Iranian People and Organized Resistance Key to Maximum Pressure on Tehran

November 29, 2024 by Ken Blackwell; Townhall

It is widely expected that when President Trump returns to the White House in January, he will re-implement his strategy of “maximum pressure” in dealing with the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is as it should be, especially given recent reminders of Iran’s escalating nuclear activities and the looming threat of full-scale war between Iran and Israel. But the Trump administration should understand, as should all Western leaders, that to truly achieve maximum pressure on the Iranian regime, they must look beyond economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation and aim to increase the pressure that the government is already facing domestically from its own people.

When protests over the September 2022 killing of Mahsa Amini by Iran’s morality police turned into a nationwide uprising, it was generally understood to be the greatest challenge to the mullahs’ hold on power since the 1979 revolution. The uprising was ultimately suppressed through the killing of 750 protesters and the arrest of approximately 30,000. Still, public activism has persisted ever since, often giving voice to explicit calls for regime change. Those calls have, however, gone unrecognized by far too many Western policymakers, while there are even fewer who recognize that those calls are backed up by an organized opposition movement with a concrete plan for empowering a democratic alternative to the mullahs’ dictatorship.

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Ebrahim Raisi’s legacy of atrocity and repression

May 21, 2024 by Majid Rafizadeh; Townhall

Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran and one of the most reviled figures in the country’s modern history, has died in a helicopter crash. His death brings to a close a career marked by widespread human rights abuses, particularly his notorious role in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. As the nation processes this news, it’s worth reflecting on the dark legacy that Raisi leaves behind, and the implications for Iran’s future.

Raisi’s ascent to power was marked by brutality and repression. Raisi was thrust into the spotlight when Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, orchestrated his rise to the presidency in 2021. But Raisi’s infamy dates back much further. At the age of 28, Raisi was a pivotal figure in the “Death Commissions” during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, a chapter in Iranian history that continues to haunt the nation.

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West must pay direct attention to Iran, not its proxies

January 19, 2024 by Chuck Wald; Politico.eu

Following a series of Houthi attacks on international vessels in the Red Sea, military forces from the United States and the United Kingdom — supported by several other nations — began conducting operations targeting Houthi positions in Yemen last week.

But while addressing the impact of Houthi actions on international maritime security is a pressing issue, efforts to resolve the crisis should be focused on the real source behind this unfolding crisis — and the head of the snake is in Tehran.

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To Stop Endless Wars, Iran Needs Regime Change

September 10, 2023 by Ivan Sascha Sheehan; Townhall

In contemporary political literature, the term “regime change” has become synonymous with foreign invasions led by one or more global powers. These interventions often entail enormous costs in blood and treasure – billions of taxpayer dollars; countless lives placed in harm’s way.

Regrettably, such efforts are often marked by poor outcomes, including ever-increasing casualties and disruptive socio-economic consequences that ripple through an interdependent world where life for the majority is considerably harder than it was two decades ago.

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Time for Western Democracies to Stand with Iranian People

June 10, 2023 by Homeira Hesami; Townhall

Iran has been rocked by anti-government protests for years but the uprising that began in September 2022 is fundamentally different. With citizens taking to the streets, they are now demanding not only specific political and economic changes, but rather a complete overhaul of the ruling regime itself. These protests have been met with violent crackdowns by authorities, which has resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests. The executions of detainees have come in waves, with at least 130 beautiful young lives taken in since April 21 alone, including three young protesters on May 18.

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