Politicians Say Ignoring The People Led To Iran Protests
A reformist figure in Iran says the government has no will to communicate with the people amid a full-fledged crisis, which increases public dissatisfaction and anger.
A reformist figure in Iran says the government has no will to communicate with the people amid a full-fledged crisis, which increases public dissatisfaction and anger.
While Iran has been overwhelmed by street protests for more than five months, Ahmad Khorram, a cabinet minister in the late 1990s and early 2000's reformist government said in an interview with moderate news website Rouydad24 that Iranian officials are reluctant to listen to the people as they have lost their sensitivity to their expectations.
Pointing out that the use of violence is the government's first and often only response to people's demands and protests, Khorram said that violent approaches have not worked elsewhere in the world, and they will not work in Iran either.
He observed that what is happening today is extremely different from what was meant to happen after the 1979 revolution. He said the government responds with insult and violence to anyone asking why this has happened. This approach, Khorram said, has eroded people's trust in the government.
The turnout in the latest elections in Tehran was around 26 percent, Khorram observed, adding that the government's own opinion polls show that its popularity has plummeted to less than 20 percent in recent months.
Critics say that amid sanctions and economic hardship, the regime decided that loyal hardliners should take over the parliament in 2020, and then using its veto power over candidates, arranged for an ill-prepared hardliner become president in 2021.
He said that inquiries by reformists during a meeting with the country's top officials has revealed that they are aware of the crisis, but they are reluctant to address it properly and that they have no plans to tackle the existing dissent.
Earlier, former diplomat Jalal Sadatian had said that the government routinely resorts to violence instead of relying on its social capital. As a result, the unity and coherence of the Iranian society has been lost, he said.
Sadatian suggested that the "sources of emulation," or Iran's highest ranking Shiite clerics should try to hold meetings with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and communicate people's demands to him. The suggestion by Sadatian, a pragmatist politician, indicates that Khamenei has lost touch with realities on the ground and as it was evident in his latest meeting with officials on February 18, he is under the illusion that the regime enjoys tremendous support.
Meanwhile, Sadatian charged that the government has failed to understand why recent protests have taken place. He argued that economic and social demands have been the main driving forces behind the protests. However, inefficient management, wrong decisions, and insisting on non-democratic political processes have also played major parts in the situation that led to Iran's biggest nationwide protests in 44 years.
Sadatian added that embezzlement, corruption and ignoring people's dire financial situation were among other factors that led Iranians to take to the streets in protest. He added that giving key posts to incompetent officials has been one of the main reasons why this situation has occurred.
In such a situation holding a dialogue between the government and academics and experts can be helpful but the current all-conservative government in Iran ignores experts' views and therefore, cannot find a way out of the crisis.
Sadatian said that the situation is so critical that some embassies in Tehran have called on foreign nationals to leave the country because the diplomats are concerned about their safety and well-being, "but it is doubtful if I can tell you about the real reasons for that or if you can publish it if I talk about them!"
“The Home Secretary and I absolutely condemn this outrageous violation of our sovereignty, and the attempted violation of the human rights of those journalists,” he said, after the British government determined credible threats to the Persian news network emanating from the government of Iran.
The network announced on Saturday that it decided to move its studio and broadcast operations to its office in Washington DC after more than three months of threats the British police reported against its journalists.
Tugendhat told parliament that “In response, we have put in place an extremely robust range of security measures, including armed policing.” A suspect was arrested February 11 in the vicinity of Iran International’s headquarters in London. He was later arraigned at court on suspicion of terror-related activities.
He explained that despite the security measures put in place and considering the “severity of the threat and the particularities of this site, Counter Terrorism Policing have advised Iran International to move to a more secure location in the United Kingdom.” Until then, he added, the network has “chosen to continue their broadcasting from existing studios in the United States. I can assure the House that this measure will be temporary.”
Tugendhat also announced that UK officials are looking to find a temporary location for the UK operations until a permanent and secure headquarters can start operations for the network.
During the session, Labour MP Holly Lynch said: We should be appalled that Iran International felt the need to close its office after a series of threats made against their brave journalists…IRGC is so free to establish support in UK. We have to stop it. Why are Supreme Leader’s [Ali Khamenei] representatives still here.” Lynch was referring to the Islamic Centre of England and an individual carrying the title of Khamenei’s representative.
The security minister in his speech mentioned this issue and said the government is looking into it, since the outfit is apparently registered as a charity.
Tugendhat said, “Tehran’s efforts to silence Iran International are a direct attack on our freedoms and an attempt to undermine our sovereignty.
They will fail.
Democracy is as much about journalists and civic activists as it is about politicians.”
He pledged that the government will take further action in response to to these threats and said that it has set up the Defending Democracy Taskforce.
“The Government, police, agencies, and our allies are working together to ensure Iran International’s UK operations will resume. These threats will not silence us – nor them,” he insisted.
The security minister told the parliament that Iran’s clandestine operations in the United Kingdom are not new. “Between 2020 and 2022, Iran tried to collect intelligence on UK-based Israeli and Jewish individuals. We believe this information was a preparation for future lethal operations.”
As the session was taking place, the government announced that it summoned Iran's most senior diplomat in London to protest at what were serious threats against journalists living in Britain.
"I am appalled by the Iranian regime’s continuing threats to the lives of UK-based journalists and have today summoned its representative to make clear this will not be tolerated," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.
Citing the great cultural and literary heritage of Iran, Tugendhat said that today “the tyrants in Tehran have betrayed those great pillars of Persian civilization and are trying to silence those words and their own people.”
A diverse group of figures delivered speeches in the Belgian capital condemning the Islamic Republic and its multifunctional armed force, the IRGC, expressing solidarity with the dissidents in Iran who have been out on streets since September protesting for the fall of the clerical regime.
Alireza Akhondi and Darya Safai, two representatives of Iranian origin in the parliaments of Sweden and Belgium were among the original organizers of the rally, meant to push the EU for the inclusion of the IRGC in the list of terrorist organizations in the European Union.
During the demonstration – accompanied by musical and theatrical performances, women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad called for unity among Iranian opposition figures, a demand which has been echoed repeatedly by prominent activists since a historic forum in Washington earlier this month by eight prominent dissident activists heralded a united front.
Alinejad said, "The secret of our victory is our unity. We are scarred by the same regime for years... We will not win if we do not hold each other's hands."
Canada-based activist leader Hamed Esmaeilion, whose daughter and wife were killed by the IRGC in the shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner in 2020, said that the Revolutionary Guard was established to defend the Islamic Revolution and not the Iranian people. "There is still no mention of Iran in the name of this institution," he noted. "After the war with Iraq, the Revolutionary Guard became an economic and security monster, and today it is the most important instrument to suppress the people of Iran," he added.
"In future Iran, there'll be no IRGC. Army will protect the country's territorial integrity. Military won't interfere in politics. And the economy will be controlled by experts instead of eulogists in uniform," he said.
Former US President George W. Bush, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, member of the Chamber of Representatives of Belgium Theo Francken, Former Assistant to the US President for National Security Affairs John Bolton, Executive Director of United Nations Watch Hillel Neuer, Member of the European Parliament Abir Al-Sahlan, and member of the Hamburg city parliament Danial Ilkhanipour delivered speeches or sent messages for the Brussels rally.
Concurrent with the gathering in the Belgian capital, another rally was held in the German city of Dusseldorf.
Also on Monday, the EU sanctioned 32 Islamic Republic officials, including culture and education ministers, deputy IRGC commander, and several MPs. The move can be seen as a measure to justify the fact that the EU is not yet ready to designate the entirety of the IRGC.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the EU would propose sanctions targeting for the first time Iranian economic operators involved in the Russian war in Ukraine. "For the first time we are also proposing to sanction Iranian entities including those linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard," she said.
In January, the block's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the European Union cannot list the IRGC as a terrorist entity until an EU court has determined that they are, noting "Ministers adopted a new package of sanctions against Iran, targeting those driving the repression. The EU strongly condemns the brutal and disproportionate use of force by the Iranian authorities against peaceful protesters," he said but no action was taken to designate the IRGC.
There have been numerous Iranian terror acts in Europe, where courts have indicted top officials. In addition, IRGC’s record in organizing attacks elsewhere are well-documented. Critics say that Borrell is focused on re-starting nuclear talks with Iran after the previous long round of negotiations in 2021-2022 ended last September without success.
The European Parliament has called on the EU to list the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist entity, blaming it for the repression of domestic protests and the supply of drones to Russia.
Moreover, EU legal experts have declared that the bloc does not currently have legal grounds to list Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday.
"As of now, we don't have legal grounds in the EU to list the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization," Baerbock told reporters at the end of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
The United States has said it is not pursuing the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, or the JCPOA, and instead its attention is on the popular movement in Iran and on Tehran’s supply of kamikaze drones to Russia.
The IRGC was set up shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shi’ite clerical ruling system and provide a counterweight to the regular armed forces.
It has an estimated 125,000-strong military with army, navy and air units. It also commands the Basij religious militia, a volunteer paramilitary force loyal to the clerical establishment which is often used to crack down on anti-government protests.