Iranian Regime's Protests Against Quran Burning Intensify

Speaking at the Aspen Security Conference, Anthony Blinken also expressed concern regarding Iran's actions abroad and said the regime had "gone global" by taking action against dissidents around the world, in countries including in the United States, in addition to stepping up assassination attempts on the likes of Jewish and Israeli targets.

Blinken said recent nuclear discussions have brought the US closer to its E3 allies, the UK, Germany and France, with whom he acknowledged there had until recently, been "real division". "We’re working very closely together to deal with some of the excesses committed by the regime," he said.

He admitted he feels "real concern" over Iran's nuclear progress and told the conference: “We have the concern that after having put its nuclear program in a box with the JCPOA, with that agreement no longer in force, Iran has speeded ahead with the production of fissile material for a nuclear weapon.

Blinken also acknowledged the courage of Iranian women and girls leading what he called "extraordinary protests" and expressed concern over the measures taken by the regime to suppress them.

He also voiced concern about Iran's actions in the region, particularly its support for groups involved in destabilizing activities. Blinken highlighted the dangerous exchange of technology between Iran and Russia, with drones provided to Russia having a devastating impact in Ukraine.

Many Iranian activists and some US lawmakers, however, criticize the administration for its continuing contacts with Tehran to reach agreements, that could free billions of dollars in frozen assets further enabling the regime.

The fact that hardliners are Ali Khamenei’s preferred political force has been proven in the past, but others have to wait and see if the Supreme Leader will allow them to compete in the upcoming parliamentary vote.

Some are speculating that possible coalitions among relatively moderate groups could boost their chances success, but whether they will be approved by the Guardian Council controlled by Khamenei is entirely unclear.

If most political forces outside the hardliners are banned from running, the elections will turn into another low-turnout event, further eroding legitimacy.

Some are warning, however, that powerful groups of politicians do not want high voter turnout, so that conservatives and hardliners keep control of the legislature, despite deep public anger at multiple crises gripping the country.

While insiders wait to see in what direction the wind will blow, most ordinary Iranians have long given up on regime politicians and elections to shape a better future for them. One of the slogans in recurring nationwide protests has been, “No conservatives, no reformists.”

Moderate conservative Politician Mehrdad Lahooti told reporters in Tehran that politicians such as former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, who do not belong to the regime’s leading political factions, might form a coalition with moderate conservatives in a bid to increase their chance of being elected during the March 2024 parliamentary elections.

He called Larijani a national political figure whose influence goes beyond the boundaries defined by political factions. Lahooti added that both the moderate conservatives and the independents have already started their election campaigns. However, there is no indication in the media showing independent politicians starting electoral campaigns, while candidate registration for the March 2024 vote is still three months away.

In a recent interview with IRGC-linked Fars news agency, Mansour Haqiqatpoor a politician close to Larijani accused some conservative circles of trying to tarnish the former Speaker’s image by spreading the rumor that he has sougt political asylum in Scotland. Refuting the rumors, Haqiqatpoor said Larijani will certainly speak about the upcoming elections soon but reiterated that there is no indication yet that he is interested, although that can change in the coming months.

In fact, Larijani and other moderate, centrist, independent and proreform politicians are waiting to see a signal from Khamenei and his instruction to the Guardian Council.

Haqiqatpour said: "Larijani is the Supreme Leader's soldier. If he receives a signal that the leader does not want him to nominate himself as a candidate, he will certainly not put a step forward, but if he comes to the conclusion that the leader wants him to come forward, he will surely announce his candidacy."

Meanwhile, former presidential candidate and pragmatist politician Mostafa Hashemi Taba told reporters that "some powerful groups do not want the people to go to the polls" in March. By "powerful people" Hashemi was likely alluding to officials at Khamenei's office, the top echelon of the IRGC and its intelligence service and last but not least, the mighty ultraconservative Paydari Party, that wants to hold all the political power and not share it even with other conservatives.

Hashemi Taba further explained that groups with a radical approach want to continue the rule of the all-conservative government. He added: "I see no indication of any effort on the part of the country's officials to hold a high-turnout election, and I do not believe that this situation is going to change during the coming months.

In another development, Bijan Moghaddam, a political analyst close to Khamenei's office told Nameh News website in Tehran: "Usually conservative groups have two objectives in every election: To win the election, and to ensure a high turnout." He added that high turnout can be an outcome of either a coalition between all the conservative groups, or competition."

So far, it appears that the regime's choice between the two options is to forge a major coalition rather than holding a competitive election.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani Friday said charges by Ukraine and Western countries are mere "accusations" lacking credible evidence, insisting that it has not supplied drones to Russia for any aggressive purpose.

However, hundreds of these drones have been shot down over Ukraine with multiple pieces collected by the Ukrainian military and in one case even a complete drone was put on display late last year.

The European Union's decision to impose additional restrictive sanctions against Iran comes after the Islamic Republic already faced three previous sanctions for drone exports to Russia. The latest measures target the export of components used in the construction and production of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from EU member states to Iran.

Iran had consistently denied providing any drones to Russia to be used in the conflict with Ukraine until November 2022 when credible evidence forced foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to admit that some were sent to Russia "before the war with Ukraine."

The United States and its main NATO allies have warned Tehran to cease military cooperation with Moscow and any weapons shipments.

In response to mounting criticism, Nasser Kanani asserted that any attempt to link the situation in Ukraine to Iran-Russia bilateral cooperation is a "purely political act."

Iran maintains that its relations with Russia are based on “shared interests and mutual agreements, unrelated to any military involvement in other regions”.

The news was brought to light by Mohammad Hossein Ajorlou, a reporter, and husband of Niloofar Hamedi, a journalist who is in prison for covering the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 after her arrest for violating hijab rules.

According to Ajorlou, the incident took place Thursday, at approximately 5:30 in the morning. The morality police patrol intervened during the female athletes' routine workout session at the popular coastal boulevard.

Some local runners present at the scene have expressed their dismay over the incident. One of the runners described the scene: "In the mornings, when we go to the coastal boulevard to run, there are all kinds of crowds. Some have not collected their hookahs from the night before, some of them are still drunk and are speeding past us in their cars. A number of addicts are looking for a piece of bread in the garbage bins, but the police arrest athletes.”

The incident has sparked outrage among the community, as the female athletes were merely engaged in a peaceful morning workout.

The names and identities of the arrested female athletes have not been disclosed at this time, and it remains uncertain under what charges they were detained.

In the aftermath of the nationwide protests following the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, the Islamic Republic has intensified its efforts to enforce mandatory hijab.

However, a resilient wave of Iranian women and girls has chosen to defy these restrictive measures by appearing in public places without hijab.

In a critical interview with the newspaper Arman-e Melli, Mohammad Dadkan raised concerns about various aspects of governance in Iran, including the regime’s crackdown on voices of dissent. 

"With pressure and force, what do you expect to achieve? You boast about arresting 92,000 people. You claim that 20 million people have legal cases, which means 60 million people are affected when considering their families. By forcing everything to appear right, what will be the outcome in the end?" he said. 

Dadkan quipped that the regime sought to become an Islamic Japan but has become an Islamic North Korea, claiming that "If the leader of North Korea says in the morning that the border is open, he himself won't stay either. If they open the bridge between the two Koreas, not a single person will remain in North Korea. 

Dadkan has served in several positions related to sports in Iran, including as a physical education advisor at the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Industry, Mine and Trade. He was the president of Iran’s Football Federation from 2002 until 2006, during which Iran’s national squad finished third in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup and ranked 15 in the FIFA standing, its best so far. In the past two decades, Iran's Team Melli has not achieved a better title.

The number of politicians who once held important positions in the Islamic Republic but are now critical of the regime has been growing, especially since people revolted against the Islamic autocracy after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. Iranian analysts and politicians continue criticizing the ruling establishment for the country’s multiple crises within the limits of controlled media.

Hossein Marashi, a leading centrist politician in Tehran, said earlier in the week that the governance and politics in Iran have reached a deadlock and people need to take the lead to help themselves. "I have no hope in Iranian politicians. The elites in society should come forward with determination and make their point, and whatever they need to do. I have hope that the people will change the scene." 

Last week, prominent economist Mehdi Pazouki told Didban Iran website that government officials have humiliated the nation in the name of their revolutionary approach. Pazouki said, in an unprecedented and daring statement, "One of Khomeini's mistakes was allowing clerics to intervene in the country's social and executive affairs." 

He was referring to the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who after the 1979 revolution gradually expelled independent-minded people from the government and increasingly relied on clerics that he knew had no experience in running a country.

Regime insiders, pressed hard by serious economic crises and popular rejection, try to blame everything on invisible enemies.

Ahmad Alamolhoda, the representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Khorasan Razavi province, whose financial corruption case within one of Iran's biggest charities was recently revealed, said Friday that "The enemy wants to undermine the clergy in the eyes of the people.” 

Dadkan elsewhere in his extensive two-hour interview drew a comparison between the responses of the Iranian and French governments to popular protests. He pointed out that while the French government took action against the police officer who shot and killed a 17-year-old boy of Algerian descent, Iran's approach was markedly different. He emphasized that in Iran, officers who harm or kill protesters are often praised instead of being held accountable for their actions.

Ahmad Alirezabeigi, a member of the Iranian parliament who was sentenced to imprisonment this week for disclosing a major bribery case involving at least 75 other lawmakers and a former Industry Minister, accused officials of evading their responsibility and adding insult to injury by making statements that blame the people for the government's shortcomings.

Masih Mohajeri, a conservative newspaper editor, said in a strongly worded article earlier this week that, "People refuse to accept that in a country with such wealth and resources, a few individuals amass fortunes while millions of families are in poverty.

Dadkan echoed these sentiments saying that the ruling power places its incompetent supporters in crucial positions and manipulates information to distort the true state of affairs in the country. "The state-controlled television is biased, and spreads lies,” he emphasized. 

These regime supporters he said pretend to be religious and the "have made a business out of it,” asking why is it that “out of 72,000 mosques across the country, "50,000 are dormant.”