Insider Opposition Grows To Khamenei’s Intransigence

In a tweet on Friday, the top EU diplomat said he spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, conveying to him “EU's clear and united position: people in Iran have the right to peaceful protest and to defend fundamental rights.”

"Violent repression must stop immediately. Protesters must be released. Internet access and accountability are needed," he added.

According to unconfirmed reports, the EU is set to sanction four entities and 11 high-ranking Iranian military and security officials for their roles in the repression of the uprising, ignited by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. 

Also on Friday, a senior EU official said the EU foreign ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia, noting that the ministers will not take any decisions on additional Iran sanctions but could reach a political agreement on future sanctions linked to a transfer of drones. 

Despite numerous reports by the Ukrainian military about the use of the Iranian drones by the Russian forces, the 27-nation bloc is still trying to find independent evidence for the use of Tehran-supplied drones in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the official added. 

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 10, Russia had used Iran-made drones to attack dozens of civilian targets in Ukraine. The Ukrainian military claimed on October 8 that Russia has sent Iranian military drones to Belarus for possible attacks in western or central parts of Ukraine.

This comes while the protesters who take to the streets daily, risking their lives, freedom and property insist that the uprising should continue until the Islamic Republic is toppled.

On Thursday, October 13, the editor of the Islamic Republic newspaper, Masih Mohajeri, wrote in an editorial that "protesters may end the uprising and get closer to state officials if they see that their economic problems are solved and their citizenship rights are respected by those officials."

Without explaining how that would be possible, the editorial stressed that the protesters' demands must be met. Also, without mentioning the government's inefficiency, the editorial pointed out, "There are many individuals in the country who are ready to serve the people, but radical elements have kept them away from the government for various reasons. So, they are isolated, and their capabilities are not used in the management of the country."

Meanwhile, senior cleric, Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli called on the government "to solve the country's economic problems as everybody issuffering from the painful poverty that is imposed on the people." He further stressed: "There is no whip more painful than poverty." He warned that economic problems will not be solved as long as there are embezzlements and astronomical salaries.”

However, neither Mohajeri, nor Javadi Amoli mentioned that the current government and to a great extent its predecessor were unable to tackle the economic problems which are largely the outcome of counter-productive decisions made by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his hard-line followers and inner circle.

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They did not say how can Iran's economic problems be solved without an effective foreign policy that can end the country's international isolation and lift international sanctions that have paralyzed the country's economy. They also ignored the fact that without abiding by international financial regulations banning sponsorship of terrorism and money laundering, the country's economy will not be linked to global markets.

Insiders who give some constructive advice, however, often do not cross the regime’s red line of calling out Khamenei for imposing an anti-US and anti-West foreign policy on the country. They do not say that without coming to terms with the United States, limiting its nuclear program and stripping it of military dimensions, promising not to intervene in the affairs of regional states and stopping ballistic missile development, Iran will have no future.

Individuals such as Javadi Amoli and Mohajeri, regardless of their goodwill, keep forgetting that there is no visible sign in Khamenei's remarks and other officials' statement to respect citizens’ rights. Instead, there are plenty of defiant and arrogant remarks in the daily news from Iran that show neither Khamenei nor any other official has the slightest inclination to respect civil right. Many analysts have noted that their behavior is similar to those who have occupied a country and are exerting pressure on its residents.

Regardless of the severity of Iranians' financial hardship in recent months, not even a single slogan has been chanted in four weeks of uprising calling for improvement in people's livelihood. Instead, nearly all of the slogans chanted point out that what Iranians want is an end to clerical rule and Khamenei's dictatorship.

The foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that additional sanctions were imposed under the Special Economic Measures Regulations in response to the government's human rights abuses and destabilizing actions.

Former Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was in the new list as well as former prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, Khamenei's representative in Kayhan Hossein Shariatmadari, former president Hassan Rouhani's defense minister Amir Hatami, the current state broadcaster chief Peyman Jebelli and former parliament speaker Ali Larijani.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said, “The actions of the Iranian regime speak for themselves – the world has watched for years as it has pursued its agenda of violence, fear and propaganda," adding that "Canada will continue to defend human rights and we will continue to stand in solidarity with the Iranian people, including women and youth, who are courageously demanding a future where their human rights will be fully respected."

On October 3, Canada slapped sanctions on 34 Iranian officials and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and morality police, over the crackdown on current protests, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who died while in custody of Iran's "morality” police.

The 83-year-old Supreme Leader in charge for 33 years called the uprising a "minor incident" although it has posed an unprecedented challenge to his rule and the very existence of the clerical regime.

Calling for harsh measures against the protesters as usual, Kahmenei charged that "Some of those in the streets these days are either the agents of the enemy or sympathize with the enemy. The Judiciary and security officials should fulfil their responsibility against these individuals. And there are still those who take to the streets because they have been provoked by others. The officials need to have some cultural plans for them."

A disconcerted Khamenei who as delivering a speech seemed to have lost his contact with reality, characterizing the uprising as "a reaction by the enemies to Iran's progress and the Iranian nation's innovations." Meanwhile he suggested that Iranian officials should resist the enemy’s plot and go about their "business as usual" regardless of "minor incidents."

While protests have been going on within less than a mile of his office like almost everywhere else in the country, Khamenei called them "scattered riots here and there." He insisted that "recent developments are not spontaneous" and blamed "the enemies’ propaganda" as the driving force of the protests. Khamenei one again charged that "foreign politicians in Europe, United States and elsewhere" have been instigating the uprising.

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This comes while many Iranian officials and politicians as well as sociologists, economists and other academics have warned that the protests, ignited by the killing of a young woman in police custody last month, were fuelled by the government's broken promises and the people's accumulated demands and frustrations.

They have also warned that Khamenei and his regime are facing a new generation that does not care about the values imposed by the regime through morality police and other coercive institutions.

On the same day that Khamenei made the defiant remarks, Iranian reformist cleric and politician Mohammad Ali Abtahi acknowledged that "the world is listening to the voice of Iranians' protest and stressed that this voice should be also heard inside Iran."

He criticized the government for simply trying to cope with popular dissent when it manifests itself rather than trying to understand the cause of the protests. The government should have paved the way for political reforms and the creation of political parties. In the absence of political parties, the shocks created by dissidents will be directly pointed at the government, he said.

In another development, former Labor Minister Ali Rabiei warned that if the dissatisfactions are not addressed properly, dissent will remain active and sooner or later it will find its way into the streets. Rabiei who was a member of Iran's intelligence community for many years, said that crisis management is a science which should be used before, during and after every crisis.

Iranian analyst Morteza Kazemian wrote on Twitter: "Khamenei is not feeling well. He attributed the protests to the enemies, and called for confrontation with protesters." Another Twitter user, Ehsan Soltani said that "Khamenei's remarks had only one message: There will be no change. Like all dictators, he does not listen and will not correct his behavior. The only thing that can happen to them is that they can be toppled."

Former reformist MP Mahmoud Sadeghi wrote that "Khamenei's remarks destroyed any hope of a peaceful solution to the current crisis."

Although the ministers’ agenda is focused on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, EU relations with China, and November’s ‘Cop 27’ United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday it was “time to sanction those [in Iran] responsible…for the repression of women.”

French foreign minister Catherine Colonna said last week the EU was considering asset freezes and travel bans. Agreement on any measures would require unanimous agreement from the EU’s 27 member states.

Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief said October 5 that Europe was considering “all the options at our disposal, including restrictive measures, to address the killing of Mahsa Amini and the way Iranian security forces have been responding to the demonstrations.” Borrell tweeted October 6 that he had discussed with Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian the case of Amini, who died September 16 in disputed circumstances after she was detained by Tehran ‘morality police.’

The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have already sanctioned Iran’s morality police and designated named senior commanders in both the morality police and general police force. Canada has banned 10,000 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps from entering the country.

‘Action Plan on Human Rights’

The EU, along with the UK, lifted energy and financial sanctions against Iran when Tehran agreed with world powers the 2015 nuclear agreement, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). But when the US left the agreement in 2018 and threatened punitive action against third parties dealing with Iran, European firms, including energy majors Total and Shell and car-makers, Renault and Daimler, withdrew from Tehran.

The EU has maintained a range of sanctions against named Iranian individuals and entities over military technology, nuclear-related transfers, as well as “restrictive measures in view of the human rights situation in Iran” and Tehran’s involvement in the war in Syria.

Committed by its ‘Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024’ to “further advancing universal values for all,” the EU has imposed sanctions on China, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, South Sudan, and Russia over alleged human rights violations. It also implements United Nations sanctions.

The EU, like the US administration of President Joe Biden, has argued that efforts to revive the JCPOA should be kept distinct from other issues including Iran’s regional links or its reaction to internal unrest. Amir-Abdollahian tweeted Tuesday, after speaking to France’s Colonna by phone, that “violence & terror should be confronted” and that Tehran would “reciprocate if EU restrictive measures applied.”