As the election farce approaches in Iran, the regime’s police have banned holding any public meeting and gathering in fear of it turning into public protests similar to the 2009 uprising.
Responding to a question about whether holding “public protests and meeting” would be allowed, Brig. General Hossein Ashtari, the commander of the repressive State Security Forces (police) said: “It is not allowed.”
He added that the police will deal harshly with “any electoral violations.”
The Iranian regime has resorted to a series of repressive measures and muscle-flexing military exercises in the weeks prior to the February 26 elections for Majlis (Parliament) and membership of the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that supposedly monitors the conduct of the supreme leader.
As the elections approach the power struggle has intensified at the highest levels of the Iranian regime. This week, the Guardian Council conclusively rejected the competence of Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, for membership in the Assembly of Experts, a pillar of the regime founded by his grandfather based on Velyat-e faqih (absolute rule of clergy).
Previously, the Guardian Council had rejected the competence of most candidates for the parliament and the Assembly of Experts from Ali Akabr Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Rouhani’s faction.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on Wednesday: “The elimination of the rival faction’s candidates on the eve of the election charade reflects an unbridled internal power struggle at the highest ranks of the regime. Such undertaking will create dangerous threats to the regime in its entirety.”
“In an attempt to overshadow the crisis, Ali Khamenei, the regime’s supreme leader, has resorted to muscle-flexing measures that include holding military exercises, missile maneuvers, and ramping up support for Bashar Assad that has resulted in more brutal massacre of the Syrian people.”