Still reeling over the ongoing protests in Iran, the crisis-riddled regime is constantly warned by its tightly controlled state media about a much stronger wave of dissent due to the country’s growing social and economic crises.
In an article on May 2, the state-run Farhikhtegan daily, an outlet linked to the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, warned the entire establishment of the restive society.
“Analyzing historical events in the last few decades indicate Iran’s society has always been restive, grappling with social, cultural, and sometimes political changes. Neglecting social developments would result in wrong decisions and reactions with severe and irreparable damages,” the state-run Farhikhtegan newspaper wrote on May 2.
The theocratic regime’s ill-conceived policies and poor economic management have precipitated a groundswell of indignation among the populace, fueling social and economic crises to an unprecedented degree.
“After the war [with Iraq] and from 1990 to 2016 and 2017, we faced the emergence of a series of social movements. These social movements did not receive a suitable response in a historical period until 2013, 2015, and 2016, and therefore, society went on from the movement phase to the rebellion phase. Social movements were sidelined, and social riots, which included all social strata, were put on the agenda,” the paper adds.
The clerical regime remains in a state of disarray, having weathered a protracted period of public demonstrations and brutal security force suppression in the aftermath of the tragic death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini subsequent to her detainment by the state’s morality police in September.
Watch our latest #video and judge if the new wave of #IranProtests following the murder of #MahsaAmini is an indication of regime change in #Iran. pic.twitter.com/DeuECpCxnz
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 20, 2022
The persistent nature of the protests, notwithstanding the authorities’ oppressive measures, has laid bare the regime’s fragility and exposed its feeble attempts to quell dissent. Moreover, it has brought into sharp focus the regime’s impasse, revealing its inability to address the prevailing crises. Instead, the mullahs’ regime has resorted to suppressing people’s legitimate demands for their rights. It still needs to be made aware of any viable solutions to the country’s mounting problems.
“When the current grows from a movement to a rebellion, at this stage, collapse becomes an option, and revolution might also emerge. This is what we are dealing with today,” Farhikhtegan added. “If this situation goes on, its rebelliousness may collapse and expand to something called a revolution.”
“Day by day, issues and problems advance, and there is an accumulation of other issues, and the society turns into a rebellious status and becomes the cause of big riots. Today, we are basically facing a rebellious society, and this is very, very dangerous. There is a need for a fundamental revision in the political, cultural, and social system of Iran.”
“The growth of economic problems and frustration caused by not reaching normal dreams is a potent stimulus that spreads violence in various dimensions and angles,” the state-run Etemad newspaper wrote on May 3, blatantly describing people’s hatred toward the regime as “violence.”
As regime change looms on the horizon, the international community must adopt a more resolute stance beyond mere vocal support and condemnations of the regime’s transgressions. The futility of insisting on negotiations with the current regime is akin to backing a dead horse in a race. The world community should instead intensify pressure on the regime by designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization and endorsing the people’s right to self-defense.