Destroying the hopes of those who believed in reform from within the Iranian regime
- Complicity in crimes and executions
- The policy of consolidation continues
- Standing on the right side of history
Whereas in 2018, thanks to the vigilance of the French, Belgian and German police, the regime failed to blow up the large gathering of Iranian opponents in Villepinte, Paris, with the aim of eliminating opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, this time it has succeeded completely in shattering the hopes of those who still thought reform was possible.
The morality police, like rabid dogs, are continuing their abuses. A young girl was severely beaten, and the video has gone viral. Executions are taking place at a frantic pace, and some political prisoners have been executed after 15 years in prison. The killing machine never stops. Meanwhile, the new president, Massoud Pezeshkian, refuses to take a stand and continues to think about saving a regime that he himself describes as being on the brink of collapse. Massoud Pezeshkian had declared that he had come to save a regime founded on the principle of the Supreme Guide, whose will takes precedence over that of the people, and whose security and military bodies all report directly to his office.
Those who hoped that a president could prevent the morality police from attacking Iranian women and girls, lift internet filtering, or whatever, are either charlatans and demagogues, or totally ignorant of the true nature of this regime. The second option seems unlikely, because anyone who has lived even one day under the boot of this medieval regime will understand that what is happening in Iran has nothing to do with a government in the conventional sense of the term. It is a mixture of pillage, unbridled despotism, dictatorship, religious fascism, totalitarianism, oligarchy and all forms of domination.
This entity, rising from the depths of history, has held Iran and its civilisation hostage for more than four decades by abusing the name of God and religion. Promoting reform and change to this regime from within, while demonising those who aspire to its overthrow, is not only charlatanism, but also active complicity with this regime to prolong its survival.
Complicity in crimes and executions
What Massoud Pezeshkian and his accomplice Javad Zarif, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, have done amounts to complicity in crimes and executions. They made people believe that, without a vote for Massoud Pezeshkian, Saïd Jalili, the unsuccessful candidate, and other hard-line figures, would come to power, which would be a source of regret, but too late to act.
They have ignored the fact that any real reform begins with the abolition of executions, the introduction of measures to control the morality police, and continues with the lifting of restrictions and the end of internet filtering, among other things. The President, who declares himself to be subject to the ‘general policies of the Supreme Leader’, has not even dared to speak out against the incessant executions and internet censorship, let alone question the ‘dissolution of the Guardian Council’ or other essential reforms.
The policy of consolidation continues
With the presentation of a cabinet whose composition has been dictated by Khamenei's office, it is once again clear that any expectation of change from within the regime is nothing but a mirage. The policy of consolidation, which Khamenei initiated during Hassan Rohani's last term in office to deal with the waves of national uprisings, now remains his only option. He no longer even has the capacity to manoeuvre. However, Massoud Pezeshkian is only accentuating the divisions within the regime. This regime can only survive through internal repression, warmongering and terrorism abroad.
It is undeniable that this regime is condemned to accept the fracture at the top, while internal contradictions exacerbate, deadly foreign policy crises accumulate, military impasses multiply, and society prepares for a new wave of uprisings. This situation is so obvious that even experts within the regime are aware of it and are issuing warnings now:
‘... If Mr. Pezeshkian doesn't take the right decisions, I guarantee you, in four months we will see massive demonstrations in the streets of Tehran, and it could degenerate into massacres across the country’ (Taghi Azad Armaki, YouTube Abdi Media, 22 August 2024).
Standing on the right side of history
In this context, a French journalist from a major daily newspaper, known for its complacency towards the Iranian regime, is making comments that encourage the Iranian regime to give in to its blackmail tactics regarding the hostages by putting pressure on the Iranian opposition that Tehran fears the most. Making this kind of statement in praise of cowardice is not only dishonourable but encourages the mullah regime to pursue its despicable hostage diplomacy even further.
Ali Khamenei knows better than anyone that uprisings even more powerful than those of 2022 are looming on the horizon, otherwise he would not have staked his entire strategy on consolidating his forces and his regime, at the cost of sidelining his best collaborators.
If we do not heed the call of the oppressed in Iran, who have been suffering for forty years under the most atrocious tortures, if we do not pay attention to the values of equality and justice stemming from the French Revolution to place ourselves on the right side of History, let us at least listen to Ali Khamenei, this senile old dictator, who never ceases to remind us, by a thousand and one signs, of the inevitability of his downfall.