Iranian officials terrified by growing role of the MEK in nationwide protests

 By Mahmoud Hakamian 

On December 30, 2009, the annual religious Ashura ceremony turned into a nationwide rally against the Iranian regime. People called resisted the brutal onslaught of security forces and called for the overthrow of the mullahs’ rule. The regime only managed to smother the protests through brutal repression and by opening fire on unarmed protesters.

Twelve years later, regime officials are still terrified of the 2009 protests, their continued reverberation in the Iranian society, and the growing role of the MEK in organizing and leading protests. On the anniversary of the protests, the regime held anti-demonstration ceremonies, in which several regime officials weighed in on the significance of the demonstrations and the ongoing movement for the overthrow of the regime.

Ahmad Khatami, member of the Assembly of Experts, said, “During the eight months of sedition, there were two fronts… The [MEK] was on one front and did whatever they could in eight months… They turned every occasion into riots. November 4, December 5.”

Rasool Sanaee Rad, the deputy Chief of Staff of Armed forces, said, “The seditionists thought they were in a position that they could carry out their plans through pressure and street rallies. They started something that they couldn’t manage. The [MEK] took control, the anti-revolutionaries and foreigners took advantage, and a triangle took shape. On one side were the seditionists, but the other two were dissidents and the enemies.”

The regime has been constantly making contradictory remarks about the MEK. On the one hand, regime officials are constantly trying to dismiss the MEK as a fringe group with no support inside Iran. On the other hand, they are constantly warning that the MEK is behind every protest across the country. And this includes senior regime officials and regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who explicitly said that the MEK was the orchestrator of the 2018 nationwide uprisings.

Ramezan Sharif, the spokesperson of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), warned about the threat that the MEK poses to the regime presently. “Even today, the enemy is trying to cause dismay among the people [about the regime] and undermine the achievements of the Islamic Revolution and exaggerate everyday problems to dismay the people and to take political advantage and drag the people into street protests. And they know that it will bring nothing but insecurity for the people,” he said.

The reality is that the regime has left the country’s economy in ruins. Today, people from all walks of life and socio-economic standing are protesting government corruption, inflation, high prices, unemployment, and other problems that have drowned the people’s lives into misery. And the desire for regime change is so high that it only takes a spark to turn economic-inspired protests into political rallies for regime change. This effect has been seen in protests throughout the year, from the farmers of Isfahan to the people of Khuzestan, to the fuel porters of Sistan and Baluchestan, and teachers across the country. The truth is that the regime has given the people countless reasons to desire the overthrow of the mullahs’ rule. And this has caused a gravitation toward the MEK as the alternative to the mullahs’ tyranny.

Mojtaba Zolnuri, the chair of the Majlis security commission, warned about current threats that social media poses to the regime. “Cyberspace and the internet are like spoiled food. It is silently eating away at the foundations of faith in our young generation and people,” he said.

Today, protesters are using social media to organize their rallies. The latest manifestation was the organized rally of teachers in more than 100 cities across Iran. The regime is terrified of any space that allows people to connect and organize beyond the regime’s control. And while it has tried all sorts of methods to block social media, the people are using workarounds and finding new ways to connect and have their voices heard.

While the regime celebrates surviving the 2009 protests, its officials are also constantly warning about the inevitability of another round of nationwide protests. The people of Iran are outraged at more than four decades of tyranny and corruption, and despite the regime’s repressive measures, protests continue every day across Iran. And as these protests join, the regime is finding it harder and harder to keep its hold on power.

 This article was first published by english.mojahedin