Judiciary Chief Claims Iranians Abroad Want To Return But Lack Trust
Iran’s chief justice says a significant number of Iranians living abroad express a desire to return but grapple with a lack of trust in the regime.
Iran’s chief justice says a significant number of Iranians living abroad express a desire to return but grapple with a lack of trust in the regime.
Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei stated that mechanisms to foster trust between Iranians abroad and the government could help in this regard.
“We should treat the Iranians returning from abroad, including tourists, with utmost courtesy and dignity at key points such as airports, consulates, and embassies. In this way, the negative impact of foreign propaganda against our country can be neutralized,” he added.
Current estimates suggest that four to five million first-generation Iranians have settled in other countries, and the number may increase when considering their children born abroad, often acquiring Iranian citizenship. Some estimates propose that the total number of Iranians outside the country could be around eight million.
However, many Iranians living abroad, especially those with dual citizenship who could be accused of espionage for foreign governments, hesitate to return due to fears of being denied exit or facing imprisonment for their political activities or criticism of the regime while residing abroad.
In recent years, dozens of dual nationals, particularly citizens of Western countries such as the United States, Britain, and Germany, have been sentenced to prison on charges of espionage. The Islamic Republic often employs the individuals as bargaining chips in negotiations with foreign governments or exchanges them with Iranian prisoners in return for financial considerations.
Speaking to followers, Khamenei emphasized on Tuesday: "Everyone should make efforts to mobilize the people," underscoring the significance of the masses. He pointed out that "A limited number of people, let's say two million [in Gaza], have effectively challenged Israel and the United States, despite the latter’s immense power," unintentionally acknowledging his perceived arch-enemy.
The turnout in Iran's latest elections were between 20 to 40 percent in 2020 and 2021, but conservatives now predict a turnout between 5 to 8 percent in March. Iranians seem to be deeply annoyed by the indifference of the regime and its officials to their demands for more freedom and improved economic conditions.
The inflation rate is officially just under 50 percent, but for some essential commodities, such as foodstuff it is much higher. On the other hand, the regime's brutal crackdown on the 2022 nationwide protests, which left hundreds killed and blinded, as well as the hardliners' insistence in making life harder for everyone by passing medieval laws about hijab, meting out lashing sentences to women, and making the Internet inaccessible, has increased the extent of dissent in the country.
Meanwhile, the Raisi administration's inefficiency to solve the country's economic and foreign policy problems has become more evident with its inability to keep the country safe. Around 90 people were killed and twice as many were seriously wounded in an ISIS attack last week in the city of Kerman, where the government bused in school children and their mothers to pay tribute to the former commander of the IRGC Qods Force, Qasem Soleimani, on the fourth anniversary of his death.
Raisi's blunders elicit sad laughter from people every single day. One day, he states the obvious, saying he has discovered that the mothers of all students are women, while on another occasion, he struggles to read from a prepared speech. On Tuesday, he said that "inefficient individuals in every office should be transferred to another department."
Not all blunders are made by Raisi. His Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi who is under pressure to explain his failure to prevent the terror attack in Kerman, said in an interview that the food delivery company ‘Snap Food’ should change its name because "food" is an English word. He was obviously mindless of the fact that "snap" was also an English word. On the other hand, thousands of other companies also need to change their brand names if the government seriously wishes to do away with foreign words.
Culture Minister Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili also claimed on Monday that a million visitors came to Iran during only one month to enjoy concerts! This comes while concerts are not allowed in some Iranian provinces due to the influence of hardliners such as Friday Imam Ahmad Alamolhoda, who happens to be Raisi's father-in-law. Several Iranian singers including Toomaj Salehi are in jail for supporting the protests, and the best Iranian singers and musicians are in Los Angeles, although their music is popular among people in Iran.
Khamenei, whose Guardian Council has barred nearly all moderate and reformist candidates from running in the March election, and effectively restricted political participation to ultraconservatives, knows that he can no longer ask the people or order them – for instance by issuing a fatwa [religious decree] – to take part in the elections. So, he resorts to ordering officials and institutions to push the people to the polls in any which way they can.
Meanwhile, he tried to intimidate the nation by saying that not voting is playing into the hands of the United States and other enemies of the Islamic revolution.
Khamenei said, "The masses can do anything." But he probably forgot that he ordered his commanders to suppress the masses. Only in one protest in 2019 his security forces killed at least 1,500 people from among the masses. In the meantime, Khamenei has done little to pacify a disgruntled nation that has lost all hope in any positive change.