Iran foreign relations: Panhandling tactic and the truth

Iran foreign relations: Panhandling tactic and the truth

Zarif and Araghchi on a futile tour to buy time for their regime

Analysis by PMOI/MEK

Iran, May 31, 2019 - While economic sanctions targeting the mullahs’ regime are gradually increased, and the Western appeasement policy vis-à-vis the ruling mullahs in Iran nears its end, Tehran’s foreign relations establishment is employing a tactic of panhandling more than ever before.

The explosive mood of the Iranian society is the decisive ingredient in the current equation for the ruling elite in Iran, especially since a population ready for an uprising at any moment is the one and the only factor the corrupt mullahs in Iran cannot tolerate in the face of outside pressure.

Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has sent Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his first deputy, Abbas Araghchi, to the region and Japan to buy their favor and prevent a disastrous outcome for the Iranian regime. Yet, how will all of these end?

Following recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump in Japan about his administration was not aiming for regime change in Iran, media outlets close to Khamenei’s faction were swift to celebrate a victory for the regime and considered Trump’s statements a defeat for the U.S.

The Keyhan newspaper, known as Khamenei’s mouthpiece, began the boasting.

“Trump’s puppet show didn’t work. As a result, he lined up the mediators,” Keyhan wrote. In Parallel fashion, Vatan Emrouz wrote: “The process of backing off from military confrontation continues… The unpredictable and crazy Trump is at least predictable on one subject these days and that is his abstinence from confronting the [Iranian regime].”

However, pundits and officials close to Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani’s faction disagree and warn about the mullahs’ dangerous circumstances.

Mehdi Motaharnia, a political pundit close to Rouhani’s camp, issued a warning.

“The fact that Trump and some White House officials talk sometimes about negotiating with Tehran, should be viewed in a framework of short term tactics rather than a U.S. strategic approach toward Iran. They are demanding Tehran first start the path of changing its behavior, and decreases tensions and obstacles in the way of the U.S. in the Middle East, such as presenting the deal of the century. Afterward, the path is paved for the disintegration of the [Iranian regime] and its change,” he said.

Motaharnia painted the dual path before Iran’s ruling mullahs.

“Tehran has to either announce its cooperation with Washington’s policies or the endeavor for its isolation. Thus, the removal will start, and it has already happened,” he explained.

Mohammad Mousavi Bojnourdi, an Iranian cleric and former high-ranking member of the Judiciary, warned about the explosive mood of the population.

“In the current circumstances, Iran should not be impacted by outside sentiments and excitements, and should not leave the orbit of reason. Economically, people’s livelihoods are very difficult. Therefore, officials should work more seriously to solve the people’s economic difficulties,” he explained.

Fararou website, close to Rouhani’s faction, published an article on May 28 with the subtitle, “Zarif’s secret message in Baghdad to Washington.”

“Over the past month, as tensions increased between Iran and the U.S., the diplomatic establishment greatly increased its activities and officials are continuously racing back and forth to transmit messages while explaining Iran’s position,” the post reads.

“Last Saturday, shortly after returning from Pakistan, Zarif traveled to Iraq. This trip followed Zarif’s visits to countries such as India, China, Russia, Japan, and Iraq. Additionally, Araghchi also traveled to Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman,” the article further read.

Meanwhile, referring to the mediators’ frequent trips, the Ir.diplomacy website writes: “It appears that the main issue has been lost. Everybody talks about mediating to decrease the possibility of military confrontation, while they ignore the fact that the U.S. increased its military threats against Iran; while shortly prior to that, it implemented harsh sanctions against Iran… From abolishing waivers for countries who bought our oil and shortly afterward, sanctions on our metal industries… These were the pressures that the U.S. tried to apply economically.”

“Are they attempting to ask us much so that we are going to be satisfied with having a little?” the article concludes.

Iran’s state TV under fire for insulting Sunni community

Iran’s state TV under fire for insulting Sunni community

Insulting remarks made during a show on state TV

Reported by PMOI/MEK

Iran, May 30, 2019 - Widespread protests targeting Iran’s state-run channel 5 TV being accused of insulting the Sunni community in southern Iran forced this TV station to fire the network’s director and the program manager.

During a show aired last Thursday, a panegyrist who had appeared as a guest apparently targeted the Sunni population of the southern provinces in an insulting manner causing anger among the Sunni community. The uproar pressed a number of Majlis (parliament) members to speak out against the TV station and demand answers from the show director.

Fearing the spread of the unrest and protest to other Sunni communities, the judiciary was forced to step in and issue a farce arrest warrant for the panegyrist in question. Of course, the panegyrist was shortly released after preliminary questioning. However, as protests continued, the TV station was forced to relieve the network’s director and the show manager to quell the public’s anger.

Fearing these protests would turn into a major popular uprising, the Tabnak website, affiliated to former Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) chief Mohsen Rezaie, now Secretary of the regime’s Expediency Discernment Council, wrote a warning for the entire regime apparatus.

“The cumulative actions from the beginning of this incident show the seriousness and the importance of having religious and ethnic unity in Iran,” he said.

Former Tehran mayor shot dead his young wife

Former Tehran mayor shot dead his young wife

Former Tehran mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi

Reported by PMOI/MEK

Iran, May 29, 2019 - In a heinous crime, former Tehran mayor Mohammad-Ali Najafi shot and killed his young wife, according to Iran’s state-run news outlets.

Mitra Najafi, who according to the media was much younger than her husband, was killed at her house in the Saadat-abad district of the country’s capital city.

Najafi turned himself in after the coldblooded murder, according to reports, admitting to the killing and citing “family disputes” as the reason behind this horrendous atrocity.

Najafi was the mullahs’ vice president under Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani back in 2013. He also carried senior positions in numerous previous administrations, including former minister of education during the tenure of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-97), former chairman of the Planning and Budget Organization during the tenure of Mohammad Khatami(1997-2005), and a former minister of higher education under Mir Hossein Mousavi when he served as the regime’s prime minister (1981-89).

However, despite the brutality of this action, such nefarious crimes perpetrated by the clerical regime’s officials are not rare and scarce. These cases often go unpunished.

Instead of punishing the culprit, the families of the victims are pressured to remain silent about the crime. Many have been harassed after going public.

Iran’s top diplomats begging for talks with neighbors

Iran’s top diplomats begging for talks with neighbors

Iranian regime Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (right) and his deputy, Abbas Araghchi

Analysis by PMOI/MEK

Iran, May 27, 2019 - Iranian regime Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his deputy, Abbas Araghchi, have been circling regional countries literally begging for talks with neighboring states.

In his visit to Iraq, Zarif welcomed all suggestions for talks and de-escalation of tensions and even provided a variety of suggestions to sign non-aggression agreement with Persian Gulf countries. On behalf of regime President Hassan Rouhani, Zarif also invited Iraqi President Barham Salih to visit Iran.

Visiting Pakistan prior to his trip to Iraq, Zarif had presented suspicious economic proposals to Pakistan.

“The people and officials in the city of Chabahar (southeast Iran) strongly believe Chabahar and Gwadar in Pakistan are two complementary port cities,” he said. Currently, the Iranian regime has literally sold off Chabahar to India under the pretext of expansion efforts.

Senior U.S. officials are holding Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) accountable for the terrorist attacks on four oil tankers off the coasts of the United Arab Emirates. The U.S State Department recently designated the IRGC as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO).

The remarks made by U.S. officials have raised eyebrows and alarm bells for the mullahs’ regime.

“These statements by the Americans are extremely dangerous for global peace… Raising such allegations, the U.S. intends to justify its aggressive policies in the Middle East,” Zarif said, reflecting concerns in Tehran.

Iranian regime Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Oman on Sunday, a country with a history of playing the role of a mediator between the mullahs’ regime and the United States.

“We are ready to establish balanced relations with all Persian Gulf countries,” Araghchi said following his talks with Oman’s top diplomat.

Circumstances across the region are very tense and all parties should practice restraint, said the Foreign Minister of Oman. Araghchi has plans to visit Kuwait and Qatar.

Iran: 30 arrested for attending Yoga class

Iran: 30 arrested for attending Yoga class

Authorities in Iran arrested 30 people as they took part in a yoga class

Analysis by PMOI/MEK

Iran, May 26, 2019 - Sources inside Iran have cited a statement by a judiciary official in the northern province of Golestan saying that the repressive state security forces have arrested 30 men and women for participating in a mixed-gender yoga class.

The statement carried out by Tasnim news agency, affiliated to the terrorist-designatedRevolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force, says an unnamed individual published an ad in his Instagram account setting up a yoga training class for men and women at his own residence. The statement continues to say a number of men and women found this interesting and communicated with the aforesaid individual.

The statement went on to say, “The person did not have a license to operate yoga classes in residential premises in the province of Golestan.”

“Men and women took part in this class in his private home wearing inappropriate clothes and behaving in abnormal manners!” according to the misogynist regime’s judiciary statement. 

There was no word from this extremist and fanatical judiciary to explain what they meant by this so-called “abnormal manners” accusation. However, the judiciary did say that charges have been filed against the yoga instructor and the 30 individuals attending his class.

The legal deputy of Golestan province’s judiciary branch insisted that there should be more detailed monitoring and control of the internet, and especially social media platforms, to, as he put it, “catch lawbreaking misusers and punish them for their crimes.”

Earlier this month, the clerical regime’s judiciary announced that an unspecified number of people have been arrested for working in “un-Islamic” online modeling networks.

The state-run Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday, May 1, that the arrests took place in Iran’s Markazi (Central) Province. The report did not elaborate on the number of detainees, other than to say they had been handed over to the Iranian regime’s judiciary.

Mohsen Karimi, an IRGC commander in the central city of Arak, said staff at the agencies had been arrested for “promoting vulgarity,” partly through sharing portfolio pictures of models on social media.

Also, another 25 men and women were arrested in a night party in Gorgan Province. In the city of Sari, northern Iran, another 20 teenage boys, and girls were arrested for taking part in another night party. And the list goes on and on.

Report: Iran’s IRGC hunting internet users

Report: Iran’s IRGC hunting internet users

Revolutionary guard( IRGC) hackers, cyber, cyberwar

Analysis by PMOI/MEK

Iran, May 25, 2019 - The Iranian people are considered to be one of the most vibrant populations on the internet. Over 40 million Iranians, comprising of more than half of the 80 million population, and especially the youth, are using the internet to share news and information, debate in private, and conduct business.

The Iranian regime, however, is using the internet to suppress its own people. This practice has escalated following the Dec 2017/Jan 2018 protest movement in Iran.

Since then, regime authorities have been placing a special focus on political activists, in particular, with officials demanding the imposition of greater limitations on the internet and tighter controls over social media.

Remarks by senior regime officials, appointees to top positions, and executive/legislative actions are all indications of the regime moving toward imposing tighter online restrictions.

On January 17, the regime’s so-called Assembly of Experts issued a statement emphasizing:

“The Ministry of Communications, the High Council of Cyberspace, and all related institutions should actively engage in establishing order in the cyberspace, confront unethical issues and psychological warfare by the enemy, and take serious steps in monitoring and confronting the opposition and unethical networks.”

All the while, the mullahs’ regime has been involved in extensively expanding the role of the military and the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in cyber affairs. This has alarmed internet freedom activists and human rights organizations.

In April, the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed former IRGC chief Mohammad Ali Jafari as head of the IRGC Baghiyatollah Cultural and Social Headquarters (BCSH).

The BCSH’s significance stems from its cyber operations. Its role is to assist the regime address the so-called “soft war” that the West is allegedly waging against the mullahs’ apparatus on the internet. The fact that Khamenei himself directly appointed the BCSH chief for the first time is an indication of the importance Iran’s ruling establishment is placing in “soft war” on the internet.

“Given your interest in being present in cultural fields and having a role in the soft war… I appoint you to head the BCSH,” Iran’s supreme leader said in his order.

Restricting Internet access

The ruling regime has always been trying to impose heavy restrictions on access to foreign media and social networks for Iranian Internet users.

The internet and social media apps in the country, as well as online user activities, are heavily censored and monitored by the regime.

As an example, university students could be punished for engaging in online activities deemed by the government as “unethical” following the passage of an amendment to the Islamic Republic’s academic disciplinary regulations.

“Publishing unethical photos or committing immoral acts in cyberspace and on information-sharing networks will result in disciplinary action against students,” said Jamasb Nozari, director of the state-run Academic Affairs Organization, in an interview with the state-funded Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) on April 26, 2019.

The amendment was passed by the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council’s Committee for the Islamization of Universities on April 21, 2019.

The new rule does not define what is and isn’t “unethical,” giving the authorities free rein to make arbitrary decisions.

Another example is that when a subscriber of Iran’s Hamrah Aval mobile phone company tries to access Telegram app channels without an SSL protocol (http://t.me), which enable encrypted data transfers, they will be redirected to the 87.98.254.38 website.

Then a message will appear on their screen, such as, “By the order of the Prosecutor General, accessing this content is prohibited and in violation of the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Your device specifications and internet identification have been recorded.”

On January 21, Iranian regime president Hassan Rouhani admitted to Tehran’s attempts in filtering the cyberspace.  He did not even get close to criticizing the filtering efforts in their merits. He just said that they were not successful:

“Well, we were unsuccessful in some of our efforts in recent years,” he said. “We thought it is under our control. We thought it would be filtered if we just ordered so…. What should we do with VPNs?”

Rouhani was not the only official speaking of the regime’s efforts against free flow of information in cyberspace. Four days earlier, Ahmad Khatami, the spokesman for the board of directors of Assembly of Experts, said that in their latest session, “everyone agreed that the damages inflicted by the cyberspace were serious.”

Given the Iranian regime’s terrible track record, it is very meaningful when its officials talk about failure in blocking or controlling the cyberspace. This is not a failure in the first battle. It is the end of a series of expensive endeavors. So as much as it is some good news, it alarms us to try and identify, expose, and counter new tactics by the regime.

In 2019, Iranian media outlets began reporting on the sudden appearance of branch offices of a “Prosecutor General’s Cyber Division Rapid Reaction Center,” a new state agency that appears to be tasked with monitoring and censoring online content and activities.

The center reportedly has offices in Iranian cities including Mashhad, Ardabil, and Khorramabad, but no state official has publicly explained its existence.

In Iran, the government’s Working Group for Determining Instances of Criminal Content (WGDICC) is responsible for monitoring and censoring online content. However, Iranian courts have also ordered websites or apps to be blocked on several occasions.

The Prosecutor General’s Cyber Division Rapid Reaction Center could be the judiciary’s latest attempt to carry out these actions in a systematic way.

Spying on social media users

The regime’s massive cyberwar apparatus is run by the Revolutionary Guards, IRGC, and the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) which spend huge amounts of money from the assets of the Iranian people and employ thousands of IRGC members, Basijis, and hackers affiliated to them. Their goal is to mislead, spread misinformation, and prevent the free flow of information.

The agents of the MOIS and the Quds Force abroad are a major part of this cyberwar apparatus for spreading lies and deception, and they pursue the regime’s objectives under various covers and titles, and sometimes under the guise of opponents of the regime, misusing internet and social networks and launching hundreds of websites in various languages.

The mullahs’ cyberwar machine has been organized in sets that are unrelated to each other and under different covers so that the regime’s fingerprints are less visible.

The costs of running this network and its payments are made through complex ways and through non-Iranian intermediaries, or at least outside of Iran to circumvent international sanctions and restrictions. Recent research by international cybersecurity firms has shown that the source of all these covert accounts is Iran under the rule of the clerical regime.

In many cases, non-Iranian mercenaries of the Ministry of Intelligence and Quds Force, with completely Western culture, misuse political or electoral rivalry in these countries to carry out the dictated instructions of Tehran.

On the other hand, the Iranian regime has always sought to have access to sensitive private data and identify dissidents.

In this regard, it has filtered popular messaging apps, such as Telegram, forcing millions of users into indigenous platforms.

This is a grave security risk for millions of Iran Internet users, allowing authorities access to sensitive personal data and easily identify dissidents.

Hidden and visible signs of the end for the regime in Iran

Hidden and visible signs of the end for the regime in Iran

The Mullas' Majlis (parliament)

Analysis by PMOI/MEK

Iran, May 24, 2019 - These days, among warnings and messages Iranian officials are voicing to their followers, in addition to the usual name-calling and blaming the opposition for the crises and dead-end the Iranian regime faces, there is also a shadow of a more serious horror to be seen that is not explicitly mentioned.

The May 21 open session of the Iranian Majlis (parliament) was another of regime officials expressing grave concerns about the end of the Islamic Republic.

“Usually, in a hodgepodge of political, media and societal controversies, the truth about the country’s problems stay unknown and therefore, most of the time, no real solution is found,” said Majlis member Homayoun Youssefi.

Mohammad Kianoushrad, former Majlis member and close to Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani’s camp, said: “structural problems, not only in the constitution but also in lower levels in the executive, cultural, political and security fields have rendered the government unstable.”

He then went on to vaguely mention the regime’s atrocities in the early 1980s while admitting that raw and violent crackdown doesn’t pay off anymore.

“If in the early 1980s we could loosely accept that some decisions were made out of the scope of the law, today such a demand and image is not wise at all,” he said. “Currently, it appears that there is pessimism and examples of that can be seen in the developments at the end 2017-2018 [the popular uprising all around Iran]. So, if an optimistic climate is not created, the people’s pessimism won’t lead to anything but further crises.”

Asghar Massoudi, another Majlis member from Rouhani’s camp, expressed his concerns about widespread corruption and the regime’s inefficiency, warning about a popular explosion. “Corruption is a beast with seven heads that will destroy public trust. Negligence in fighting corruption is like complicity with the corrupt,” he said. “When people feel that the government is oppressing them, they’ll become intent to retaliate… We need to be careful that usury, hypocrisy, nepotism, economic rent, and bribery don’t pull all the efforts of the [Islamic] revolution in vain and shake the roots of the regime,” he added.

Another Majlis member, Amir Khojasteh, acknowledged the crumbling economy and said about the government’s currency policies that “the government has no written plan for the currency section in the country… Printing banknotes won’t solve the mayhem in the market. Removing four zeros from the national currency means that the national currency is devalued… The government has faced defeat in all of its measures to control the inflation,” he added.

“Impeachments don’t solve anything because over the past year we have impeached several ministers and the situation has worsened and not improved… The government’s economic team passes by the people’s economic problems indifferently and this issue has rendered the people sad and angry.”

Such remarks are not limited to the Majlis. Iranian state-run media also publish frequent articles about the dangerous mood of Iranian society.

“We should pay close attention to the society. If the Iranian society, which always acts as a group, reaches the point of total distrust regarding the state’s internal narrative, it will swiftly cross the threshold of legitimacy [for the regime] and the situation will deteriorate many folds,” the Ebtekar newspaper, close to Rouhani’s camp, wrote in a May 20 article. “The situation is in a way that the developments in the Iranian society are accelerating towards ‘radicalism’.

“These days, the special situation of the country tells us that you can’t, and maybe shouldn’t, be optimistic about the usual and already tested approaches and plans of recent years. Experience shows that you can’t find the ‘feeling of security’ and the ‘feeling of trust’ only in legal prosecution and police crackdown. Such approaches would not only be a containing measure, considering the type of these actions, there will also sometimes be an impact that is contrary to the initial goals.”

The writers of Ebtekar use the typical vague language of Iranian mullahs or people who themselves fear prosecution living in an autocratic regime. However, what they really mean is plain and simple: The Iranian regime should fear the wrath of ordinary Iranians and violent crackdowns will not help the regime much like in the past. It may actually have the opposite effect of igniting a population who have already had enough.

Iran regime quadruples enriched uranium production

Iran regime quadruples enriched uranium production

Iran is announcing higher production pace of low-enriched uranium

Analysis by PMOI/MEK

Iran, May 22, 2019 - Iran’s mullahs have quadrupled their low-enriched uranium production rate amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran, according to the Associated Press citing semi-official news agencies in Iran on Monday.

A quadrupling of LEU production would mean the Iranian regime will likely go beyond the stockpile limitations set by the 2015 nuclear deal, according to AP.

On May 8, Tehran announced it would stop complying with a 300-kilogram cap on the storage of enriched uranium under the nuclear deal. The mullahs’ regime announced it would not comply by limits on uranium enrichment unless Europe throws an economic lifeline within 60 days, setting an ultimatum for the survival of the agreement.

Iran says the production of uranium enriched to the 3.67% limit is set by the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani addressed government officials on Monday in this regard.

“We have informed the heads of five governments that we will stop complying with two measures that we have been doing all along. These two measures are in a simple language two act of selling. Meaning whenever our enriched uranium stockpile would reach 300 kilograms, we would sell the excess amount to another country and receive yellow cake in return. This procedure will stop now.

“The second sale was our heavy water. Whenever we would reach our maximum permitted limit of 130 tons, we would sell the excess to another country. This procedure is also stopped now,” Rouhani explained.

The announcement by Rouhani came as the US State Department published a list of extra sanctions and limits on the mullahs’ nuclear program on May 3. The new sanctions and limitations imposed on Iran regime prior to the announcement by Rouhani were banning any purchase of enriched uranium from Iran. The US government also sanctioned any selling of heavy water by the Iranian regime.

Following Rouhani’s announcement of breaching Iran’s nuclear obligations, the United Kingdom, France and Germany expressed deep concern over any violation of Iran’s JCPOA commitments. China also expressed refrain from any radical and drastic measures by the regime.

The UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned Iran not to “underestimate the resolve of the U.S.” amid heightened tensions across the Persian Gulf.

Hunt told journalists in Geneva on Monday that U.S. leaders “are not seeking conflict, they don’t want a war with Iran, but if American interests are attacked, they will retaliate. And that is something that the Iranians need to think about very, very carefully.” 

Hunt added that Britain has had extensive discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over Iran. He said he hopes Iran starts to “pull back from the destabilizing activities” it conducts in the region.

Iran: Officials horrified over widening rift between regime, ordinary Iranians

Iran: Officials horrified over widening rift between regime, ordinary Iranians

miracle

Analysis by PMOI/MEK

May 20, 2019 - While one can’t stop hearing Iranian regime officials’ saber rattling these days talking about the strength of their military and an unprecedented national unity! facing a foreign enemy, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

And sometimes, what can be witnessed on the streets of Iran by any impartial observer, shows itself through the cracks of the official rhetoric.

Mostafa Bagheribonabi, Friday prayer imam of Bonab in northwest Iran, describes the root of the popular discontent, especially among the youth, in the enemy’s propaganda. “The enemies are intent to damage the huge capacity of the youth,” he said.

“By spreading corrupt values that are anti-religion, the enemies are waging total war on this country to take the youth from us, and thus obliterate our greatness and pervert the youth,” Bagheribonabi added.

Jalil Jalili, Friday prayer imam of the town of Sardrud in East Azerbaijan Province, described the popular despise for the regime as the enemy’s scheme.

“Among the enemy's plots, these days is to change the calculation of the officials and to create confrontation between the people and the [mullahs’] regime.”

Jalili expressed his concerns about Tehran’s isolation on the internet and called it a killing field for the regime’s values.

Abbas Rahim, the Friday prayer imam of Khomeini Shahr, central Iran, went as far as asking Iranian officials to prosecute and crackdown against dissent on the internet.

“Authorities need to find a solution to confront some behaviors seen on the cyberspace and prosecute decisively,” he said.

Ali Hosseini, Friday prayer imam of ‌Bandar Deyr in Bushehr Province of southern Iran, expressed his fears of decreasing loyalty among the regime’s forces when they confront the popular mood in the cyberspace.

“If cyberspace isn’t managed properly, the beliefs of the young generation will be damaged,” he said.

In contrast to Friday prayer imams, who are traditionally aligned with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s views, elements of the opposing camp find the roots of the problem in the mullahs’ approach, while admitting to the growing rift between the regime and ordinary Iranians.

Alireza Beheshti, son of Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti and a senior adviser to Mir Hossein Mousavi during the 2009 presidential elections, says: “The people of Iran are living in a difficult situation for many years now. This situation is the result of a deep-rooted inefficiency that has led to the spread of corruption. When people see widespread corruption, they will lose their trust in the authorities… This situation continues as we speak and is very dangerous.”

There are still hopefuls inside the ruling elite who suggest that “economic and political” surgeries, as they call it, will open a path for the corrupt elite to exit their current dead-end.

However, as the Iranian people clearly stated in their chants during the popular protests at the beginning of 2018: “Reformist! Hardliners! Game over!”