Iran's elections were a sham

February 27, 2020; by Struan Stevenson UPI

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Iran held a general election on Friday following weeks of threats and warnings from the mullahs about the need to vote, so that the theocratic regime could retain some sort of semblance of legitimacy.

In November, over 1,500 mostly young people were shot and killed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps -- the regime's Gestapo -- during a nationwide uprising. Over 4,000 people were injured and an estimated 20,000 arrested. The supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered Iranians to vote, telling them that casting their ballot was even more important than attending Friday prayers.

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Iran could be on the brink of overthrowing its authoritarian government, and the people need U.S. support

November 24, 2019; by Homeira Hesami The Dallas Morning News

The current unrest is indicative of a deep desire for change that has been simmering for the better part of 40 years.

At least 100 people have been killed by the Iranian regime’s security forces in protests that have spread to over 140 towns and cities since Nov. 15, according to news reports, and the actual death toll could be far higher. The scale of the repression far exceeds that deployed the last time around. Around 60 protesters were reportedly killed by gunfire or torture over the course of roughly one month during the nationwide uprising in early 2018.

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Women are crucial to resisting Iran's regime

September 12, 2019 by Maria Ryan; The Hill 

Iran’s leadership has denied basic human rights to the people of Iran, especially women. For 40 years, Iran’s pro-democracy movement has remained active, despite frequent and often severe reprisals by the regime. The international community has witnessed hints of this movement’s potential at various historical moments, such as the 2009 protests and the nationwide uprising that spread across every major city of Iran in early 2018.

That Iranian women have played a unique role in these uprisings is not a coincidence. The sharp edge of the mullahs’ repression has targeted many of them with repressive, misogynistic laws and execution.

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Americans must support the right of the Iranian people to overthrow their government

June 21, 2019 by Homeira Hesami; the Dallas Morning News

As Washington debates its reaction to Iran downing a U.S. surveillance drone this week, it's vital to remember that the Iranian people overwhelmingly reject the clerical regime. Many people inside Iran and members of the diaspora, especially their compatriots in the U.S., see the entire theocracy as incapable of "reform" or behavior change. The people rose up last year in 160 cities, chanted "death to dictatorship" and called for the regime's downfall.

This is exactly the message that thousands of Iranians will echo in Washington this week. On Friday, the Iranian-American Community of North Texas will join a rally outside the State Department in Washington to call for democratic change in Iran, a message echoed by thousands of Iranians in Brussels over the weekend.

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Yes, the Iran regime has a viable alternative

April 10, 2019 by Tom Ridge; The Washington Times

I have been asked about the regime’s alleged moderation. Let’s look at Iranian elections in contrast to the Democratic candidacies this year, or the Republican primary last time around dozens of candidates. They don’t do that under the moderate regime in Iran. Everyone is vetted, and unless you are approved by the mullahs you can’t be a candidate.

How about our First Amendment? We have more than 100 networks and television stations, free to roam, and newspapers everywhere. Freedom of press in Iran? Are they free to roam, to pepper officials with questions, to confront President Rouhani about his conduct, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ conduct, and political prisoners? Simple answer. No.

Assembly? There have been 8,000 t0 10,000 people arrested since the uprisings erupted nationwide in December 2017. And freedom of speech? The very notion of protecting political dissent is a non-entity.

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