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Source: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/provinces-lead-the-center-in-irans-protests
Iran Protests Include an Ethnic Element
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Prof. Brenda Shaffer - The momentum of the demonstrations in Iran remains strongest in the border provinces rather than Tehran. The current protests include an ethnic element that was absent from the 2009 uprising. Minority grievances are amplifying economic grievances, which are worse in the provinces. In social media, participants in demonstrations are often using minority languages such as Kurdish and Azerbaijani to voice slogans of ethnic pride. The majority population of most border provinces is non-Persian. The largest group is Azerbaijanis (24 million), followed by Kurds (8 million), Lurs (3 million), Arabs (3 million), Turkmens (3 million), and Baluch (3 million). At the same time, many minority citizens identify completely as Iranian. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is Azerbaijani. The writer is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.