Mrs. Rajavi described the tremendous outpour of support from inside Iran by those who live under a severe repression where the callers risked arrests, imprisonment and torture, “as a powerful political and social movement which has isolated the Iranian regime.”
In her message, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance highlighted the expression of solidarity with Ashraf residents by “Iranians from all stripes, including teachers, students, workers, Bazaaris, tea farmers, carpet weavers and others from different regions of the country such as Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Gilan, Mazandaran, Khorasan, Yazd, Isfahan, Fars, Hamedan, and Tehran. She added that they all “admired Ashraf from the bottom of their hearts and souls.”
Rajavi also said that “the glowing popular solidarity sends a powerful response to the mullahs’ Supreme Leader, [Ali Khamenei,] who on February 28 ordered the destruction of Ashraf City, describing it as ‘a source of evil and corruption’ for his regime. But, now the Iranian people have stood up against him and are declaring with piercing voices that Ashraf City and the Iranian Resistance are the source of good, hope, and the pioneers of a free and prosperous Iran.”
This wave of popular support, she added, “provided the fundamental reason for why Khamenei and his faltering regime persistently tremble at the sight of Ashraf City and the Iranian Resistance, as well as the reason for their blatant plots to put Ashraf under siege. The truth is that the clerical regime itself has been placed under siege by people from all over Iran; People who can no longer tolerate oppression, poverty, and destruction, and instead eagerly seek democratic change in Iran.”
The President-elect of the Iranian Resistance stressed that such broad support, viewed as an immense and proud resource, has been the achievement of the perseverance of Ashraf City and the Resistance’s victory in removing the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) from the European Union list of terrorist organizations. The popular solidarity with Ashraf residents is testament to a new era in the course of resistance for freedom, she added.
Mrs. Rajavi also lauded freedom-loving Iranians who staged demonstrations on a daily basis in various parts of the world to show their support for Ashraf City, and thanked the solidarity of all freedom-loving Iranians with Ashraf.
Ashraf City (Camp Ashraf), home to nearly 3,500 members of the main Iranian opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), is located north of Baghdad. The Iraqi government has come under increasing pressure from the Iranian regime to harm and expel its residents and ultimately dismantle the city, despite the fact that they are considered ‘protected persons’ under the Fourth Geneva Convention.