By Armin Baldwin
Iran’s regime is doomed, writes Ali Safavi, an official with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). This one comment really sums it all up, but let’s go into the why.
For several weeks, the Lebanese and Iraqi people have been rising up against the Iranian regime’s interference in their domestic agenda. For nearly two weeks the Iranian people have been rising up in 171 cities against the mullahs, something that has terrified regime officials into issuing a crackdown.
So far the regime has killed at least 450 protesters, wounded 4,000, and arrested 10,000, with many detained in schools because the prisons have no room. Still, they have failed to stop the uprising and reports of clashes made their way out despite the internet blockade. Does that sound like the regime is in control?
Safavi wrote: “The regime itself is exceptionally fragile and terrified. Corruption is endemic, the economy will shrink by another 9.5 percent this year, unemployment rate is over 40 percent, inflation is over 50 percent and the value of the national currency has plummeted. That is why Tehran shows a zero-tolerance policy in the current uprisings.”
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots… It is its natural manure,” Thomas Jefferson. The valiant youth of #Iran is doing exactly that. Our nation will be free. #IranProtests #IranProtest #NCRIUS @VP @SecPompeo pic.twitter.com/VfJdz2TIl8
— Ali Safavi (@amsafavi) November 27, 2019
These protests began after the regime tripled the price of fuel, something they’d wanted to do for months but feared the social unrest. Ultimately, they had no choice and were confronted with nearly empty coffers and impatient regional proxies, like Hezbollah.
The regime planted security forces at sensitive locations when they announced the increase to quell protests but were shocked at how big the uprising was and how fast it switched course from the economy to regime change. So, why was it so big?
Safavi wrote: “It is the culmination of thousands of smaller but persistent protests over the past year-and-a-half. These included teachers, students, factory workers, nurses, truck drivers, embezzled investors, farmers and bazaar merchants, to name a few. Bottom line: Almost every segment of the population finds the situation unbearable.”
He further noted that for the first time in the regime’s history, almost all Iranians came together to fight a common enemy, like during the 1979 revolution against the shah. The best part is that Iran has a viable alternative to the mullahs, in the form of the NCRI and its president-elect, Maryam Rajavi.
Safavi wrote: “The Iranian people are ready for freedom. They are capable, have an alternative and are not afraid to make the ultimate sacrifice. Rest assured, Iran’s democratic destiny is firmly in the hands of its rebellious youth. All they ask is for the world to condemn the regime’s crimes against humanity and to support their cry for freedom.”
