Iranian Green Movement

The Iranian Green Movement (Persian: جنبش سبز ایران) or Green Wave of Iran (Persian: موج سبز ایران),^[1] also referred to as the Persian Awakening or Persian Spring by the western media,^[2] refers to a political movement that arose after the June 12, 2009 Iranian presidential election and lasted until early 2010,^[3] in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office. Green was initially used as the symbol of Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign, but after the election it became the symbol of unity and hope for those asking for annulment of what they regarded as a fraudulent election. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi are recognized as political leaders of the Green Movement.^[4] Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri was also mentioned as spiritual leader of the movement.^[5]

The Green Movement protests were a major event in Iran's modern political history and observers claimed that these protests were the largest since the Iranian Revolution of 1978–79.^[6][7][8] While the protests started out as a peaceful, non-violent movement, hundreds of people were arrested and several died as protests turned more violent in the following months. The movement eventually had trouble with retaining its momentum.