The regime in Iran has come under immense domestic and international pressure recently. Most vivid are the sweeping sanctions imposed by US Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump.
These developments are sparking an endless stream of reactions from Iran’s senior officials and various media outlets. Over 500 interviews, reports, posts, sessions, book introductions and others events have been discussed in this regime’s official outlets, all regarding the opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
On Saturday the Iranian opposition held a very organized and massive meeting in a huge auditorium north of Paris. Members of the Iranian community outside the country gathered from five continents to support the Iranian opposition’s effort to establish democracy and freedom in Iran under the banner of #FreeIran.
Hundreds of political, religious, legal and military dignitaries were joined by human rights and women’s rights advocates delivered speeches in support of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its President, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, a Muslim woman believing in a tolerant and democratic Islam.
As the international community rightfully focuses on Iran’s meddling in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen (in addition to its ballistic missile belligerence), one aspect that should remain under the spotlight is Tehran’s atrocious human rights violations.
Congress and the Trump administration are turning up the heat on Iran already. Concurrently, 265 members of the European Parliament issued a joint statement on Monday expressing their grave concerns about the mullahs’ “human rights violations, repression of women and minorities and the Iranian regime’s support of terrorism.”
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responded to a variety of very serious questions raised by House of Representatives members in a recent hearing focusing on U.S. policy vis-à-vis Iran. Representative Ted Poe (R) from Texas touched on what many believe is the ultimate issue when he said:
“I’d like to know what the policy is of the U.S. toward Iran. Do we support the current regime? Do we support a philosophy of regime change, peaceful regime change? There are Iranians in exile all over the world. Some are here. And then there’s Iranians in Iran who don’t support the totalitarian state. So is the U.S. position to leave things as they are or set up a peaceful, long-term regime change?”
The current plan for sanctions against Iran leaves the regime between a proverbial rock and hard place since its choices are complied or die.
The adoption of “Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017” by the United States Senate has rendered a variety of reactions from Iran resembling the terrified status of the regime’s senior ranks. Iranian media have widely referred to this new bill and the resulting authorizations as the “mother of all sanctions” and the “sanctions black hole.”
Iran’s leaders are criticizing Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East and the resulting agreements. But sanctions and public pressure are having an effect.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei lashed out strongly at the Arab coalition and the United States in strong remarks recently.
“The U.S. president stands alongside the leaders of a tribal and backward system and does the sword dance, but criticizes an Iranian election with 40 million votes… Even with a multi-billion dollar bribe to America, the Saudis cannot achieve their goals in the region,” he said.
My article was originally posted on American Thinker
The end result of Iran’s presidential election has created further rifts and launched a more intense power struggle amongst the regime’s senior ranks. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, fearing a repeat of the 2009 scenario of nationwide uprisings, failed to “engineer” the election results with the aim of unifying his regime apparatus. Khamenei sought to prepare conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi as his heir by first placing him in the presidency, similar to the process he himself went through.
