
    How Washington and Tehran Are Assessing Their Next Steps

      Aaron David Miller, David Petraeus, Karim Sadjadpour

Karim Sadjadpour
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Karim Sadjadpour
Political ReformMiddle EastIran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie China

  • Commentary
    China’s Evolving Economic and Security Role in the Middle East

    The advantage that China has over other global powers, especially America, is that its foreign policy is closely aligned with those of many of the Middle Eastern countries.

      Jin Liangxiang, Maha Yahya, Hesham Alghannam

  • Commentary
    China’s Rising Influence in the Middle East

    Transactional relationships are stable but can be shallow.

      • +1

      Paul Haenle, Maha Yahya, Benjamin Ho, …

  • Commentary
    Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Has Jeopardized the China-EU Relationship

    “It’s not so clear how we’re going to get out of this.”

      Paul Haenle, Philippe Le Corre

  • Commentary
    What the Russian War in Ukraine Means for the Middle East

    It’s about managing oil prices, bread prices, and strategic partnerships.

      • +8

      Amr Hamzawy, Karim Sadjadpour, Aaron David Miller, …

  • Commentary
    The Race of Chinese Companies in the 5G Competition

    With the potential of enabling not only significant economic growth but also the innovation of critical technologies in various fields, both the United States and China view 5G as one of the key influencing factors in the “great power competition.”

      Lyu Jinghua

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie China
Carnegie China logo, white
Keck Seng Tower133 Cecil Street #10-01ASingapore, 069535Phone: +65 9650 7648
  • Research
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie China
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.