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Iran Protests Have Shifted Fear to Regime’s Camp

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Into its fourth week, the nationwide Iran uprising has forced regime officials to express concern. Seemingly the fear has shifted to the regime’s camp, despite its numerous attempts to quash protests.

In recent days, authorities and state media spoke of “hearing people’s demands and criticism” and “apologizing to citizens.” These remarks by regime officials, who have constantly shown their teeth and resorted to a crackdown, are quite telling of the uprising’s power.

“We are ready to hear people’s criticism and opinions. If we have made a mistake, we will make amends,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the regime’s judiciary chief known for his brutality, said on October 10.

Besides his dark record in oppressing dissidents, Ejei is notorious for savagery among the regime’s insiders, as he attacked the journalist Issa Saharkhiz in the regime’s parliament, biting him in his ear.

Saeed Reza Ameli, head of the regime’s Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, called for creating a so-called “national free speech house” where people could “Freely share their opinions.” Ameli made these remarks after a meeting with the regime’s president Ebrahim Raisi on October 10.

On October 10, MP Mehdi Bagheri also spoke of “initiating national dialogue to find a solution for the country’s problems.”

“We should change our security perspective. The system’s strategy should be based on ‘smiling to people’ not frowning at them,” Mohammad Sadr, a member of the regime’s Expediency Council, was quoted as saying by the state-run Jamaran website on October 11.

“An incident occurred, and we have offered our apologies many times. People shouldn’t clash with the police,” Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi, the former Minister of Intelligence and Security and the current representative of Supreme Leader in Arak, was quoted as saying by state TV on October 11.

By incident, Najafabadi referred to the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-years old Kurdish girl in morality police custody, which sparked the current uprising.

“Had the officials admitted to their wrongdoings in this incident and their mismanagement of the morality police and apologized to people for their ineptitude in ruling the county, we would not be witnessing such widespread unrest in different cities,” the state-run Jahan-e Sanat daily wrote on October 11.

Among millions of Iranians who chant “death to the dictator” and yearn for regime change, one cannot find a single soul who would fall for officials’ bogus claims and pathetic gestures. Not a single Iranian believes officials’ crocodile tears while they witness security forces open fire on them.

As their downfall draws closer, all dictators resort to these maneuvers. The Shah also acknowledged he had heard “the voice of people’s revolution.” The Shah even took some actions, such as dismissing and imprisoning his Prime Minister. Yet, he failed to save his regime.

Iran’s ruling theocracy is in a far worse situation. As the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly acknowledged, “taking a step backward” or “changing behavior” would result in the regime’s immediate downfall.

Regime officials are aware of this situation. Therefore, Ejei, who invited protesters to “dialogue,” also ordered, “judiciary officials to complete the rioters’ cases and decisively deal with those linked to the [opposition].”

The clerical regime is founded on human rights violations. Authorities are making these gestures to buy more time for their demoralized and worn-out forces, who have failed miserably to quash expanding protests.

“Many security forces couldn’t go home in the last few days. With its current infrastructures, our security apparatus cannot appropriately handle the situation,” Mohsen Mansouri, Tehran’s governor, was quoted as saying by the state-run Entekhab website on October 8.

A video from Iran showed graffiti on a large billboard that read: “We are not afraid anymore; we will fight on.” Iranian people have showcased their courage in recent protests, also laying bare the regime’s weakness. Now, as the regime tries to increase its violence, the world community should honor its moral and legal obligation by recognizing the Iranian people’s right to self-defense and resistance by any possible means.