Iran's #internal problems are also greatly #exaggerated and #weaponized by the #West. Or blaming the #national government for #local or #societal problems.
Most of the #stereotypes people have about Iranian society (and the #MiddleEast broadly) as #repressive are based on actual laws in US-ally #SaudiArabia.
The Saudi #regime benefits, too. Their #abuses get to be seen as "just a Middle Eastern thing all countries there do". So they don't get held to #accountability.