His documentary, titled Iranian Kidney Bargain Sale, received critical praise across many international film festivals and won Best Documentary at the 2007 Monte Carlo Television Festival. It was also broadcast on European TV stations such as Arte, ZDF and, Swedish TV 1. Despite its global exposure, it was banned in Iran.
When Sarvestani first produced his first documentary on the subject matter back in 2007, he did not imagine that selling your kidneys would one day become routine in Iran as some people even seek to sell their liver, cornea, bones and bone marrow. He knew that the phenomenon had become a national crisis when he saw a social media ad selling a heart.
BODY ORGAN AUCTION
Banning the documentary in Iran does not hide the truth. Selling human organs online and through auctions has become the new norm in Iran. Moreover, there is a myriad of poster ads plastered all over city walls and as well as online ads flooding the Iranian information superhighway.
“The kidney and liver market has been active for many years now,” Sarvestani told Al-Majalla. However, Iranians have now also resorted to selling parts of the liver, cornea, and heart as a means to overcome poverty, suffering and misery.
He pointed out that buying and selling human body organs are not done secretly since it is an open trade on Iranian streets, where you can bargain on human organs until a price is agreed upon.
“Signs of starvation begin when a poor person writes information about his blood, age and telephone number on walls, electricity poles or on a poster,” he explained, stressing that the increasing phenomenon of selling kidneys in Iran is frightening as ads for this trade can even be seen even on the walls in front of hospitals where kidneys are transplanted.
“A young man and a woman were among my documentary characters, and I accompanied them in their journey through the kidney auction.”
He said his documentary’s scenes are now replayed every day in real life but in a more horrifying and miserable way. “Young women and men carry signs all over the cities offering their kidneys for sale.”
Some even offer a deal by introducing themselves in the streets. “Instant offer! Kidney for sale, young man, 22 years old ... healthy ... blood type O positive ... Phone number: 09122 ...,” one man was cheering.
“Every 10 minutes, a young woman or man shows up selling his or her kidney. They are very ordinary people, victims of social misery caused by the social and economic policies imposed by the Islamic regime over four centuries. These policies have affected all levels of society and caused the emergence such an abnormal phenomenon,” Sarvestani said.
He also described what he saw, saying “In a recurring scene, sellers try to get better prices while others are disappointed by lower interest rates.”
“People wait in line on different floors within the clinic and in the narrow, confusing corridors either to fill in forms and answer questions or to undergo tests and X-ray examination. Everyone is so active, reports are filled, the patients’ pictures are attached on small cards and the phones ring non-stop,” this is how Sarvestani described the scene.
“I followed every step in the process of organ trading. The desperate traders first meet with the Dialysis and Transplant Patients Association (DATPA) and their journey ends with operation time during which a piece of their body will be removed in a ridiculous trade,” he noted.
“Today we can even find people who sell their heart in Iran. What hurts the most in the process of selling human body organs and auctions is that people do it to earn a living. Unemployed and poor youth s resort to selling their body organs and stand in queues to do so all just to earn an almost decent living. These are the people who are the most affected by the economic pressure and difficult living conditions.”
AS EASY AS BUYING POTATOES
“Buying human organs in Iran has become just as easy as buying potatoes,” stressed Sarvestani.
“Those who sell their kidneys or any other body organ are either unemployed, drowned in debt or have family problems.”
“People all around the world sell their kidneys because of their financial needs, and that’s a fact. However, the funny thing about this country is that its authorities consider it normal and always find justifications instead of addressing the causes.
“Instead of resorting to illegal acts such as stealing or smuggling, people pay off their debts and, above all, they are helping to save another person’s life, authorities say,” according to Sarvestani, who said they also don’t consider it an exploitation since the end result is good for both the seller and buyer.
Iran is one of the world’s largest human organ markets. Selling organs for profit is legal and organized by the government itself. An estimated 100,000 kidneys were sold in one year alone.
Iran, currently, is the only country in the world that allows the sale of one’s kidney for compensation (typically a payment). It also allowed kidney donations from corpses or live donors in exchange for money.
In 2000, its parliament enacted a law that would justify the purchase of organs from people diagnosed with brain death.
Charity Association for the Support of Kidney Patients (CASKP) and Charity Foundation for Special Diseases (CFSD), which are affiliated with the Iranian Ministry of Health, organize the sale of organs with the government’s support.
On the left side of Tehran’s Vali al-Asr’s Square, there is an alley in which its walls are full of graffiti advertising body parts for sale. The organs listed for sale are often kidneys, corneas of the eye or livers. These ads are not only placed on walls but also on social media.
DATPA is officially responsible for the supply and demand process. People who want to sell their kidneys or those with brain death who want to donate any of their body parts are usually put on its list. Thus, patients can review this party and add their names to the waiting list. However, those who are starving to death cannot survive waiting on such a merciless list.
“Brokers of human organs,” who have become a mafia in the Iranian society, exploit those who suffer from poverty, hunger and the lack of basic needs. Those disenfranchised individuals are forced to sell their organs, but these “brokers” often buy these body parts for low prices.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations strongly oppose trafficking in human organs and believe that traffickers exploit human organ sellers. These organizations add that this exploitation will lead to increased high-risk surgeries in Iranian hospitals.
A SMALLER BASKET OF GOODS
Statistical Center of Iran announced that inflation rate for the fiscal year, which ended on February 20, has amounted to 42.3 percent.
The country’s Central Bank has officially been banned from publishing its reports on inflation and price hikes while the Statistical Center, which is known to manipulate data, was allowed to publish its latest results.
The inflation rate during the period from January 21 to February 20, 2019 was 42.3 percent, according to the Center.
The sharp devaluation of the Iranian currency over the past year has led to a hike in prices, especially on products that depend on imported goods during their manufacturing process. This affirms that the greatest pressure was experienced by citizens’ in their livelihood, food, and beverages compared to the same month last year, indicating a decrease of the basic basket of goods by 62.8 percent. In other words, people’s dining tables has become smaller by 62.8 percent. (Mardomsalari Newspaper, February 21)
Wages and salaries received by 50 million Iranian workers do not fulfill more than 28 percent of their basic needs. According to Iranian newspapers, the country’s workers receive the lowest salary in the world.
Under the minimum wage bill approved in 2018, the minimum wage paid for Iranian workers is 1,115,140 tomans. As of the writing of this article, one US dollar is 12,000 toman as such the Iranian worker’s salary amounts to $ 92. At its current rate, the average minimum wage in Iran is among the lowest in the world.
According to unofficial statistics, 19 million people live in extreme poverty in Iran, which is one-third of the urban population and 25% of the country’s total population.
Iran ranks fourth among the top 10 most vulnerable countries to natural hazards in the world.
What is worse is that Iran suffers from environmental problems such as drought and severe structural earthquakes. Observers believe many of these problems are due to the regime’s wrong policies, faulty management and planning, and rampant corruption.
LEGALIZING PROSTITUTION
According to a feminist activist who preferred not to be named, the most dangerous phenomenon facing today Iran is the destruction of the family unit.
“Every month a report is published on prostitution in Iran,” the activist told Al-Majalla, “prostitution has become widespread in Iran’s cities bordering Iraq or in the city of Mashhad which is visited mostly by Iraqi youth.”
“Deputy Tourism director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization admitted that the fall of the Iranian riyal has led to an increase in the number of tourists arriving from Iraq by 90 percent,” the activist pointed out. The activist added that the Deputy didn’t reveal the risks increased Iraqi youths arriving without their families.
“This painful reality can’t be denied,” she added. “We must admit that our deteriorating social conditions have allowed the legitimization of sexual services via marriage.”
“Unfortunately, the Iranian regime has worsened all social and structural issues in the country. There are shocking statistics published by Iranian press agencies on addiction, theft, corruption, and prostitution.”
Head of Iran’s Social Workers Association, Dr. Mousavi Chalak, said that 49 people an hour are jailed in Iran, which equates to 1,176 people per day.
Among every 100,000 people in the world, 140 are in prison, he explained, adding that in Iran, however, out of every 100,000 people, 270 are in prisons.
“There are 4.4 million addicts in Iran too, which is the main problem and the reason behind the social damages occurring.
“After drug cases, violence cases constitute the largest number of judicial proceedings in the country as the number of violence cases in the Iranian courts amount to 15.4 million,” Chalak said.
He further noted that according to the Ministry of Health, six million people suffer depression in Iran, and the family unit is in danger of completely collapsing.
According to the Ministry of Health’s latest statistics, one in every four marriages ends in divorce.
“This means that one-quarter of married couples end up divorcing. This family disintegration will result in prostitution not only among girls but also among married women whose husbands force them into prostitution.”
Al-Majalla magazine had previously done an investigation in which outlined the process of legitimizing prostitution in Iran and published leaked documents on this issue.
According to the published documents, in 1993 Iran’s Ministry of Interior initiated a project on temporary marriage. In 1994, the so-called Islamic Group of Advocates in Qom prepared a draft law for the first time. This law would pave the way for a national project of “pleasure women” and called the project Chastity Houses. The group then sent the draft to a large group of scholars and clerics who fill influential political positions.
The draft law, which was later leaked to media, provoked controversy, especially among the reformist movement. It included means of creating chastity houses and explained that the purpose of their establishment is to combat indecency, illicit relations between men and women and sexual diseases, mainly AIDS.
According to the project, the proposed Chastity Houses will give people wishing to have a temporary marriage certain facilitations, such as:
- Staying married for the period agreed upon between the “couple,” from one hour to 99 years.
- Granting the “couple” a formal license to be able to book rooms in hotels.
- Subjecting those wishing to have temporary marriage to specific medical tests on a regular basis. Thus the couple will have medical certificates clearing them of any sexually transmitted diseases.
Regarding women who are allowed to get married in these chastity houses for a temporary period of time, few hours, days or years, the document said they should be: widows, working females who don’t want a permanent marriage, women who suffer a deficiency or illness that prevents them from having a normal marriage or girls who live away from their parents, such as students.
The only condition for men is the possession of a medical certificate that proves that they don’t suffer sexual diseases. Moreover, they have to pay the symbolic reward for the chastity house. News reports uncovered 32 Chastity Houses in one year alone. The reports also revealed that the Chastity Houses were well known for prostitution services in Tehran, Hernadi and Kian Shar. Some women even go there just to earn a living.
The activist wondered why “authorities ignored all this obscenity and instead resort to persecuting and arresting female activists who challenge the mullah’s laws by not wearing the hijab.
“Why does the regime encourage prostitution and even legitimize it?” She asked.
Iranian female activists have lately resorted to social media platforms to protest laws forcing them to wear hijab in Iran.
A prominent Iranian lawyer, known for defending Iranian women activists against the imposition of headscarves, faces up to 34 years in prison and 148 lashes, according to Amnesty International.
The international organization sent a letter to new Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi, asking him to immediately release Sotoudeh, 55.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said the trial would take place in a judicial process that lacked international standards.
MASS SUICIDES
Unemployment rates and inflation in Iran have increased, leading to a large increase in suicides.
Ilam Province recorded the suicide of one-third of its population. Iranian authorities have shed light on this growing phenomenon in the Kurdish city and revealed that it ranks first in the number of suicides in Iran and the world. The rest of the Kurdish provinces of Ilam and Kermanshah have the highest rates of suicide in the country.
In an interview with Al-Majalla, Head of Kurdistan Human Rights Society (KMMK) Jahankir Abdulhai said everyone knows that official and governmental statistics, which are provided solely for normalizing deteriorated economic conditions, do not involve the whole truth.
“It is the conflict between Khamenei and Rouhani, that is, figures reveal that what is published about the disastrous reality in Iran is only in the context of the ongoing conflict as citizens are among the least concerns of the ruling regime,” Abdulhai stressed.
“For example, Khamenei and his group-affiliated newspapers published a significant increase in the food prices.”
“The price of one kilogram of red meat was 35,000 tomans in 2016 – 2017; however, today the price of the same one kilogram exceeds 120,000 tomans. While chicken costs 15,000 tomans. As such, buying meat has become a thing of dreams for Iranians of poor and middle classes.”
The war between Khamenei and Rouhani is focused on blaming each other, thus worsening the situation in light of the living crisis caused by the devaluation of the toman.
The workers’ purchasing power has fallen by more than 90 percent in the past six months, and food prices hiked by more than 100 percent, according to official figures. This led to protests, workers strikes and truck owner strikes all across Iran.
Abdulhai noted that the Iranian regime’s policies have marginalized Kurdish and other minority regions. Citizens in these areas suffer from funding cuts that affect their livelihoods, development, education, and politics. Furthermore, these provinces receive the least government budget shares.
Based on suicide and drug statistics, Abdulhai explained that according to KMMK, 13 suicides have been reported early 2019, five of whom were women, five were men and the rest were children.
“But in 2018, 5000 people tried to commit suicide in Iran. As in previous years, Ilam continues to have the highest suicide rate as 800 Ilam residents took their own lives. Lorestan, Kermanshah, and Urmia have the highest suicide rates after Ilam.
“All this is due to deliberate government failure and the absence of any plan to stand up against this dangerous phenomenon that disrupts our societies’ structure and of which the regime itself is responsible for.”
“Deteriorating living conditions is the biggest cause of suicide in Iran.”
He also pointed out that narcotic abuse is another factor leading to suicide, and even in this regard, the government has done nothing to counter the spread of drug abuse among youth. Instead, it contributed to the rapid spread.
In Sardasht, a small area in Iranian Kurdistan, there are 158 narcotic production centers. Most of these centers are run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) or the Pasdaran.
Abdulhai concluded his remarks by saying that the day to day life of a common Iranian doesn’t differ from that of Syrians or Yemenis who are living in war-torn countries.
“The war is being waged in their territory and the Iranians are paying the price. There are victims from the three countries, and the reason is a regime whose greed has no limit.”
“A distinct terrorist regime,” he stressed.
PRICE HIKE THAT DOESN’T INCLUDE DRUGS
According to official Iranian regime statistics, there are more than 2.8 million addicts in Iran. But, other observers note that the number of drug abusers in the country is much higher than the figures published by the Iranian regime. These same observers were surprised that the price of drugs in Iran has not risen despite all the unrest in foreign exchange rates and the extreme hike in prices in the Iranian market.
Government institutions say 65 percent of marital disputes and 55 percent of divorce rate are due to drug addiction. They added:
- 50 percent of addicts started taking drugs between the ages of 15 to 19 years.
- Three percent of addicts are illiterate
- 15 percent are in elementary school
- 15 percent are in junior high school
- 41 percent in high school
- 17 percent are in universities
More and more Iranians are abandoning traditional drugs in favor of industrial drugs. Large quantities are manufactured in laboratories and mines. “Crack, “shisha” and “antidotes” are the most common drugs in Iran now. Crystal meth has also become the most expensive drug among all types of drugs in the country, and it is purchased mostly by the rich and elite social classes and students.
Crystal meth abuse in Iran is high among 13-year-olds, university students, teachers, and even professors due to the prevailing impression that it activates memory and brain cells and lets the individual feel active, unlike any other drugs or stimulants.
The reason behind the spread of this drug among students and the educated elite is that it does not smell as bad as other drugs such as cannabis, opium, and others although it causes breakdowns and sometimes delusion and madness.
According to officials at the anti-drug police and the Ministry of Health, the latest statistics indicate there are nearly 2.5 million drug addicts in Iran, from which women constitute nine percent. Yet, statistics by research and studies centers indicate double figures.
According to intelligence information, the IRGC cooperates with Afghanistan’s Taliban in establishing drug smuggling networks which sell drugs in European countries to finance the armed group. Iranian opposition estimates that 60 percent of the heroin and morphine produced in Afghanistan are smuggled into the world through Iran.
A COUNTRY OF ADDICTS
“It is in the interest of the Iranian regime for the percentage of addicts to increase,” Mullah Majid al-Balochi, a Baloch political activist, told Al-Majalla.
“This is a systematic policy in regions highly inhabited with regime opposition, especially in minority areas.” The Balochistan region is considered one of the poorest areas in Iran, and drugs are very common there. And because it is a border area, it is normal to smuggle narcotics from there.
“Death sentence is only given for smugglers who don’t have links with the Revolutionary Guard. We know individuals who smuggle tons of drugs to Europe through Turkey. They have strong relations with the Revolutionary Guards, and they don’t get arrested because they give the Guard a share of the profit this is something the Balochis know too well,” Balochi said.
He added that the regime is the biggest perpetrator of the drug crisis because it is the only entity with the capacity to stop drug smuggling in towns and counties. The Iranian regime, however, deliberately wants to destroy youth and overlook them.
“The main reason, as I said earlier, is that the IRGC receives money from drug smuggling and because the price of drugs in Balochistan is cheaper than food.”
As for the percentage of the addicts, he said there are no accurate figures, but almost 80 percent of young people are addicted.
There are no schools in Balochistan. Life is very difficult and people lack basic needs. There is a government report that 70 percent of Balochistani regions lack water.
He also explained that heroin, opium and “antidotes” are the most common types of drugs sold in the area, adding that many people die from addiction and overdose. There is also no accurate or reliable statistics about the number of people who died for these reasons.
“The regime only really charges drug traffickers or abusers who happen to be its opponents; as such these charges don’t have the purpose of rehabilitating them but rather serve as a means of sadistic punishment.”
In 2016, Iranian judicial authorities executed many men in Balochistan on charges related to drug trafficking and others, he noted.
The verdicts against those executed are also issued in unfair courts, according to international organizations that realize that Iranian authorities execute people who follow opposing political stance by issuing charges related to drug trafficking.
“There are always armed operations in Balochistan against the regime, and our areas have become paramilitary and witness severe security tightening, which impedes the people’s movement,” Al-Balochi said.
All of these developments was enough for Iranians to protest over the past three years. There are strikes and protests taking place in Iranian cities and provinces. There are protesters from different areas and regions in Iran.
The specialist in Iranian affairs, Moussa al-Sharifi, said mass protests are among the most important forces that will weaken the theocratic dictatorship in Iran.
“The Iranian regime has tried to marginalize the opposition for the last 40 years; incidentally these oppressive tactics are the same ones that contributed to the removal of the Shah and to the victory of the revolution in 1979. The regime sought, through all its repressive tools, to eliminate the opposition and remove it from the political scene,” Sharifi noted.
“Since clerics took over the rule, jails were expanded and used the most barbaric torture methods against opposition members, torture methods the likes of which haven’t been seen since the middle ages. But the Iranian people, who were and still are pioneers in demanding freedom and democracy, remain adamant in their struggle.”
“Perhaps the mass executions carried out by the regime against prisoners in 1988 were both a continuation of the eight-year war against Iraq and a national suppression to freedoms,” Sharifi said in an interview with Al-Majalla.
He explained that these executions claimed the lives of some 30,000 politicians, who were killed only because they opposed the regime at the time.
Ayatollah Montazeri, then Khomeini’s deputy, opposed carrying out these executions and resigned from his post.
Therefore, the regime was aware from the beginning that Iranians could not accept dictatorship, especially since these people have a great deal in the struggle for democracy. They have fought in Iran for more than 100 years to claim their freedom and they are still fighting for this cause.
He explained that the regime has tried to create a formal opposition from within itself and called it the reform movement. The reformists succeeded in deceiving the masses with their slogans calling for reform, but after more than 20 years, they did not change anything in Iran. Instead, they contributed to the continuity of the regime and its rule.
“Nonetheless, the Iranian people have become aware of this farce and since 2018 held mass protests demanding the overthrow of the regime as a whole.”
People rejected the reformers’ role, and unlike the year 2009, reformists had no role in these protests.
Sharifi also pointed out that recent protests and sanctions imposed by the United States are vital for weakening the regime.
“The Islamic Republic’s regime is witnessing a structural collapse,” said Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
“The foundations of the state are still stable, based solely on the pillars of fear and terror created by the regime among the Iranians,” Sharifi stressed.
If this fear continues, it will not only change the regime but also the government, he added.
No one can predict what will happen tomorrow, and the IRGC is also ready to suppress these protests by excessive force.
“The Iranian regime has nothing to offer to people, and the Iranians are fed up with this regime because it hasn’t fulfilled any of the promises made by all its movements, including hardliners and reformers.”
“The regime’s plans have all failed. It is not willing to carry out any developments or economic reforms and has no vision. So, what compromises can appease the people in this current state? The answer is nothing.”
FOCUS ON IRAN FIRST
“Fortunately, demonstrators linked their deteriorating living conditions to Iran’s foreign policy,” Sharifi went on saying.
“The regime tried through its foreign policy to tell Iranians they have influence abroad, and it believed that the Iranians would rally behind the regime’s attempts of becoming a regional superpower. However, this did not appeal to the Iranian people, in fact Iranians are wholeheartedly apathetic to the regime’s foreign ambitions.”
Iranians expressed such frustrations during protests in which they shout chants such as: “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, I sacrifice my soul to my Iran” or “Leave Syria and focus on Iranians’ conditions.”
These slogans proved that Iranians are against the regime’s policy and that the regime has failed to demonstrate to its people that its wars abroad aim at protecting their internal security. The regime also forgot that the deteriorating economic conditions and the spread of corruption and embezzlement are leading to the outbreak of demonstrations and protests, which constitute an essential part of instability and supports isolating the regime along with the suffocating US sanctions.
“Thus, protests play a major role in weakening the regime in Tehran, and the regime knows very well that Iranians will not support its decision to confront the United States or any other country.”
The situation today is different from that of the 1980s, a time in which the regime could use its war with Iraq to justify its heinous acts.
“When people are convinced that their regimes are incapable of meeting their needs and fulfilling their obligations, they are not afraid of repression because they have nothing to lose, they storm the streets for change at any cost,” Sharifi said.
Last year’s protests proved to the regime that Iranians are conscious and will not tolerate worsening living conditions. Iran is the richest country in the region, but 60 percent of Iranians live below the poverty line. This indicates the mismanagement of this regime, which has wasted people’s funds with its sick sectarian wars and its projects in support of terrorism.
The shocking statistics represent the biggest evidence of the regime’s failure and its mismanagement of social, cultural, political and economic issues.
What has this regime done in favor of its people in the so-called achievements of the revolution, and what does it want to export to the region? Does it want to export these tragic conditions to neighboring countries? What has it done to Iraq from 2003 to this day other than brutal acts carried out by its militias? What did it offer to the region other than sick sectarian wars dividing Shiites and Sunnis?
The truth is that the Iranian situation is neither improving nor recovering and that the region knows that peace and stability could only be achieved by toppling this fascist regime that causes trouble both internally and regionally.
Both Ali Khamenei’s regime and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's so-called caliphate follow the same methodology, said Sharifi. The only difference, however, is that ISIS emerged at a time in which social media exposed its crimes. But the Islamic Republic has earlier committed dozens of crimes when it began its rule, yet there was no social media at the time to expose its acts.
Sharifi concluded the conversion by pondering whether or not the Iranian opposition is ready to take over.
*****
National Council of Resistance of Iran Member: Khamenei Destroyed Infrastructure, Wasted People’s Wealth
Hossein Daei al-Islam Tells Majalla the Regime Can’t Address Iran’s Simplest Problems
Majalla Magazine met Member of National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Hossein Daei al-Islam, an old member of People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), who talked about the future of protests in the country.
He said Arab countries and the international community should show the regime how firm they are, cut relations with it and recognize the Iranian resistance.
“Throughout its 40 years of looting, corrupting, oppressing and wasting Iranian people’s wealth to wage wars abroad, the regime has destroyed the country’s economic infrastructure,” Daei al-Islam noted.
“The regime's experts have publicly declared that it doesn’t have solutions to the country’s crises.”
He stressed that NCRI calls for the establishment of a democratic and secular republic in Iran on the basis of separation of religion and state and peaceful coexistence with regional countries.
Daei al-Islam added that due to its medieval and terrorist nature, the regime doesn’t want to and can’t address the most basic problem faced by Iranian people. “For this reason, more than 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line as corruption and looting by government officials have increased.”
Q- How have strikes and protests affected Iran’s political situation?
The protests proved the regime’s inability to deal with Iran's economic, social and political crises and that it is on the verge of collapsing. They also ended the terror and fear the regime has been trying to impose on people and showed it was unable to suppress supporters of the Iranian resistance, which plays a significant role in expanding protests.
The regime also expressed its fear from being toppled as its leaders have all warned of this consequence, and Khamenei, himself, warned in his speech on December 12, 2018, of these protests and said it is Iran’s 1398 strife.
Moreover, these protests revealed the exacerbation of the crisis and the widening of the gap within the regime. They exposed lies told by the regime’s media and its supporters regarding the popular base it enjoys.
Q -How do you read the Iranian regime's handling of the ongoing discontent among Iranians due to the deteriorating economic and living conditions caused by high prices and the collapse of the local currency?
Throughout its 40 years of looting, corrupting, oppressing and wasting Iranian people’s wealth to wage wars abroad, the regime has destroyed the country’s economic infrastructure. The regime’s experts have publicly declared that it doesn’t have solutions to the country’s crises.
Last year, the regime was unable to address any of the people’s issues. Instead, it practised oppression and wanted to solve the currency crisis by arresting brokers and executing individuals rather than addressing the problem. Despite that, the currency’s exchange rate rose again.
It wanted to address workers' demands, for example, in the sugar cane plant at Haft Tepe, the steel industry in Ahwaz or HEPCO factory in Arak, by arresting and imprisoning labor activists. However, the crisis has emerged again. For this reason, it continues to oppress people internally and create crises abroad, leading to tightening internal crises and isolating the regime ever more, which allows people to storm streets and protest against these actions. Therefore, popular protests, the people and the resistance’s demands must be supported in order to change the regime.
Q- Some said that the resignation of Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was a sign of a crisis within the Supreme Leader’s regime and a reflection of the conflict between its parties. What is your opinion in this regard?
Over the past five and a half years, Zarif has been trying to present the regime as being moderate and facilitate trade deals. Zarif’s resignation showed the growing crisis and struggle for power within the regime as well as the impasse faced by the regime at the international level. The latest scandal reveals the depth of the internal crisis, and Zarif's return will further escalate these internal differences.
The foreign minister’s resignation took place at the worst time. It sent meaningful signals to the West that in addition to the worsening economic and living conditions in Iran, the political situation, especially within the government, is also bad, according to IRGC-affiliated Javan newspaper.
Q- Will unemployment, suicide, drugs, migration and social problems turn into a revolution? Is it possible for protests and strikes to further develop into a real revolution in Iran?
Due to the regime’s medieval and terrorist nature, it doesn’t want to and can’t address the most basic problem faced by Iranian people. For this reason, more than 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the regime’s media and officials, as corruption and looting by government officials have increased. For example, one corruption case recently revealed the embezzling 6.6 billion euros from Iran’s petrochemical industry alone. Thus, a greater uprising should be expected to take place.
According to a report by supporters of People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran, at least 248 protests took place in 71 cities in Iran just in February.
Q- To what extent are the Iranian opposition parties ready for any political change in the country?
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which was established on July 21, 1981 in Tehran, is the oldest political coalition in Iran’s contemporary history. It includes more than 500 members, half of whom are women, and its members belong to independent Iranian factions, groups and figures.
The Council elected Maryam Rajavi as President during the period of transitioning power to the Iranian people. After toppling the Supreme Leaders' regime, the Council will form a coalition government that will take office for a maximum of six months. Its primary tasks will be holding general elections and forming a national constituent assembly.
It stressed that NCRI calls for the establishment of a democratic and secular republic in Iran on the basis of separation of religion and state and peaceful coexistence with regional countries. The pivotal movement in the Council is the PMOI, with 54 years of struggle against Shah and Mullah’s dictatorships, and it represents hope for Iranians and peoples of the region to achieve a liberated and peaceful Iran.
Supporters of PMOI have established strongholds of the uprising in various Iranian cities and are playing an important role in igniting and organizing the popular protests.
On January 9, 2018, Khamenei said that the PMOI led the uprisings last year. One year later, in January 2019, he again recognized the role of the PMOI in organizing protests.
IRGC leaders and security services also confirm the PMOI’s role in organizing the uprisings. These strongholds work on expanding protests and organizing people’s movements in various cities and will be the necessary force to topple the regime.
Q- Where are the reformists? Such as Khatami, Mousavi and heroes of the Green Movement.
Reformers in the Supreme Leader’s regime are only a mirage, and its leaders present them to justify the bargaining policy with the regime. Otherwise, it is very clear that the regime can’t bear reform because the first step towards reform would be rejecting the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist’s (Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei) regime.
Protesters address the reformers and fundamentalists telling them “Game Over!” This proves the failure of the reformers’ game in Iran.
“Citizens nowadays ask us about the real reforms carried out by the regime after they took to the polls. It is very hard to ask citizens again to head to polls and vote,” wrote Former Iranian President Mullah Mohammad Khatami on his Telegraph account on March 6.
Q- Where is Iran heading in light of Russia’s attempts to limit its actions in Syria, US movements to stifle the Tehran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, and Gulf diplomacy?
The explosive situation in Iranian society and the systemic dilemmas at the regional and international levels have weakened Khamenei’s rule.
The regime’s regional interventions have drowned it because Iranians refuse to spend their wealth on killing other people and massacres. International policy has also changed towards the regime, whose continuous interventions are causing its isolation more than ever before.
The most important international shift in relations with Iran took place with the new US administration, the change of Western bargaining policy and the region's policy towards the regime.
The policy of exporting terrorism and spreading wars in the region has been seriously hit by mass protests in Iran, regional alliances and halt of the bargaining policy. The Warsaw Summit mainly addressed the general international approach to counter the regime’s terrorism and policies which aim at spreading wars in the region.
Europe’s attempts to circumvent US sanctions and present a special European financial mechanism did not succeed. Khamenei and other regime officials say Europe will not benefit them in any way.
Q- Will the Iranian regime abandon its destructive behaviors in the region?
Khamenei said on May 10, 2017, that any change in the regime’s behavior would mean regime change. He also stressed in another speech that the United States will not strike Iran and that his country would not negotiate with it.
Q- What can we conclude from that?
First, the regime will not stop exporting terrorism and spreading wars in the region because these interventions are part of its strategy to stay in power.
Second, the regime’s only concern is the rise of uprisings within the country and being overthrown by people and the Iranian resistance.
Third, the only way to stop the regime's regional interventions is if the people and the country’s organized resistance changed the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist’s regime.
Fourth, Arab countries and the international community should show the regime how firm they are, cut relations with it and recognize the Iranian people’s right to change it. In addition, protests should be supported and the resistance should be acknowledged.
As Maryam Rajavi said in her message addressed to protesters in Washington on March 8:
“It’s time for the international community, and especially the United States, to acknowledge the Iranian people’s right to resist in order to topple the regime. Iranians will not stop their attempts to gain freedom. And they certainly will do so”.
