Iranian Vice President Rules out Referendum amid Ongoing Protests

A banner of the Iranian national football team, on the eve of its match with the United States at the FIFA World Cup, is set on fire on a highway in central Tehran. (Twitter)
A banner of the Iranian national football team, on the eve of its match with the United States at the FIFA World Cup, is set on fire on a highway in central Tehran. (Twitter)
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Iranian Vice President Rules out Referendum amid Ongoing Protests

A banner of the Iranian national football team, on the eve of its match with the United States at the FIFA World Cup, is set on fire on a highway in central Tehran. (Twitter)
A banner of the Iranian national football team, on the eve of its match with the United States at the FIFA World Cup, is set on fire on a highway in central Tehran. (Twitter)

The Iranian government has rejected demands for a referendum to change the system of the Islamic Republic regime and the freedom to wear the veil, as the protests continued over the death of Mahsa Amini.

In a press conference in Tehran on Monday, Mohammad Dehghan, Iranian Vice President for Legal Affairs, touched on the protesters’ calls to amend the law on the veil and to hold a referendum on the regime.

“If necessary, we will hold a referendum with the approval of the Supreme Leader and the vote of two-thirds of the parliament,” he noted, adding: “It is impossible to change the system of the Islamic Republic… The referendum is not like ordinary legislation.”

Dehghan continued: “The freedom of the veil contradicts the principles and manifestations of the Islamic Republic. We have held meetings, and we will announce our opinion about the veil to the competent authorities… At a time of unrest, the enemies insist on raising some issues that do not serve the interest of the country.”

Protests and strikes continue in Iran since the death of Amini, 22, in September.

Truck drivers maintained their strike for the third day in a row, while videos on social networks showed demonstrations in the provinces of Kermanshah, Qazvin, Lorestan, Hormozgan and Isfahan. In addition, the employees of the Iron and Steel Company in Isfahan renewed their strike.

A group of teachers in the Kurdistan province issued a statement in a video recording, criticizing the continued repression and violence. Similarly, 210 professors from the University of Tabriz, the provincial capital of East Azerbaijan, released a statement condemning the killing of medical student Elar Hakki earlier this month.

Sunni clerics in the provinces of Baluchistan and Kurdistan, most notably the Friday Imam of Zahedan, Abdul Hamid Ismail Zahi, called for holding a referendum on the Iranian policies under international supervision.

Meanwhile, Iranian media revealed a draft law that a group of deputies intends to present in the coming days, to toughen judicial rulings against collaborators “with countries that are hostile to national security and national interests.” According to this law, the detainees will face corruption charges, which are punished by penalties that can reach the death sentence.



Türkiye Insists on Two States for Ethnically Divided Cyprus as the UN Looks to Restart Peace Talks

UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
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Türkiye Insists on Two States for Ethnically Divided Cyprus as the UN Looks to Restart Peace Talks

UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar talk as they attend the UN's end of year reception at Ledras Palace inside the UNbuffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Türkiye on Wednesday again insisted on a two-state peace accord in ethnically divided Cyprus as the United Nations prepares to meet with all sides in early spring in hopes of restarting formal talks to resolve one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Cyprus “must continue on the path of a two-state solution” and that expending efforts on other arrangements ending Cyprus’ half-century divide would be “a waste of time.”
Fidan spoke to reporters after talks with Ersin Tatar, leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots whose declaration of independence in 1983 in Cyprus’ northern third is recognized only by Türkiye.
Cyprus’ ethnic division occurred in 1974 when Türkiye invaded in the wake of a coup, sponsored by the junta then ruling Greece, that aimed to unite the island in the eastern Mediterranean with the Greek state.
The most recent major push for a peace deal collapsed in 2017.
Since then, Türkiye has advocated for a two-state arrangement in which the numerically fewer Turkish Cypriots would never be the minority in any power-sharing arrangement.
But Greek Cypriots do not support a two-state deal that they see as formalizing the island’s partition and perpetuating what they see as a threat of a permanent Turkish military presence on the island.
Greek Cypriot officials have maintained that the 2017 talks collapsed primarily on Türkiye’s insistence on permanently keeping at least some of its estimated 35,000 troops currently in the island's breakaway north, and on enshrining military intervention rights in any new peace deal.
The UN the European Union and others have rejected a two-state deal for Cyprus, saying the only way forward is a federation agreement with Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot zones.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is preparing to host an informal meeting in Switzerland in March to hear what each side envisions for a peace deal. Last year, an envoy Guterres dispatched to Cyprus reportedly concluded that there's no common ground for a return to talks.
The island’s Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides says he’s ready to resume formal talks immediately but has ruled out any discussion on a two-state arrangement.
Tatar, leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, said the meeting will bring together the two sides in Cyprus, the foreign ministers of “guarantor powers” Greece and Türkiye and a senior British official to chart “the next steps” regarding Cyprus’ future.
A peace deal would not only remove a source of instability in the eastern Mediterranean, but could also expedite the development of natural gas deposits inside Cyprus' offshore economic zone that Türkiye disputes.