This year marks the 43rd anniversary of Iran’s anti-monarchical revolution that overthrew the monarchy and the Shah’s dictatorship in 1979. The monarchy was replaced by the mullahs and their regime, headed by Ruhollah Khomeini, who have been desperately trying to cling to power for the past four decades.
Within the past year, the Iranian people have fought back against the weakening regime now more than ever. Alongside them, their organized resistance has been guiding them on their path towards freedom, holding rallies, demonstrations, and protests up and down the country.
Last June, the regime held a sham presidential election, even though they knew full well who would be installed as the regime’s next president. The Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) obtained information, at the time, that of all of the eligible voters in Iran, less than 10 percent turned out to cast their ballots which shows just how much contempt that the Iranian people have for the regime and their rule over Iran.
Ebrahim Raisi was installed as the regime’s president at the behest of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a bid to help him consolidate power within the regime. Following Raisi’s inauguration, Khamenei also had a hand with installing cabinet members, which consist of many security and military veterans who are known for their involvement with the regime’s campaign of corruption, terrorism and repression.
The MEK said, “Many of Raisi’s ministers are under U.S. sanctions for their role in the regime’s illicit activities and human rights violations. Two of his key officials are wanted by Interpol for involvement in international terrorism. Raisi himself is blacklisted by the U.S. for his human rights violations as the head of the Judiciary, making him the first regime president to be the subject of foreign sanctions before taking office.”
The regime’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, has often laid out his intention to focus on a foreign policy based on terrorism. He has previously vowed to support the regime’s proxy terrorist groups across the Middle East, and pledged to ‘continue the path’ of Qassem Soleimani, the mastermind behind many of the regime’s terror operations. The former commander of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force was assassinated in January 2020 in a U.S. drone attack in Iraq.
The MEK said, “Officials are constantly warning that the people are infuriated about the role of the mullahs in the country’s politics and economy. Millions of people see the stark contrast between their impoverished lives and the lavish and opulent lifestyle of the mullahs; they see their non-existent freedoms contrasting with the unearned privileges that the mullahs and their children enjoy.”
The Iranian people have been vocal about expressing their hatred of the mullahs’ regime, especially within the past year. Protests and demonstrations have erupted across Iran by all sectors of society, with each one more intense than the last. Most notably, the biggest protests have been in response to the severe water shortages in Khuzestan and Isfahan, among other provinces. Also, the teacher protests have been ongoing for the past few years, as they demand better pay in a country ravaged by inflation.
The MEK’s network inside Iran, referred to as the ‘Resistance Units’, have supported and been behind many of the protests, helping to deliver “strategic blows to the mullahs’ apparatus.” Earlier this year, they were responsible for torching a statue of Soleimani, in an act of defiance to the regime, that was unveiled in the city of Shahrekord to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of his elimination.
A major hack of the regime’s state media on January 27 was also due to the MEK’s network. In several disruptions across the board, footage of the Iranian Opposition’s leaders was broadcast across Iran, adding to the concerns of regime officials of the MEK’s influence in the country.
The MEK said, “Terrified of protests and uprisings, the clerical regime has accelerated executions to instill an atmosphere of terror. The regime is also emboldened by the appeasement policy of the West, which includes seemingly ceaseless concessions for Tehran to entice it to return to the highly flawed 2015 nuclear deal. Despite the regime’s crackdown and ongoing appeasement from the West, the past 12 months have made crystal clear for the regime the threats to their core from the Iranian people.”
