Liberate Iran: Demand Release Of Detained Protesters
On November 9, 1978, the US Ambassador to Tehran, William Sullivan sent shock waves through the foreign policy establishment with a diplomatic cable to the White House titled, “Thinking the unthinkable. Iran without the Shah.” The Iranian monarchy had been a US ally for decades but in less than three months, the Shah and the monarchy were history.
On November 9, 1978, the US Ambassador to Tehran, William Sullivan sent shock waves through the foreign policy establishment with a diplomatic cable to the White House titled, “Thinking the unthinkable. Iran without the Shah.” The Iranian monarchy had been a US ally for decades but in less than three months, the Shah and the monarchy were history.
Pundits were surprised by that change, and they were surprised again when Iran erupted at the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018. As the principal opposition movement, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) played an important role in organizing the protests and breaking the mullahs’ censorship with news about them. Among this news were reports that protests had emerged in more than 140 localities.
In an era of social media, it was the protesters who sent the “cables”. The message was plain and simple. With chants like “down with Rouhani”, “down with Khamenei”, and “no to reformers, no to hardliners; this game is over”, the Iranian people clearly communicated that they want regime change and they want it now.
Some 50 protesters were shot dead by security forces and the Revolutionary Guards. And according to the MEK at least 8,000 defenseless protesters were arrested. (Regime officials have acknowledged 3,700.) Reliable reports indicate that at least ten protesters have been killed under torture in prison. Some were then placed in front of their parents’ houses. A number of protesters are missing and there is no news of their condition.
For years the mullahs and their advocates convinced foreign policymakers that the opposition was limited to a number of exiles abroad and that inside Iran there are only the regime’s two factions. The protests completely debunked this narrative.
On January 9, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei blamed the US for plotting the protests with the MEK. “The MEK had prepared for this months ago,” he said, adding, “The MEK’s media outlets had called for it.”
It is a conventional gambit of despots who are rejected by their own people, to blame foreign powers. The uprising was not a conspiracy by foreign powers; rather it discredited the Obama administration and the Europeans’ appeasement of the ruling theocracy.
Very much to their credit, President Trump and Vice President Pence quickly and repeatedly expressed political support for the brave Iranians and their just demands. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley made commendable efforts to take the issue to the UN Security Council.
The uprising showed that the multi-billion dollar windfall from the nuclear deal did not benefit the people. Rather, the mullahs used the political and economic benefits of the deal for further human rights abuses and to intensify their war efforts in the region. But these interventions have only made the regime more fragile.
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