The newly releasedsecond audio recording of Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri’s meeting with members of Iran’s “Death Committee” brings to light further horrific details about the 1988 massacre of political prisoners—a crime now widely described as genocide and a crime against humanity. This recording, partially released in April 2025 and originally made on December 30, 1988, offers chilling confirmation that the killings were neither judicial nor necessary—they were deliberate, ideological, and systemically orchestrated.
Montazeri, then Khomeini’s designated successor, directly addressed Hossein-Ali Nayeri, Morteza Eshraqi, and Ebrahim Raisi—the judiciary officials at the heart of the massacre. These men presided over rapid-fire, extrajudicial interrogations that often led to execution within minutes. He condemned the actions carried out under the name of the Islamic Republic, declaring that the system of Velayat-e Faqih (absolute clerical rule) had become “disgusting” to the people. “Even the families of those executed are saying the Mojahedin were right,” he said.
This second recording builds upon the revelations of Montazeri’s first leaked meeting from August 1988, which he described as documenting “the greatest crime in the history of this regime.” In both tapes, Montazeri does not merely express regret—he issues a moral and legal indictment from within the regime’s own ranks. He attributes direct responsibility for the executions to the Ministry of Intelligence and Ahmad Khomeini, the Supreme Leader’s son. “You yourself told me,” Montazeri recalled, “that all those 10,000 Mojahedin supporters who merely read their leaflets should be executed.”
Perhaps most harrowing are the cases involving women—particularly 300 female PMOI (Mojahedin) prisoners, including two French nationals, captured during Operation Eternal Light in 1988. Khalkhali, known for his brutal enforcement of regime justice, insisted they all be executed. Montazeri pleaded for the lives of the two French women, warning of the diplomatic fallout. “I told them: ‘At least spare these two.’ Khalkhali said, ‘No. Execute them all.’”
Montazeri also spoke of a young woman whose will was filled with verses from the Quran and expressions of faith—yet she was executed merely for believing that the Islamic Republic had betrayed her ideals. “Can someone be executed for that?” Montazeri asked. “Even under Islamic law, she is not an apostate. She believed in God, the Prophet, the Quran—everything. She just didn’t believe in your version of the Islamic Republic.”
He challenged the religious basis of these executions, citing Islamic jurisprudence that prohibits the execution of women labeled mohareb (enemies of God), especially those who had not taken up arms. “Many of these girls weren’t even moharebs. Most had simply read a leaflet or expressed support. And yet you executed them.”
The regime’s obsession with total ideological conformity—especially regarding the PMOI/MEK—drove these killings. Khomeini’s fatwa ordered death not based on criminal actions, but on belief alone. A second, lesser-known fatwa extended this genocide to leftist and Marxist prisoners. The scope of the violence was staggering, targeting anyone who refused to renounce their convictions.
Montazeri proposed an alternative approach, not out of sympathy for the Mojahedin, but to protect the regime’s image. He even suggested publicly executing 100 known members and declaring their crimes to contain the fallout. But the actual course, he argued, had “no basis in religion or logic.” Instead, it left the regime discredited, and Velayat-e Faqih—once hailed by its founders—became a source of revulsion among the people.
Despite his efforts to protect the Islamic Republic’s foundations, Montazeri’s dissent cost him his position as successor to Khomeini. Still, his words remain among the most powerful internal indictments of the massacre, and a rare example of conscience from within the ruling elite.
This crime has drawn the scrutiny of international legal experts. In his latest report, Professor Javaid Rehman, UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, classified the massacre as genocide and crimes against humanity. He emphasized the vast number of perpetrators, from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei down to prison guards and intelligence operatives—many of whom still hold high office. “Those who committed crimes against humanity during the 1980s and beyond must be held accountable,” the report states. “Impunity must end in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has echoed this call, insisting that no official involved—from Khomeini to his successors—should be shielded from prosecution. These crimes were not isolated events, but part of a systemic campaign to erase political opposition through terror and slaughter.
Montazeri’s second tape is more than an archival document. It is a mirror—held up by one of the regime’s founding architects—reflecting the Islamic Republic’s fear of dissent and its willingness to commit atrocities to maintain power. In the end, it failed to silence the resistance. The executed did not vanish into history. Their courage has become a symbol of moral clarity in a time of darkness, and the conscience of a nation that still seeks justice.
