Hard on the heels of the violence and political confusion in Israel and of anti-government protests in Lebanon, Iraq and Kuwait, the unrest is spreading to Iran sparked by a petrol price rise. Saudi Arabia should be next in line.

The Iranian economy has registered a 10 percent GDP drop since the US withdrew from the 5 + 1 agreement (May 8, 2018). The price of western imports has quadrupled whereas the income of certain categories of workers and artisans has been halved.

Unable to work out a solution together, the government and the Revolutionary Guards are locked in a fierce battle. Iranian president, Sheikh Hassan Rohani, asked the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to decide between the two camps by holding a referendum. But according to the question asked, one camp will be favored over the other.

The demonstrations are particularly violent in Khuzestan, the Arab region bordering Iraq. Iranian Arabs and Iraqi Shiites are simultaneously rising up to challenge the paralysis of the two-headed power in Tehran. Preventively, the Iraqi government has closed its border with Iran while allowing goods to go through.