Khamenei tacitly acknowledged that he is powerless to stop the protests by MEK activists.

On Monday, May 18, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) released excerpts of a video conference between regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a group of young Basij Force university students who are being groomed to prevent the overthrow of the regime. Khamenei’s remarks laid bare his fear of the MEK Iran and the growing social unrest within Iran, as well as his desperation to hold onto power.

Please Do Not Protest against the System

Khamenei tacitly acknowledged that he is powerless to stop the protests on university campuses that have undermined his power since the 2017/2018 Uprisings but pleaded with the students to avoid protesting in a way that could lead to calls for regime change. “Do not allow your protests to be viewed as protests against the Islamic system; the enemy is waiting for this. Sometimes, you may assume that you are protesting the issue of the stock exchange or Pride [an Iranian car manufacturer]. But depending on the way you protest, the enemy views or implies it as a protest against the system. You must seriously prevent this from happening and not allow the enemy to have an opportunity to make such an assumption because of your protest or imply to others that this is a protest against the system,” he said, adding, “It would be good if you are at the forefront of demands. If you stop leading in this arena, then others may take the lead whose aim is not to resolve the people’s difficulties but are aiming to fight against Islam and the Islamic Republic. Don’t allow that. In other words, this must not happen.”

Khamenei acknowledged the students’ hatred toward the regime’s functionaries at the universities and said, “Sometimes, officials come to the universities or go to students’ gatherings to engage in a dialogue, but are jeered… I have repeatedly advised officials to go and speak with students at the universities. To brief them… They say we go; the students who gather are not interested in understanding and clarifying the issues. Their aim is to undercut us. For this reason, officials do not come… I request that you do not block the atmosphere of dialogue. When insults and slanders occur, the dialogue is blocked. Do not let this happen.”

Please Do Not Join the MEK

Khamenei warned the Basijis that the MEK attracts many followers on university campuses and urged the students not to stray from the regime. “Places of gathering for young people, including universities, have been the target of two major evils: passivity and deviation. In the early days of the revolution, we had some young people who believed in Islam…. They were attracted to the MEK… And joined their path,’ he said.

Khamenei further revealed his fear of the MEK Iran when he stopped to clarify a point that should have been obvious to his audience. “Expand the revolutionary front. Recruit … Of course, I don’t mean the MEK Iran, the non-believers … I do not recommend that we appease those who do not accept the foundations of the revolution, cast doubt on its foundations, promote the enemy, and put us on the wrong path. Not at all. You must deal with them explicitly and strongly,” he said. “They [the enemy] also work on our youth and try to exploit them and are planning for this.”

Please Do Not Desert the Islamic Regime

Khamenei was forced to acknowledge the increasing number of IRGC and Basij Force soldiers who have fled the country in recent years as the regime has weakened and many have become unwilling to enforce the regime’s suppressive policies. He said: “Some who were weak in their beliefs and unfortunately deserted or became remorseful after some time. One of the issues of our revolution is these very remorseful fellows who were revolutionary at some point and now regret it.”

The NCRI article also cited a recent report from the Erja news website, which is affiliated with Khamenei. The report stated: “For two years, we have seen that the MEK Iran has reactivated their sleeper cells one after another, calling them Resistance Units. They assign sabotage operations to them through a centralized command. Even after the suppression of the November uprising, the Mojahedin leader (Massoud Rajavi) issues a message that ‘The triumphant strategy of the Liberation Army was proven in Resistance units, districts, and cities… It is not without reason that His Eminence (Khamenei) has repeatedly warned about the danger of an insidious enemy in the past two years, and called on Basijis to be ready in every city and district and has ordered the system in its entirety to prepare itself to face down the enemy which seeks its overthrow.”