On February 11, it will have been 43 years since the Iranian anti-monarchical revolution took place. The Pahlavi dynasty were ejected from their position of power following decades of corruption and oppression, with Iranians rejoicing and hoping for a better tomorrow with the promise of freedom and democracy. However, this was short-lived.

Ruhollah Khomeini ascended to power and began to establish the Islamic Republic he had envisioned. He became the first Supreme Leader of the new Iranian regime and completely side stepped the promises he had previously made, instead continuing with the corruption and oppression that the former monarchy was notorious for. His reign of terror has continued to the present day.

Since 1979, the Iranian regime have sent tens of thousands of Iranians to the gallows for opposing their theocratic rule. During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Khomeini prolonged the conflict, which resulted in dozens of destroyed cities in both countries, as well as the deaths of millions of innocent civilians. When Iran was forced to accept a ceasefire towards the end of the decade, Khomeini, not satisfied with the death and destruction he had already cause, ordered the mass executions of political prisoners incarcerated in Iran, the majority of whom were members of the regime’s opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said, “Khomeini’s successors have perpetuated his evil legacy as Iran under the mullahs’ regime is the world’s leading per capita executioner of its own citizens. In November 2019, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) gunned down over 1,500 peaceful protesters. By pursuing a criminal policy centered on deception and inaction, the regime sent Iranians to the Covid-19 minefield, killing over half a million citizens.”

Regime officials have consistently been involved in many crimes against humanity over the past four decades, including the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and his president Ebrahim Raisi, the latter of whom played a major role in the 1988 massacre in Iran, and they continue to enjoy impunity and commit further atrocities.

Even though we are only half way through the second month of 2022, the regime has already carried out at least 50 executions. The numbers accumulated for last year, confirmed by independent sources, equated to around 365 prisoners who were hanged in Iran’s prisons.

When Khomeini ascended to power in 1979, he promised, “Free electricity, water supplies, and free transportation and bus services,” claiming that the country’s oil revenue would cover these costs. This promise turned out to be completely hollow, as the regime soon began to squander the wealth of the Iranian people in order to carry out their malign activities. Notably, these activities involve the funding of its terrorist proxy groups across the Middle East, including the Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis, as well as advancing its nuclear program

In recent years, the regime’s corruption and mismanagement at all levels has resulted in the worst economic crisis that Iran has ever experienced. More and more Iranians are falling below the poverty line on a daily basis, with no way out and no hope for the future, as the regime are clueless as how to resolve the situation.

The NCRI said, “Considering the atrocities, the clerics ruling in Tehran have committed in the last four decades, some question whether Iran was better off during the Shah’s reign. However well-intentioned, these voices are ignorant of what brought about the Iranian revolution and why it turned out the way it did.”

The Iranian people are desperate to overthrow the regime at all costs, but the last thing they want is to return to the past. Across many different protests over the past few years, one of the most popular chants has been, “down with oppressor, whether the Shah or the Leader (Khamenei).”

Caught in the midst of extreme poverty, and the Covid-19 pandemic, the Iranian people are doing all they can to survive. Despite their hardships, their courageous spirit is helping them to fight back against the ruling theocracy as they continue to take to streets in ever-growing protest movements across the country, day after day.

The NCRI said, “Nowadays, the MEK’s Resistance Units act as trailblazers of the fight against ruling theocracy and keep the spirit of the 1979 revolution alive by their activities and efforts to break the wall of repression and foment an organized nationwide uprising that will bring an end to the nightmarish rule of the mullahs.”