{"id":248917,"date":"2021-10-14T04:50:42","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T09:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=248917"},"modified":"2023-02-01T04:40:59","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T03:40:59","slug":"iran-exclusive-interview-with-mr-mohammad-mohaddessin-chairman-of-the-ncris-foreign-affairs-committee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-exclusive-interview-with-mr-mohammad-mohaddessin-chairman-of-the-ncris-foreign-affairs-committee\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran: Exclusive Interview With Mr. Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chairman Of The NCRI\u2019s Foreign Affairs Committee."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mohammad
Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chairman of the NCRI\u2019s Foreign Affairs Committee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On June 19, the Iranian regime\u2019s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, selected Ebrahim Raisi<\/a> as the mullahs\u2019 new president to consolidate power in his regime. Many observers now ask why Khamenei took this decision despite Raisi\u2019s record of human rights violations, mainly his role in the 1988 massacre<\/a> and killing of protesters during the major Iran uprisings of 2019?<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Raisi is on the U.S. sanctions list, and international organizations like Amnesty International have called for his prosecution for crime against humanity. Wasn\u2019t Khamenei aware that his selection of Raisi would increase the regime\u2019s international isolation? What was the main reason for Khamenei to pull Raisi’s name out of the ballot box and consolidate his regime?<\/p>\n

We raised these questions in an exclusive interview with Mr. Mohammad Mohaddessin, the chairman of the National Council of Resistance of Iran<\/a> (NCRI<\/a>) Foreign Affairs Committee. The full text of this interview is as follows:<\/p>\n

Q: Why did Khamenei appoint Raisi as president to consolidate his regime, even though he knew that this would increase the regime\u2019s international isolation and invoke more hatred for the regime domestically? Why did he do this?<\/h3>\n

Khamenei was fully aware of this fact. At the same time, Khamenei also realized that his regime faces the serious threat of popular uprisings. To confront this threat, Khamenei was forced to install Raisi as president. Khamenei faces three major developments and Raisi\u2019s \u201cselection\u201d is the regime\u2019s response to these developments.<\/p>\n

The first development is the regime\u2019s urgent socio-economic situation and the resulting uncontainable crises. Iran\u2019s economic situation is the worst it has been over the last century. The majority of the population cannot even make ends meet and address their basic needs. The people in Khuzestan province hold protests and demand potable water or water for farming and irrigation. The regime has literally dried up Iran\u2019s rivers. The price of bread is increasing daily, and the prices of people\u2019s basic needs are skyrocketing. There is rampant poverty everywhere. We witness tragic trends such as \u201cgrave dwelling.\u201d People are forced to sell their organs to earn a living. On the other hand, the situation has reached such explosiveness that any social protest rapidly takes on political overtones, and people demand regime change in their slogans and chant \u201cdown with the principle of Velayat-e Faqih (absolute clerical rule).\u201d So, this is the first crisis Khamenei faces.<\/p>\n

The second development is that Iran\u2019s society has entered a phase of unrest and uprisings since January 2018. This development and associated uprisings indicate that Iran\u2019s society does not want this regime. The Iranian society has reached a level of awareness that the only solution for meeting even the most basic challenges to improve living conditions is simply regime change. Thus, any social protest is rapidly dominated by political demands, with explicit calls for regime change. For instance, the November 2019 uprising started due to a sudden hike in fuel prices. But the protests quickly turned into a nationwide uprising against the regime in its entirety and reflected people\u2019s desire for regime change. Note that the people\u2019s demand was not a decrease in fuel prices. Rather, they demanded regime change and chanted \u201cDeath to Khamenei.\u201d Similar developments took place in other uprisings. For example, two months ago, protests erupted in Khuzestan due to water shortages, but slogans quickly became \u201cdeath to Khamenei,\u201d and the protests spread to other provinces and cities such as Tehran and Tabriz, with people calling for regime change.<\/p>\n

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The protests spreading from Khuzestan province to other parts of #Iran<\/a>, despite the regime\u2019s brutal crackdown, further indicates the Iranian people\u2019s yearn and desire to overthrow the mullahs\u2019 regime as the sole solution for a prosperous future.#IranProtests<\/a>#\u062e\u0648\u0632\u0633\u062a\u0627\u0646<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/juG20BjeUh<\/a><\/p>\n

— Mohammad Mohaddessin (@Mohaddessin) July 21, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n