An evil and oppressive government has taken Iranians hostage for more than forty years.
An ideological and sectarian regime which, in the past forty years, has had no goal but forming an army of militias and oppressive groups to dispatch all over the Middle East to pursue its evil goals.
It is now more than a week since Mahsa Amini, the daughter of Iran, was killed. Protests against Mahsa’s death continue all over Iran. People see this killing as a symbol for all the injustice, tyranny, repression, suffering, pain, strangulations, bad conditions, humiliation and violence against the people of this land.
This regime has built its foundations on the blood of the Iranian people and has established itself with wide-ranging execution of its opponents and those who supported or served in the monarchical regime. Today it has no problem in committing mass murder.
In the last few years, the regime has killed hundreds, if not thousands, of Iranians, shooting them in street demonstrations or executing them.
The people of Iran, 80 million freedom-loving and justice-seeking people, have risen up today to overthrow this government of tyranny, terror, strangulation and corruption.
But the experience of forty years of rule by sectarian rulers and knowledge about vast dissatisfaction in society has prepared them for such days and for repression of the Iranian people. Forty years of telling religious tales and brainwashing a group of oppressors in the Basij and IRGC has been to prepare them for precisely such days.
Let me speak clearly: The army, too, is part of the machinery of oppression. It would be a mistake to consider the forces of Army of the Islamic Republic as being ‘popular,’ similar to the army that put down its guns during the 1979 revolution and refused to face down the Iranian people.
The patriotic forces, guardians of the Iranian territory and lives, won’t be found in the army today. The revolutionaries led by Ruhollah Khomeini killed off patriotic soldiers and those who remained were killed in the Iran-Iraq war, were forced to retire or fled the country.
The imperial army was a national army and a patriotic one. The late Shah loved his country and people and left the country to stop bloodshed and killing of Iranians. The army laid down their guns too.
In 1978, there was a killing of protesters in Tehran’s Jaleh square but Ayatollah Khomeini exaggerated it and came up with fake mythical numbers, claiming thousands were killed (the real number has been shown to be somewhere between 64 to 87.) They even came up with a rumor that Israeli forces had been sent to oppress and kill Iranians.
We face a different situation today. I can tell you that in addition to the army, the Basij and the IRGC, the regime today also has the support of foreign oppressive forces who can come to oppress Iranians when necessary.
They can use the Fatemiyoun brigade (formed of Shiite mercenaries from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Asia in general) and the forces led by the regime in Iraq and Lebanon (Hezbollah and Popular Mobilization Forces respectively) to stay in power.
Iran’s current rulers are nothing like the late Shah. They’d never resign or leave power based on patriotism, kindness or wishing to avoid killings. This army and military forces are also not patriotic or popular for them to join the people or avoid killing them. They don’t consider people to be of themselves and don’t care much about Iran. They’d have no problem killing the civilians who are shouting slogans on streets and demanding the overthrow of the regime.
The army, the IRGC and the Basij are pre-selected and loyalist forces who, due to sectarian reasons and their forty-years-long brainwashing, are not able to understand the demands of the Iranian nation or join them. Forty years of propagating a certain reading of religion, spreading superstition and gathering extremist supporters has been for use in such occasions.
Look at the religious processions of the last forty years and compare them with those before the 1979 revolution, when beliefs were in balance and moderation. Today, there is so little respect and sympathy left for religion in Iran because the government used it as a tool and has thus set one part of society against another.
Now part of the oppressive forces of the regime have gone to Iraq for an annual gathering they call ‘Hossein’s Arbaeen.’ They’ll soon come back to Iran to join other oppressive forces.
The people of Iran and the countries of the region know that before the regressive and terrorist-backing regime of Iran is overthrown, they’d see no calm and people of Iran won’t get what they deserve.
If the world stands by Iranians just like it stands with Ukrainians, this regime and its rootless military forces will massacre thousands.
The people of Iran need the internet to get their message to the world. More than internet, they need serious and wide-ranging support of the world’s governments and the UN who should stand by the people and help them change the regime. Speeches and shows of sympathy, condemning the Islamic Republic, issuing tweets and statements and sanctioning people close to the regime is not enough. We need practical action in support of the Iranian people and action against the terror regime of the Islamic Republic. The Iranian people expect international action in their support and opposing oppression, killing, torture and government strangulation.
The UN must act. The Security Council must hold an extraordinary session on Iran and in defense of 80 million Iranians who face torture, oppression and death.
The voice of the Iranian people should reach the world. Don’t leave the Iranians to their oppressors.
