Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Iran’s first Supreme Leader Rouhollah Khomeini, has warned against the decline of the popular base of the Iranian regime at a time when Iranians continue to protest against the ruling establishment.
Khomeini delivered his warning at a National Trust Party (NTP) meeting.
Based on a reformist and populist message, the NTP was established by former Parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi following his defeat in the 2005 presidential election.
“They want to overthrow the regime, along with some extremist currents at home. They are making every effort to stir up tension and isolate the nation from the state,” said Khomeini.
According to the reformist newspaper Etemad, Khomeini called for a “return to the principles, methods and models on which the Revolution (1979 Iranian Revolution) was based.”
Khomeini warned against “poverty caused by injustice,” saying that it “triggers anger and chaos, and may turn into a revolution of a larger scale.”
Etemad reported that NTP members presented “practical proposals to overcome the challenges facing the state.”
“Dialogue is the way out of the country's current situation,” said Khomeini, adding that “violence in society must be reduced.”
Member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council Mohammad-Reza Bahonar warned against “corruption”, “incompetence” and “ignoring the voice of the people.”
“Because these issues have not been resolved yet, the protests have not ended, contrary to what officials believe,” said Bahonar.
In other news, HRANA said that as of Friday evening, it had documented the killing of 527 demonstrators during the crackdown on protests, including 71 minors.
The agency added that 70 members of the security forces were also killed and that authorities arrested up to 19,571 protesters in 164 cities that witnessed rallies condemning the ruling establishment.
