Opposition leader says change is near in Iran
The head of the organization hosting a major Iranian dissident rally in Paris says the circumstances are ripe for regime change in Tehran, but Washington and other Western governments are standing in the way by legitimizing the regime of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei through nuclear negotiations.
Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran hosted a major rally on the outskirts Paris. This council is an umbrella organization including more than 300 Iranian opposition groups stationed across 24 countries.
Over 100,000 supporters joined the rally along with hundreds of prominent American and European dignitaries voicing hopes of regime change in Iran.
Mrs. Rajavi trumpeted a simple but aggressive message: “The religious dictatorship ruling Iran based on the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, or ‘absolute clerical rule’ serves as the stimulus and epicenter of the menace of fundamentalism masquerading as Islam in the region and the rest of the world.”
Western governments have made a mistake by drawing a distinction between Shiite fundamentalism and Sunni fundamentalism, and thinking that Shiite Iran can be trusted to confront the recent rise of Sunni extremism in Syria, Iraq and Libya.
This year’s gathering brought together a senior bipartisan figures consisting of former high-level U.S. officials and political players. Howard Dean, John Bolton, Bill Richardson and Newt Gingrich all took part in the rally, emphasizing on their real and passionate support for the Iranian democratic opposition. This also showed the variety of support this movement enjoys from very different perspectives.
The Paris rally is significant for its timing, just weeks before U.S. and other world powers face a June 30 deadline for a final nuclear deal. Mrs. Rajavi argued the deal will fail because Washington and its allies have simply doled out too many “concessions to Iran” that leave open its path toward a nuclear weapon. Under the terms of a framework agreement reached in April, Iran will still be allowed to enrich uranium at low levels, even as Western sanctions are eased. The only way for a deal to truly block Tehran from developing nuclear bombs, according to Mrs. Rajavi, would be to completely halt uranium enrichment, totally dismantle Iran’s nuclear sites and guarantee that snap inspections can be held by U.N. officials “anywhere, anytime inside Iran.”
The Iranian regime only responds to the language of power and firmness, Mrs. Rajavi said. Western governments are incredibly oblivious to this reality. The Obama administration and its European partners, she said, are responsible for triggering more aggressive and more militarized Iranian interference around the Middle East during the past year.
Mrs. Rajavi expressed outrage that U.S. and Europe appear to be trying to placate Tehran after years of aggressive posturing toward her own exiled organization.
Rajavi asserted if the NCRI were in power in Tehran, the group would break down the Iranian regime’s grip on the media and freedom of speech and hold free elections in pursuit of the establishment of a democratic government based on popular vote and the separation of religion and state.
“We want a pluralist system, freedom of parties and assembly,” she said. “We respect all individual freedoms [and] we underscore complete freedom of expression and the media, along with unconditional access by all to the Internet. “This is something that is completely attainable in Iran,” said Mrs. Rajavi.