2018 was a disastrous year for the Iranian regime. Widespread protests weakened the mullahs’ already tenuous grip on power; the United States withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, worsening an already calamitous economic climate within Iran and signaling a radical shift in the old Western policy of appeasement toward the mullahs; and the European Union continued that shift by placing two senior regime Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) agents on the EU terror blacklist, as well as imposing sanctions on the MOIS.

The regime has spent a great deal of time and effort attempting to preserve the EU’s policies of appeasement toward the mullahs since the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. Now that the regime is seeing the consequences of its foiled terrorist plots against the MEK on European soil, the reactions by regime officials are unsurprising.

Regime Officials Fault Europe for “Harboring” MEK

Regime Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded to the EU blacklisting with hostility and in a bid to divert the attention away from regime’s terrorist activities, tweeting, “Accusing Iran won’t absolve Europe of responsibility for harboring terrorists.” Zarif was referring to the MEK, whose members reside peacefully in countries across Europe. The blacklisted MOIS agents were both involved in terrorist plots against the MEK on European soil.

Europe’s Sanctions Are Welcome, Now A Change In Policies Is Required.

MP Declares a Diplomatic Attack on Iran

Iranian regime MP Alireza Rahimi in an unwanted acknowledgment of MEK’s support among Politicians in Europe claimed that European leaders had been infiltrated by the MEK and urged Zarif to warn all of the regime’s European ambassadors about this diplomatic attack on Iran.

Rahimi said: “It is necessary for the Foreign Ministry to summon the ambassadors of Denmark and the Netherlands, and provide necessary explanations in this regard, demanding they not allow a number of extremist European states to damage or downgrade relations with Iran…”

Threats to Withdraw from the Nuclear Deal

Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Parliamentary Director General for International Affairs and Assistant to Speaker of the regime Parliament Ali Larijani, one of the regime henchmen who has been involved in suppressing MEK dissidents in Camp Ashraf, made perhaps the most startling statement admitting regime’s fear of  the opposition, when he tweeted that Iran might withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal entirely.

He tweeted: “Having strong relations w/ #Europe is part of #Iran foreign policy’s logics. But West should face a ‘shock’ to realize we won’t remain in one-way tunnel of the current #JCPOA at any cost. Now, safe Europe for #terrorists & #MEK has to get a logical, prudent but shocking message.”

The Regime’s Fear is a Sign of Changing Times

A Terrorist Regime

The Iranian regime and its agents were foiled for terrorist activities against the MEK last year in Albania, Paris, the United States, and Norway. Asadollah Assadi, a regime diplomat, is currently awaiting trial in Belgium for masterminding a foiled terrorist attack on the annual gathering of the Iranian Resistance in Paris last June.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian opposition, tweeted this about the need to expel the regime’s diplomats:

“I would like to once again reiterate –on behalf of a Resistance movement which has been seeking the oil and arms embargo of the mullahs’ theocracy since 1981—the need for taking the following steps, [including recognition of the Iranian people’s right to overthrow the Regime and expelling the mullahs’ terrorist diplomats from other countries.”

Staff Writer

The clerical regime in Iran uses a variety of tactics to spread propaganda amongst the people. One of its most insidious methods is the use of Friday prayer leaders. Each week, these men use the guise of religion to promulgate the talking points of the mullahs.

As it has become clear that the protests that have been taking place across the country for over a year are not going to stop because of the regime’s efforts to intimidate and suppress the people, Friday prayer leaders have stepped up their warnings about the MEK and its role in the ongoing efforts to bring back democracy in Iran. In the process, the leaders have exposed the regime’s fear of the popular uprising and its potential to topple the theocratic regime.

MEK Network: Fact Sheet on Protest Suppression

“Plans of the Enemy”

Over the past few weeks, this phenomenon has been particularly pronounced. Friday prayer leaders have referred to the “plans of the enemy” and “uprisings by the disenchanted population” against the Iranian regime.

Mohammad Taghi Keramati, Golpaygan’s Friday prayer leader described an enemy who wants to “destroy the roots of the establishment.” Despite these ominous words, he said that officials should not be afraid and lose their resolve in the face of this enemy.

The most important development in 2018, was the uprisings and protests of the people of #Iran against the clerical regime. #IranRegimeChange

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) January 14, 2019

Ghorbanali Dori Najafabadi, Arak’s Friday prayer leader, named the MEK as the enemy of the Iranian regime in his sermon and said that the regime must “resist against the enemy with vigilance and awareness.”

Mohammad Reza Naseri, Yazd’s Friday prayer leader, said in his sermon that regime officials should be cautious about believing rumors. “The enemy intends to cause mistrust in officials and the goals of the revolution through rumors,” he warned in a sermon that was streamed on social media.

#Iran: Protest Gathering of Teachers in Kermanshah
January 10, 2019. The teachers and educators of Kermanshah – western Iran. Staged a protest gathering against two months non-payment of their salaries and wages in front of the education office of the city. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/4f69bWZyWB

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 10, 2019

Fear of the MEK

Some prayer leaders sought to hide their anxiety about the upheaval taking place around the country by expressing relief that the Islamic Republic still stands.

Hormozgan’s Friday prayer leader, Gholamali Naeem Abadi, said, “As we approach the 40th anniversary of the Revolution, all the enemies who prayed for the destruction of the establishment have themselves been destroyed.” (It is worth noting that the MEK has not, in fact, been destroyed, and the regime and all of its officials and prayer leaders are abundantly aware of this, as are the Iranian people.)

Yusef Ghassemi, Kangan’s Friday prayer leader was less celebratory. “As Iran puts the 40th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution behind, the enemies are trying to push protests toward strife by assembling working groups,” he said.

MEK Resistance Units Are Organizing a Revolution

Villainizing the MEK Abroad

I call on the people of the world to support the Iranian people’s resistance and uprising to overthrow despotism, religious discrimination, and a regime which is the central banker of terrorism and the enemy of peace and freedom in the region and the world.#Iran#FreeIran pic.twitter.com/vmCC5NPbIP

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) January 9, 2019

Yet another common thread among Friday prayer leaders’ sermons has been a fixation with the MEK’s activities abroad. Mohammad Ali Ale Hashem, Tabriz’s Friday prayer leader, said that the MEK is “a group that has disagreed with the principles of the Islamic Republic for four decades and is seeking its collapse.” He described the MEK’s activities in Europe as a cause for concern and demanded that the European Union “respond to the Iranian people about harboring [MEK members].”

 

Staff Writer

 

 

Customers that had purchased vehicles from Bahman Khodro gathered outside the company’s headquarters in Tehran on Sunday, January 13th, reports by the MEK network said. They had all handed over their money, but none had yet received their purchased vehicles.

Latest report from #Iran covering various #IranProtests.https://t.co/4ro99jW1ek

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 13, 2019

Bahman Khodro is a subsidiary company of the Bahman Group, a company joined-owned by a number of Iranian investment companies with close ties to the ruling regime. One of the Bahman Group’s largest shareholders, Mehr-e Eqtesad Financial is an investment arm of the Mehr Eqtesad Bank which was recently on the receiving end of US sanctions over its involvement in financing the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Quds Force terrorist plots.

Another Bahman Group shareholder, Ghadir Investment Company, was also sanctioned due to its close financial relationship with the Iranian regime.

The Start of a 2019 Protest Wave

As angry customers protested in Tehran, simultaneous protests erupted in Shadegan and Abadan. In Shadegan, Khuzestan province, municipal workers gathered to protest their unpaid wages. Many of the city’s workers have not received a paycheck in more than eight months and have had to seek alternative means of employment to ensure their family’s survival.

In Abadan, also in Khuzestan province, municipal workers also gathered to protest their unpaid wages. The workers of Abadan have reportedly now gone three months without receiving a paycheck.

Elsewhere, in Yasuj, customers of the Bank-e Ayandeh (Future Bank) gathered outside the bank’s Yasuj branch demanding their deposits. There have been increasing reports that the bank has gone bankrupt, which led to protests outside branches across the country as panicked investors demanded their money.

Although the Iranian Central Bank has denied Bank-e Ayandeh’s bankruptcy via state-run media outlets, this has done little to ease public concerns.

Customers remember the events of 2017 that led to thousands of Iranian investors and bank customers losing their deposits after state-backed financial institutions engaged in fraudulent behavior to trick the public out of money.

As customers fear of losing their savings once more, calls for Bank-e Ayandeh to return customer deposits are increasing.

Whether or not the Iranian public will receive their funds remains to be seen. But the protests sweeping across Iran once more are indicative of the surging influence of the Iranian opposition heading into 2019.

Protests among the Iranian public are showing no sign of letting up as the Iranian regime continues to weaken. Many in the opposition movement are predicting 2019 will be a pivotal year for the Iranian resistance. All indications so far support this conclusion.

Staff Writer

Looted customers held protests this weekend in Tehran and Mashhad to demand the return of their savings, MEK sources report from inside Iran. The protests are the most recent in a series of protests by customers in cities across Iran who have had their savings stolen from them.

Escalating corruption & fraud are fueling more protests across #Iran.#IranProtestshttps://t.co/vZjLn4ME1k

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 14, 2019

Customers of the Caspian Credit Institution gathered in Tehran on Sunday to demand that the regime’s parliament hold the credit firm accountable for the illegal Ponzi scheme that robbed millions of Iranians of their savings and investments.

Teachers are continuing protests & demanding answers from #Iran's regime.#IranProtestshttps://t.co/iw5Tl1uo75

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 14, 2019

Badr Tous Clients Protest

On Saturday in Mashhad, clients of Badr Tous, one of the financial institutions which merged with Caspian before it declared bankruptcy, protested in front of the governorate in Khorasan Province.

The protesters addressed officials at the Caspian Credit Firm and the Iranian regime when they chanted, “Is this the Central Bank, or the center of thieves?”

“Caspian has committed theft, the government has supported it!”

The protesters were clear in stating that the regime was complicit in the looting of their savings. They also vowed to continue to protest until their money is returned. Credit firm clients have protested off and on for well over a year now, so their threats carry weight.

Bankruptcy and Looted Accounts

In 2017, Caspian and four other credit institutions declared bankruptcy, emptying billions of dollars of money from its investors’ accounts. The credit institutions, which were closely tied to regime officials, had received permits from regime ministries to take investor money and were widely trusted by the Iranian people. Three years prior to their collapse, the credit institutions began collecting investments from Iranians, promising high rates of return. Many people deposited their life savings into the credit institutions, believing that they would be safe there. After the collapse of the credit firms, the customers found their accounts were empty. Protests have been taking place since then. The MEK has reported on the ongoing protests as they have occurred.

MEK Network- Iran: Looted Credit Institution Customers Protest

Sekeh Samen Clients Protest

Also on Saturday, customers of the website Sekeh Samen gathered in front of the headquarters of the Gold and Jewelry Union in Tehran to protest the union’s corrupt practices. The union was one of the primary supporters of the website. Protesters entered the union building and chanted slogans as part of their demonstration.

Sakeh Samen was launched in 2016 as an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of precious metal coins and gold products. The site claimed to provide 24-hour services worldwide. However, in August of 2018, the website suddenly took down its online trade section, supposedly for maintenance. The Gold and Jewelry Union, which is responsible for regulating the trade of precious metals, then ordered the closure of Sekeh Samen altogether. Thousands of online traders were left with emptied accounts and no way to collect on their debts.

The Gold and Jewelry Union claimed that Sakeh Samen did not have a work permit, but the union had actively promoted the site on its online portals and in its facilities. The site’s inexplicable closure has triggered another series of protests against the regime’s financial corruption and mismanagement.

The MEK supports the protests against the regime and its corrupt economic policies. The mullahs’ mismanagement of the Iranian people’s wealth affects people from all walks of life, and it will only get worse until the regime is toppled and Iran is free.
Staff Writer

Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, made a speech in Cairo outlining the termination of the United States’ policy of appeasement towards the ruling mullahs in Iran. He said,

“we joined the Iranian people in calling for freedom and accountability”, adding, “the age of self-inflicted American shame is over, and so are the policies that produced so much needless suffering.”

He reiterated the need to form strategic partnerships with the mullahs’ international enemies, suggesting that when these forces collaborated, they were able to “advance.”

Following his statement, Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the Iranian opposition, which includes the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK),  welcomed Pompeo’s announcement and welcomed an end to the policy of appeasement that has characterized US Iranian policy for decades.

She reiterated that the Iranian regime relied on a climate of fear, instilled by the accumulation of long-range weapons of mass destruction, violations of human rights at home, and the export of state-sponsored terrorism abroad.

Recognition of the National Council of Resistance of #Iran, as the sole democratic alternative to the regime, is imperative to rectifying four decades of appeasement. These are essential steps in facing a regime which only understands the decisive language of force.#FreeIran pic.twitter.com/fWbFGIzrDs

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) January 13, 2019

Mrs. Rajavi asserted that the only way to end the religious fascism that has typified this regime is through the Iranian public and their unwavering pursuit of regime change.

She reiterated the importance of international governments and organizations recognizing the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as the only viable democratic alternative to the Iranian regime.

Maryam Rajavi calls for necessary steps to rectifying and ending the disastrous policy of appeasement

Maryam Rajavi and the MEK have long advocated for a transition to a democratic Iran. She has put together a ten-step plan to democracy that would ensure a smooth transition from the authoritarian dictatorship under the mullahs, to a free Iran governed by principles of a secular democracy.

#MaryamRajavi's statement welcomes @SecPompeo's announcement that the U.S. will no longer protect #Iran’s ruling mullahs &his emphasis that“We joined the Iranian people in calling for freedom &accountability.”&an end for the policy of appeasement.#FreeIranhttps://t.co/VP47yutZtH pic.twitter.com/lBUImTviuV

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 12, 2019

Maryam Rajavi and the MEK advocate the following measures to help bring democratic governance to Iran:

1. International recognition of the Iranian people’s right to overthrow the mullahs’ fascist dictatorship and remove themselves from the shackles of the repressive regime.
2. The addition of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) on EU and US terrorist entity lists.
3. The expulsion of Iranian regime agents from the US and Europe.
4. The referral of Iranian human rights violations to the UN Security Council.
5. The opening of an international tribunal to investigate the murder of 30,000 political dissidents in the summer of 1988.
6. The removal of the Iranian clerical regime from the UN and the immediate recognition of representation of the people’s just Resistance.
7. The expulsion of the Iranian regime’s forces from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.
8. Compelling the government of Iraq to pay compensation for the properties, equipment, arms, and camps the PMOI/MEK and the National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA), which had fully paid for them and whose evidentiary documents are available.

Staff Writer

Iran News Wire recently published a report on the Iranian regime’s widespread use of torture in its four decades in power.

Thanks to the Iranian people’s Resistance & uprisings,freedom & popular sovereignty are looming in the horizon. The day is not far when the Iranian people will be able to live free from the menace of executions & torture & #Iran will become a garden blessed with freedom & justice pic.twitter.com/wFlBYAgHtu

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) October 27, 2018

Despite the regime adamantly denying using torture methods, the report highlighted the role flogging plays in the Iranian penal code. The clerical regime has made flogging a punishment for more than 100 offenses. The punishment method has been entrenched in the regime’s justice system and dished out in a multitude of cases.

#Iran Under the regime’s laws, at least 148 crimes are punishable by flogging and 20 others are punishable by amputation. Sentences which are considered torture by human rights defenders and the international law.#IranRagimeChange https://t.co/48Icr4O0GB pic.twitter.com/cuSoB5A3nu

— IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) July 13, 2018

Torture as an Interrogation Method

Iran News Wire reported that torture has been used in interrogations since the 1980s. Reports have consistently shown that regime agents routinely use physical torture methods to force confessions from prisoners.

The Iranian public also has limited legal protections and recourses available should they receive torture at the hands of the regime. They are unable to take their complaints to any legal authority and the regime is free to carry out torture without ramification.

Esmail Bakshi, a labor activist who recently recounted the torture he experienced in regime custody, is now facing charges from the regime for publicly reporting his ordeal. The activist told the world in an Instagram post that regime agents tortured him “to the brink of death,” over a period of thirty days.

Torture and Execution in the 1980s

In the early days of the Islamic Republic, the regime adopted violent and abusive torture methods. In 1988, the regime tortured and executed more than 30,000 political prisoners, mainly supporters of the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK), a political opposition group.

#Iran:#Torture &other illtreatment of detainees remained common especially during interrogation, and was used primarily to force confessions pic.twitter.com/dVpsa9WxDq

— IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) June 10, 2017

In a recent report from Amnesty International, investigators concluded, “by concealing the fate and whereabouts of thousands of political dissidents who were forcibly disappeared and secretly executed in prison 30 years ago, Iranian authorities are continuing to commit crimes against humanity.”

Amnesty International Holds Press Conference Following its Landmark Report on 1988 Massacre

Those that were in regime custody in the 1980s have frequently called the period one of the darkest times in regime history. Torture was widespread and often brutal. Women reported being systematically raped before their execution.

Torture in the 21st Century

In the early 2000s, students became the object of much of the regime’s brutality and violence. Following a wave of student protests, many Iranian students were imprisoned and held in regime custody. Many have since shared their memories of torture and abuse at the hands of the regime’s agents.

In 2009, after protests erupted following contested elections, many activists and members of the Iranian resistance were arrested and taken to Kahrizak Detention Centre. There, many were raped, sexually abused, and physically and psychologically tortured.

At least 5 inmates died during torture sessions.

With a capacity of 50 prisoners, Kahrizak was filled with hundreds of inmates. Eyewitnesses report limited ventilation and toilet facilities. They recount that guards beat them with metal bars, electrocuted them, sexually abused them with batons, and forced them to urinate on other bound prisoners.

More recently, since 2010, the rise of technology has offered an even clearer glimpse into the regime’s use of torture. Those detained are able to write about their experiences in online blogs.

These blogs have indicated that the regime has focused its energies on psychological torture methods in recent years. It has routine employed sustained solitary confinement as a torture method, as well as the harassment of families of those imprisoned.

#Iranian authorities have transferred Mehdi Farahi Shandiz, teacher and political prisoner in Karaj Central Prison, to solitary confinement. Farahi Shandiz has been kept in solitary confinement for an entire week for unknown reasons. #Iran pic.twitter.com/Jfny13vIwS

— IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) December 28, 2018

Agents have withheld medical treatment, including for those suffering from cancer. Rape is also still widely used as an intimidation and torture method.

Following the nationwide uprising in December 2017 and January 2018, dozens of prisoners perished in regime custody while undergoing torture. The regime attempted to hide their murders by claiming the prisoners were drug addicts and had committed suicide in prison, however, few have been persuaded by this narrative.

After 40 years, Iran’s citizens are tired of the regime’s rampant use of torture and human rights abuses. They are making their voices heard and standing up to this brutal and abhorrent regime.

Staff Writer

Speaking to the state-run ISNA news agency, Hesamodin Ashna, an advisor to Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani, conceded that the domestic protests that have racked Iran for the last 12 months were unlikely to stop.

The regime insider told viewers that the cause of the protests had not been resolved. The issues in the Iranian economy were still present. Therefore, it was unlikely the protests would abate.

He said that the economic conditions that had prompted widespread protesting across Iran in the 1990s existed in Iran today. Only this time around, he conceded, the protests had “much more depth” than protests of the past.

A Look at the 1990s Protest Movement

In the 1990s, the Iranian cities of Mashhad, Qazvin, and Islamshahr were affected by large-scale protests. In response, the regime imprisoned, tortured, and executed a large number of protestors.

Several regime officials have expressed concerns that the conditions that led to these widespread protests were present in the Iranian political and economic landscape of today.

Iranian regime’s Interior Minister Alireza Rahmani Fazli, said last March that the conditions within Iran were such that just “a spark would flare” the protests.

In the interview with ISNA, Ashna said that the protests that took place across the country last year had the explicit goal of overthrowing the government. He said, “some people thought that the government could be weakened without weakening the state, but experience from the December 2017 protests showed that the weakening of the government and the state were one path.”

“If there was a plan for these protests,” he continued,” it was to bring down the state and if there was none, the state could still have collapsed.”

For the mullahs, the Iranian government is the political institution headed by Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet. However, the state is considered to be the political system itself, characterized by the Islamic Jurist (or Vilayat-e-Faqih). The head of the state is the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the authoritarian who makes the bulk of the decisions in Iranian society.

A Red Line

While the Iranian regime has not been able to prevent the protests, criticism of the state and the Supreme Leader is a red line.

If 2018 saw a Wave of Protests, 2019 Will see a Tsunami

In this context, the 2018 protests that saw protestors chant, “Death to Khamenei!” will have been a particular source of discomfort for the mullahs and the clerical regime.

Another cause for concern was the breadth of the protest movement. The People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK), the largest and most influential opposition group, was able to mobilize a significant portion of the Iranian population, including from demographics traditionally seen as the regime’s support base.

The Security Deputy of the Minister of the Interior, Hussein Zolfaghari, expressed his concern and acknowledged that the opposition protests had “crossed all the country’s political factions.”

The widespread disapproval of the government and the state has led many in Iran to adopt the position that the only way to cure Iran and resolve the public’s political grievances is through regime change.

Instead, the regime has adopted a more violent approach to curbing the spread of discontent. In the December 2017 protests, which engulfed all of Iran’s 31 provinces and spread to 142 towns and cities across the country, the regime’s security forces slaughtered 25 protestors. Ten further protestors died in regime custody after the protests in suspicious circumstances.

At least, 8,000 protestors were imprisoned during the period of nationwide unrest, based on the reports from MEK sources inside Iran.

As Ashna states, the circumstances that led to the nationwide uprising are still present. Therefore, there is nothing stopping protests of a similar scale to emerge in 2019. In fact, given the continued deterioration of the Iranian economy, the rising inflation, and the plummeting purchasing power of the Iranian rial, 2019 is likely to be a year of even more protests and instability.

The mullahs’ days are numbered. They know it. The MEK knows it. And the Iranian public knows it.

Staff Writer

The Iranian regime is using the guise of sending satellites into space to conduct missile tests.

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a stern warning and made the United State’s states position very clear. He said in a statement that any such action would violate the UN Security Council’s resolution which demands that the regime not test any ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Pompeo told the regime to cease the tests of risk extreme political and economic isolation in the international community.

#Iran Reime's Space Operation Is Merely a Distraction Technique
The Iranian Regime is facing increased political isolation following its recent announcement of further of missiles tests under the guise of launching three satellites into space.https://t.co/Wd1hIpzqUl pic.twitter.com/5Z7zzsVxND

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 7, 2019

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denied the “satellite launches” would violate the terms of the UN Security Council’s resolution. These assertions have been the same every time the Iranian regime has tested a missile since 2016.

"Iran's ballistic missiles continue to be a matter for the alliance, and Tehran continues to develop and test more powerful ballistic missiles that can reach NATO's European Allies," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.#Iran#IranUpdatehttps://t.co/UHgXjzL8qu

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 11, 2018

A Deal Teetering on The Edge

Following the United States’ withdrawal of the Iran nuclear deal, the deal has been circling the drain. The European powers have scrambled to hold it together, but should the regime blatantly violate UNSCR 2231, the remaining signatories in Europe could have a change of heart.

Additionally, the latest round of US sanctions is starting to bite across the Iranian regime’s economy. Should Tehran’s tests sufficiently anger the Trump administration, and they appear set to do so, there would be nothing to prevent the US government from increasing the economic pressure on Tehran in the form of tighter and more comprehensive sanctions. So why would the mullahs risk further angering the international community?

The regime is under intense domestic pressure. It has been unable to contain the growing protest movement in Iran and curb the activities of the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK).

In a clear effort to distract from the existential threat knocking on the regime’s door, it is using these missile tests as a distraction tool. If the regime can be seen to be asserting strength and testing missiles, it reasons that it may be able to quell the mounting opposition movement through a demonstration of power and repression.

Iranian human right advocate Heshmat Alavi explained, “it is an undeniable fact that Iran’s regime is facing growing isolation, as the international community is coming to understand the clerics’ mortal weakness in the face of mushrooming protests.”

He continued, “having no solutions, the Iranian regime is kicking the can down the road. 2019, with protests showing no signs of cooling and Washington determined to increase economic and diplomatic pressures, is promising to be a devastating period for Tehran.”

Staff Writer

On Wednesday, January 9th, the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivered a speech in Qom. In his speech, he expressed concern over the rising influence of the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) and the opposition group’s ability to mobilize the Iranian opposition and organize street protests across the country.

He said, “the arrogant are inviting the people to confront the system. It’s necessary that the people stand up in front of this publicly and move against it. The youth must transform cyberspace into a tool against the enemy.”

He went on to reference a recent speech by Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton when Bolton addressed the MEK in Albania during an event marked to celebrate Persian New Year.

Khamenei said, “a while ago, not far from here, an American politician said to a crowd of thugs and terrorists he hopes and wishes to celebrate Christmas in 2019 in Tehran.”

A Regime Under Pressure

Khamenei’s remarks illustrate the extent to which the regime finds itself under intense scrutiny at home. The MEK’s strength is growing as 2018 saw a wave of protests wash across Iran. Fearing for their future in power, the mullahs have lined up to attack the MEK and their supporters.

Iran State Media Acknowledges MEK Can Topple Regime

The clerical regime has increased its attempts to limit internet freedoms and counter the MEK’s influence in the digital sphere. Following protest over a contested election that broke out in 2009, the Iranian regime severely limited access to social media websites including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Then, following a fresh round of nationwide unrest at the beginning of 2018, the regime blocked Telegram, a popular instant messaging app with more than 40 million users in Iran.

There have also been recent plans to block Instagram and replace it with a regime-created Iranian replacement which allows regime agents to spy on users and control the content available.

On Wednesday, the Iranian regime’s general prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said, “if we don’t manage cyberspace in the country, our situation will grow worse every day.”

Other members of the regime have also expressed concerns. Abdollah Ganji, a director of the state-run Fars News Agency, said at the tail end of 2018, “the MEK members who were relocated from Iraq to Albania are creating content for social media networks.”

The MEK has published the results of several investigations on their social media channels, including in-depth investigative pieces on the lavish lifestyles of the mullahs and their misuse of public funds.

In exchange for their efforts, the MEK has had to face stinging barbs from regime leaders on an almost daily basis. On the same day, Khamenei addressed the people at Qom, Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts council, accused the MEK of undermining “the security of the people.”

Despite their repressive measures, the regime has been unable to quash domestic unrest and prevent the public from mobilizing in protest. Protests have spread across Iran like wildfire, and the mullahs are scrambling to avoid being caught up in the blaze.

Staff Writer

Our Iran released their annual report on the Iranian opposition movement in Iran. The report chronicled the 9,596 protests that took place in Iran’s 31 provinces between December 2017 to December 2018, mainly reported by the MEK sources inside Iran.

⚡️ Social Media campaign calls for the immediate release of those arrested in nationwide protests in Iran using hashtag #FreeAllProtesters by sharing a photo with a victory sign representing the picture which emerged last week from the protests in #Iran
by @MEK_Iran #MEK pic.twitter.com/a4oAh2vzXX

— MEKIran (@MEK_Iran) August 15, 2018

Common Themes

The Our Iran report noted that in the time period, the protests followed similar patterns that characterized the nature of the movement. Each time, people’s protests began “with guild claims [then] quickly turned into political demands and slogans against the entire sovereignty.”

Iran Protests Continue

Secondly, in each instance, the solidarity the Iranian public expressed with the protestors of each strike, protest, and the march was astounding. No matter whether it was striking truck drivers, merchants, steelworkers, teachers, students, sugar cane workers, pensioners, or investors, the Iranian public, particularly Iran’s youth, and women, turned out in support of the protesting workers.

They shouted slogans like “don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, we are all together”, showing their support for the striking population.

The internet also played a vital role in the 2018 protest movement. The Iranian opposition and the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) used the web and social media to coordinate protests and mobilize the Iranian public.

Khamenei Breaks His Silence on Recent Protests in #Iran https://t.co/gdtDHgxjtP#MEK#FreeIran2018#IranProtests

— MEKIran (@MEK_Iran) June 7, 2018

Through these tools, the MEK was able to get all demographics and classes of Iranian society to join their cause, from urban elites and middle classes to working-class factory workers, and rural farmers. The 2018 protests saw every strand of Iranian society represented in the faces of those in the streets carrying signs and shouting slogans.

A Timeline of Iran’s 2018 Protest Movement

The protest movement was ignited by a nationwide protest movement at the end of December 2017 and the beginning of January 2018.

A recent report mainly based on reports from the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (#MEK) network inside Iran, indicates that there were a total of 452 #protests and gatherings last month in #Iran, averaging 15 per day.https://t.co/QoUbcCkQXJ pic.twitter.com/Rj2XQGU66I

— MEKIran (@MEK_Iran) May 11, 2018

Very quickly, protests erupted across 142 cities and towns in all 31 of Iran’s provinces. In Mashhad, 10,000 people turned out in front of the city’s municipal building. Similar sights were suddenly commonplace across Iran.

As a result, January saw 643 protests, and this momentum was carried into February, which saw 596 protests.

However, the movement peaked later in the year. In October, Our Iran recorded 1,533 distinct protests that broke out in Iran, up from 1,367 in September.

This was largely due to Iran’s striking truck drivers, who turned out for their third round of strikes in September. The logistics sector and Iranian truck drivers went on strike once more, spread across 323 cities.

In 2018, striking truck drivers were behind the most protests. In total, truck drivers held 3,868 protests, slightly more than the country’s workers which held 1,933 protests. Teachers and retirees were next, holding 683 protests.

All in all, there were a total of 26 different protests a day across the country. The mullahs and the Supreme Leader Khamenei are under intense pressure.

The Regime Response

These protests have showed made one thing abundantly clear; the Iranian regime is weaker than it has ever been. It has exposed itself as utterly unequipped to deal with the scale of the Iranian opposition movement.

They have not succeeded in ending the uprisings. If anything, their heavy-handed, repressive response have only made the public angrier and more determined to overthrow their oppressors.

https://mek-iran.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/A-political-scientists-view-on-the-Iran-protests-750-e1536427588296.jpg

The clerical regime has threatened the strikers, brought in plainclothes security agents to control protestors, made false promises, attempted to play protestors off against each other, then alluded to execution for those involved.

They abducted protestors in the middle of the night, tortured people in regime custody, and others were killed by anti-insurgency forces at the scene of the protests.

These brave protestors will not have died in vain. 2019 will be pivotal to the protest movement and the fight to usher in a new era of Iranian democracy. If 2018 is anything to go by, it will be a monumental victory for the MEK and the Iranian public.

Staff Writer