The 11th term of the Iranian regime’s parliament, which is in line with the regime’s contraction policy, and its position, with having many of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and Basij militia commanders as so-called members, confirm the regime’s intention to increase its global terrorism and domestic oppression.
Following the nationwide Iran protests in November with over 1500 martyrs, the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was the first to understand that people’s conflict with his regime has passed an irreversible point. With people chanting “Reformists, Hardliner, the game is over,” Khamenei understood that his maneuver of so-called “reformism” has ended, and he cannot use it to further manipulate the society. In addition, the regime’s increasing international isolation proved that the so-called “reformist” faction, led by the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani and consisting of the regime’s top security officials, had failed in pursuing and making the policy of appeasement as effective as before for the regime. Therefore, facing a restive society and engulfed with various crisis, Khamenei massively purged the rival faction’s candidates for the sham parliamentary elections, as a new phase of his contraction policy.
The regime’s contraction policy is based on more domestic oppression and the export of terrorism. A glance at the background of some of the new parliament members and their positions in the past few days confirms Khamenei’s goal of handpicking these so-called lawmakers.
Recent positions by the regime’s MPs:
Ali Mousavi, MP from the city of Malekan, East Azerbaijan, during Majlis’s [parliament] public session on Sunday, said: “We should name this parliament after martyr Qassem Soleimani [IRGC’s Quds Force eliminated commander and the regime’s terror mastermind], and we should pursue his doctrine.”
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the parliament new speaker: “If it weren’t for the actions of our soldiers and extraterritorial guardians of the Islamic Revolution [IRGC and its terrorist Quds Force], the enemy would have done anything it could, and they had plans for the streets of Tehran.”
In another speech, Qalibaf had said: “The system’s achievement has been rendered due to the efforts made by people like Qassem Soleimani.” He continued: “The Eleventh Majlis considers strong confrontation with foreign enemies, especially the United States and the Zionist regime, as one of its basic principles and will not hesitate in confronting the opposition and internal hypocrites. The 11th parliament has pledged to continue the path of Martyr Soleimani in increasing the power of the Axis of Resistance as an unchangeable strategy. It considers supporting the Palestinian people, Hezbollah in Lebanon, resistance groups, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the oppressed people of Yemen as its revolutionary and national duty. Negotiation and compromise with the U.S. as the axis of Global Arrogance is considered fruitless and harmful.”
A glance at the background of some of the regime’s new MPs:
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the regime’s new parliament speaker: He was one of the top commanders of the IRGC in the Iran-Iraq war and after the war. Some of the positions he held include Commander of IRGC’s Khatam Al-Anbia Construction Camp (from 1994 to 1997), Commander of the IRGC Air Force (1997-2000), Commander-in-Chief of the police force (2000 to 2005). He is a leading figure of corruption in the regime, and as the former mayor of Tehran, he is accused of systematic embezzlements and corruption. During Qalibaf’s term as Tehran’s mayor, the transfer of property at a quarter of the price to senior municipal officials and some members of the Tehran City Council, as well as IRGC commanders, and land acquisition in different parts of Tehran became routine.
Ahmad Amir Abadi Farahani, MP from Qom, member of the Majlis Presidium: According to the information published on his website, Ahmad Amir Abadi is an IRGC member, and participated in the Iran-Iraq war. Farahani has held various positions as a commander in different parts of the IRGC. He had also been responsible for the IRGC’s cultural division in Qom.
Mohammad Hossein Farhangi, MP from East Azerbaijan province, Majlis Presidium’s speaker: He is a senior commander of the IRGC in Azerbaijan. During the Iran-Iraq War, he was the Chief of Staff of the 31st Ashura Division, one of the most important and largest divisions of the IRGC in the war. After the war, Mohammad Hossein Farhangi was appointed as the commander of the Basij and then commander of the IRGC provincial division in East Azerbaijan.
Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, member of the Majlis’ presidium from Isfahan province: During the Iran-Iraq War, Deligani, was the commander of an IRGC company, and after the war, he commanded the Basij in the IRGC division of Zarrinshahr, Najafabad, and Isfahan. He was the initiator of the plan for all the regime’s MPs in the previous parliament to wear an IRGC uniform after the IRGC was listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and simultaneous with the day of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran.
Mohsen Dehnavi, a member of the Majlis’ presidium: He was in charge of the Student Basij at the Sharif University of Technology, one of the most important universities in Iran. He is also a member of the Council for Explaining the Political Positions of the Student Basij in Tehran Province, which is in fact a political branch of the Student Basij. Dehnavi, who was posing as a cancer researcher, was detained at Boston’s Logan Airport on July 11, 2017, and later sent back to Iran for his connections with the IRGC and Basij forces.
Alireza Zakani, former commander of the Iranian Student Basij, MP from Qom: Known as one of the closest MPs to Khamenei, Alireza Zakani, has been a lawmaker in the seventh, eighth and ninth terms of Parliament. Zakani was one of the commanders of the 27th Division of Mohammad Rasulollah during the Iran-Iraq War. He has a 62-month history of participating in the war and 15 operations. Zakani is one of the founders of the Student Basij, as the most important subordinate force of the IRGC in universities across the country.
A glance at the regime’s new parliament shows that Khamenei and his regime are intending to increase oppression and terrorism. While people are grappling with poverty and the coronavirus crisis, the regime’s handpicked parliament shows how the regime prioritizes its rule over people’s well-being.
This critical situation, increased by the coronavirus crisis, has terrified the regime’s forces and pushed them to the brink of defection. They are particularly afraid of the people’s uprising. This new parliament showed the regime’s strategic roadmap, which is a policy of contraction in all aspects, including in dealing with the U.S., and has shattered the hopes and dreams of negotiations of all the regime’s apologists and lovers of the appeasement policy.
Therefore, to prevent further oppression of the Iranian people and to ensure the security of the Middle East and the world, the international community should choose a firm policy toward this regime and recognize the people’s right to Resistance and overthrowing this regime, which is a global threat to peace, security, and humanity.