“That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance, and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran. In 2018, our organization documented how Ebrahim Raisi had been a member of the ‘death commission’ which forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in secret thousands of political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran in 1988. The circumstances surrounding the fate of the victims and the whereabouts of their bodies are, to this day, systematically concealed by the Iranian authorities, amounting to ongoing crimes against humanity.”
“We continue to call for Ebrahim Raisi to be investigated for his involvement in past and ongoing crimes under international law, including by states that exercise universal jurisdiction.
“It is now more urgent than ever for member states of the UN Human Rights Council to take concrete steps to address the crisis of systematic impunity in Iran including by establishing an impartial mechanism to collect and analyse evidence of the most serious crimes under international law committed in Iran to facilitate fair and independent criminal proceedings.” Javaid Rehman Called for an Investigation Into Iran’s President Raisi’s Role in the 1988 Executions
Javaid Rehman, the UN investigator on human rights in Iran, called for an independent inquiry into the role of Ebrahim Raisi in the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.
Reuters wrote on Tuesday, June 29, 2021:
“The U.N. investigator on human rights in Iran has called for an independent inquiry into allegations of state-ordered executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 and the role played by President-elect Ebrahim Raisi as Tehran deputy prosecutor.
“Javaid Rehman, in an interview with Reuters on Monday, said that over the years his office has gathered testimonies and evidence. It was ready to share them if the United Nations Human Rights Council or other body sets up an impartial investigation.
Then in the interview, he added: “I think it is time and it’s very important now that Mr. Raisi is the president (-elect) that we start investigating what happened in 1988 and the role of individuals,” Rehman said from London, where he teaches Islamic law and international law.”
He added: “Otherwise we will have very serious concerns about this president and the role, the reported role, he has played historically in those executions.”
Rehman said: “We have made communications to the Islamic Republic of Iran because we have concerns that there is again a policy to actually destroy the graves or there may be some activity to destroy evidence of mass graves.”
“I will campaign for justice to be done,” he added.
Javaid Rehman, in an interview with Reuters on Monday, said that over the years his office has gathered testimonies and evidence. It was ready to share them if the United Nations Human Rights Council or other body sets up an impartial investigation.
He said he was concerned at reports that some “mass graves” are being destroyed as part of a continuing cover-up.
It should be noted that on June 19, 2021, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard, said in response to the news of the announcement of Ebrahim Raisi as the next President of Iran:
“That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance, and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran. In 2018, our organization documented how Ebrahim Raisi had been a member of the ‘death commission’ which forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in secret thousands of political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran in 1988. The circumstances surrounding the fate of the victims and the whereabouts of their bodies are, to this day, systematically concealed by the Iranian authorities, amounting to ongoing crimes against humanity.”
“We continue to call for Ebrahim Raisi to be investigated for his involvement in past and ongoing crimes under international law, including by states that exercise universal jurisdiction.
“It is now more urgent than ever for member states of the UN Human Rights Council to take concrete steps to address the crisis of systematic impunity in Iran including by establishing an impartial mechanism to collect and analyse evidence of the most serious crimes under international law committed in Iran to facilitate fair and independent criminal proceedings.”
“That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance, and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran. In 2018, our organization documented how Ebrahim Raisi had been a member of the ‘death commission’ which forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in secret thousands of political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran in 1988. The circumstances surrounding the fate of the victims and the whereabouts of their bodies are, to this day, systematically concealed by the Iranian authorities, amounting to ongoing crimes against humanity.”
“We continue to call for Ebrahim Raisi to be investigated for his involvement in past and ongoing crimes under international law, including by states that exercise universal jurisdiction.
“It is now more urgent than ever for member states of the UN Human Rights Council to take concrete steps to address the crisis of systematic impunity in Iran including by establishing an impartial mechanism to collect and analyse evidence of the most serious crimes under international law committed in Iran to facilitate fair and independent criminal proceedings.” Iran Protests Since Election
Following the widely-boycotted presidential elections in Iran earlier this month, the Iranian people took to the streets to express their distaste for the government over many different issues.
On Sunday, June 27, the country was rocked by protests from pensioners of the Steel Company, Social Security Organization, and Homa Airlines, as well as dairy farmers, Isfahan pharmacists, Bushehr Petrochemical structural workers, Gama company workers, oil and petrochemical workers, and the plundered investors of the Azico credit institution.
Of course, many of these groups have been protesting since the election on June 19, with contract workers demanding higher wages and better working conditions. The authorities tried to intimidate these workers by threatening to fire them if they didn’t return to work. The strikers were soon joined by full-time workers, whom the officials cannot threaten with losing their jobs.
The strikes are putting pressure on the economy, which depends on oil exports, and therefore the government. The mullahs rely on the oil and petrochemical industries to finance their terrorism and warmongering, so strikes and international sanctions are crushing the mullahs.
The state-run Asr Khabar wrote: “The strike of thousands of contract workers of oil, gas, and petrochemical entered its eighth day, and now workers of about 61 contractors are on strike.”
The truth is that the workers are facing increased pressure because the economy, already pushed to the brink by officials’ corruption and mismanagement, has declined due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Over the past seven months, people from all walks of life have been protesting constantly, which shows the precarious situation that the officials find themselves in now. As the Iranian people suffer under the economic conditions caused by the officials’ corruption, while also suffering under the social conditions that have left over 300,000 Iranians dead from the authorities’ inaction on Covid-19.
The Iranian Resistance wrote: “The Iranian people’s hatred toward the regime has reached a new level. The recent nationwide boycott of the regime’s sham election, and the mullahs’ decision to appoint the notorious Ebrahim Raisi as their new president to oppress people more, are testaments that people do not want this regime.”
The recent protests have terrified the officials and state media, who fear major protests that would mean their overthrow. The Sharq daily warned on Sunday that if the regime fails to pay attention to the dissent of the people, then the political divide will increase, along with the public’s dissatisfaction and anger.
The villages of Jofair in the Azadegan Plain, 50 km west of Ahvaz, gathered on Monday, June 28, to protest the water cut and blocked the main road.
There are several oil and gas companies in the lands of these villages. The villagers complained several times and the oil companies promised them that they would solve the water problem for them, but so far they have not taken any action.
On Tuesday, June 29, doctors and medical students protested against the disregard for the rights of the medical community, disregard for public health, the spread of corruption in the health-related sector, and widespread violations by the Ministry of Health in various cities, including Tehran, Hamadan, Kermanshah, and Isfahan. Sanandaj, Shiraz, Yasuj, Lorestan, etc. held protest rallies.
On Tuesday, June 29, a group of non-profit school teachers gathered in front of the regime parliament building to protest their non-employment by the Ministry of Education in Tehran. These teachers are from different parts and cities of the country.
On Tuesday, June 29, doctors and medical students protested against the disregard for the rights of the medical community, disregard for public health, the spread of corruption in the health-related sector, and widespread violations by the Ministry of Health in various cities, including Tehran, Hamadan, Kermanshah, and Isfahan. Sanandaj, Shiraz, Yasuj, Lorestan, etc. held protest rallies.
On Tuesday, June 29, a group of non-profit school teachers gathered in front of the regime parliament building to protest their non-employment by the Ministry of Education in Tehran. These teachers are from different parts and cities of the country.
The JCPOA and Iran Regime’s Terrified Face
The consequences of the sanctions on Iran’s bankrupt economy and the unfortunate outcome of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as the JCPOA, on the one hand, and the uncertainty of the prospects of Iran’s Vienna talks with world powers, on the other, have caused panic among Iran’s state-run media and the country’s rulers.
Speaking about their concerns, they are asking the new government of Ebrahim Raisi to follow and obey the will of the world powers.
As a reason for such a request, they are pointing to the bad economic situation, which is tightening every day, and there no chance of this government to solve these problems and normalize the livelihood situation of the people.
And if they do not obey the world power’s request, they must face much severe political and economic pressure, while having not the ability and power to withstand such a situation.
The state-run daily Arman took a step further from the economic and political pressure, warned and remembered the regime that if they do not obey these requests spoken in the Vienna JCPOA talks, there is the possibility that the regime may again include under Chapter 7 of the Security Council, which means that it has been formally recognized as a ‘threat to world peace and security’, in which case it Requests all UN member states to implement all coercive measures it has adopted against you.’
This newspaper, affiliated with Hassan Rouhani’s government, recalled the case of Iraq being attacked, noting that being under Chapter 7 means that it could ‘begin a mounting process of escalating pressure that could lead to military action. And that under the umbrella of the protection of international law, the United Nations and public opinion.’
Concerns about this situation have prompted the state-run daily Arman to warn the Raisi and his government, ‘should not fall into the trap of factional games,’ and should not allow that, ‘biased political analyses’ of the media, ‘to minimize the consequences of re-engaging with the Security Council in the next government.’ (Arman daily, 26 June 2021)
Etemad newspaper, while acknowledging the current dire economic situation and the danger that threatens the clerical government in this regard and the social uprising, advised, especially the elements of the new government, not to insist on the current position and, ‘if the parties insist on the current positions, the seventh round of negotiations, will be also fruitless.’
A subject that according to the author of this article, is dangerous for the current state of the economy, while it will have much worse and unpredictable consequences for both the economy and the regime, because the economy, ‘is in a complicated strait’ and every day ‘the continuation of sanctions will cause great damage to Iran’s economy, and assessments show that it is not possible to continue the current situation for a long time.’
Another direction that this state-run newspaper is concerned about is that the UN nuclear watchdog’s chief ‘Rafael Grossi submits a negative report to the Board of Governors to change the situation so that the Board of Governors declares it impossible to resolve the Iranian case through the IAEA and refers the matter to the UN Security Council.’ (Etemad, June 26, 2021)
Based on these concerns, Jahan-e-Sanat daily advised the Raisi to consider these facts: ‘There are some facts that Raisi should pause about and think carefully about the consequences of these facts before saying or doing anything.
‘One of the realities that have obscured Iran these days is the outcome of indirect talks between Iran and the Americans. The fact is that the Iranian economy, with the continuation of sanctions and without sanctions, will have at least two forms and nature with significant differences in terms of foreign exchange earnings. Iran is no longer alive enough to include more resilience in the equations, and that is what if being ignored will face the future with unintended consequences. Unknown days and unforeseen consequences will make things difficult.’ (Jahan-e-Sanat, June 26, 2021)
The concerns cited by the media affiliated with the Rouhani faction are real and indicate that the government is at a crossroads of choice, and, in fact, a dead end is predicted.
Resalat newspaper wrote about the Americans’ expectations from the regime: ‘The Democrats’ view of the nuclear deal with Iran is clear. The leaders of the Democratic Party believe that if they want to return to the JCPOA, they must get new and more concessions from the Islamic Republic! The Democrats’ new concessions mean perpetuating the time limits set by the JCPOA and, subsequently, missile disarming Iran. This view was institutionalized among Democrats even during Trump’s presidency.’ (Resalat, June 26, 2021)
Before the third round of debates, Hassan Rouhani asked the candidates to state their position on the JCPOA: ‘Do you agree with the JCPOA or not, say it.” (State TV News Channel, June 9, 2021)
In the third debate, Raisi explicitly responded to Rouhani, saying that he agreed with the JCPOA, ‘I explicitly say that we adhere to the JCPOA as a contract that has been ratified with the 9 clauses of the Supreme Leader. Like any obligation and any contract, governments must abide by it, but you cannot implement the JCPOA. The JCPOA needs a powerful government to be implemented.’ (State TV News Channel, June 12, 2021)
At that time, some believed that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had expressed his intentions by the language of his preferred candidate, and it became clear that he wanted to be directly involved in the JCPOA negotiation without any middleman. Just as Khamenei started negotiations in Oman during Ahmadinejad’s time and away from his eyes.
In his first press conference on June 21, Raisi also said about the current negotiations of the JCPOA: ‘We will pursue interaction with the whole world and with all countries of the world as a broad and balanced principle of interaction in foreign policy, God willing, and in the negotiations of any negotiation in which national interests are guaranteed, this negotiation will definitely be supported.’ (State TV News Channel, June 21, 2021)
The fact is that Iran’s regime, in a state of economic stagnation and facing an explosive society, seeks to loosen some of the sanctions at any cost. But the other side of this desk also has conditions that if accepted by Khamenei means new poison chalices and ‘endless degradation.
An Executioner Asks Iran’s People To Come Back
The outcome of Iran’s presidential election is a person infamous for his crimes over three decades hold various offices.
With a thesaurus of only 30-40 words Ebrahim Raisi in every meeting, press conference, and circle showed that he not only is not capable to answer the simplest questions expected from someone who becomes the head of the executive branch to run a government but has not any solution for the country’s accumulated crises over the past decades, since the start of the mullahs’ regime.
One of the great crises that every new president of the regime has tried to overcome and has always failed is the issue of brain drain and the migration of Iranians.
In the first press conference on Monday, June 21, Raisi picked up a stone that has no understanding of its political, social, cultural, economic, and international weight.
He invited Iranians outside the country to return and reassure them about the investment in Iran. The amazing part of the story is that a man who is one of the main reasons for the escape of the Iranian people because of years of crime, execution, and torture is now expecting Iran’s people to move back to the country and is reassuring a safe and secure life.
The state-run media Etemad in an article entitled, “Why should they come back, you tell us Mr. Raisi on June 24, 2021, wrote:
“But perhaps it is not bad to sincerely raise points with Mr. Raisi.
“Mr. Raisi, the return of your compatriots to the country has some prerequisites that if you have not paid serious attention to them before, it might be a good idea to review them in the remaining days until you start your work and remind them to your like-minded team.
“The return of intellectual capital and professionals and ordinary citizens to the country needs to reduce strictures and misunderstandings. There have been many officials in the country who have promised to open the doors and even demanded the return of Iranian immigrants at their request and invitation. In practice, however, what has prevented this process from accelerating or stopping has been selective treatment, threats, and abuse of those who have sought to return.
“You must be familiar with this phenomenon due to your long presence in the judiciary, and you know many who have intended to return home, have given up before traveling or after coming to Iran. You know that due to extremism, they have either not been provided with the opportunity to work in Iran, or if they have, they got in trouble and they prefer to stay outside the country than to return.
“The issue is not complicated, Mr. Raisi. Anyone who wants to return to Iran wants a comfortable job and life. If you can declare it for your colleagues and like-minded people how serious your invitation is and what conditions should be provided for it in the country, not only immigrants but even compatriots inside the country will pray for you.
“Mr. Raisi, many of our compatriots have left Iran in the past few decades. Most of them not with a delightful mind, but because of compulsion. With bitterness and tears. Most of them have endured years of exile with pain and suffering. This multimillion migration and this resistance to return have reasons that you, like us, know it.
“Except for a few, the rest have sought a quiet and simple life in exile. To escape the multitude of economic and social problems that are not unsolvable. Solving economic problems requires stability and interaction. The creation of jobs and reducing inflation. All this is possible only in a safe and hopeful environment for the future, and without de-escalation at home and abroad, and with the continuation of the policies pursued to date, we will have nothing but intensified calamities.
“Solving social problems, however, is easier and takes less time. Just look at what promises you gave to get people’s votes. Paying attention to women’s rights, reducing the restrictive restrictions of young people, better access to the Internet, and reducing censorship and filtering, and common restrictions in the art and media world. Let us not compliment.
“If you want to give hope and relief to the community, we have not to interfere in the people’s lives. The insistence on promoting a certain form of life and struggling with different generations and strata of society to accommodate a certain kind of thinking and ideology has only led to dissatisfaction. This was evidenced by the presence of the people in the elections and the millions of absentees and millions of invalid votes if there is someone who can pay attention.
“If you want the Iranians to support you, to enjoy life, to go carefree, and to think about returning to the city and the homeland, let them alone and see whose nose is in the people’s lives. Identify the sources of public harassment and use the authority you must shut down and control these sources and centers.
“Mr. Raisi, it is difficult to bring capital into the country. If it is an Iranian or foreign investor. You saw that even during the honeymoon of the JCPOA [2015 Iran nuclear deal], we could not attract foreign investors because tough economic sanctions did not allow it and international banks did not allow it too. Because the investment risk in Iran is high. If you want that the capitals flee into the country, instead of chanting slogans, you should think that sanctions should be lifted, and banks should work with us, and bringing capital to Iran should not be so risky. These are also possible with reconciliation and soft and worldly language.
“If, as your friends claim, you are looking to close even more communication networks, and if you are looking for economic and self-sufficiency, you are looking for the remnants of the environment and water of the country, and if you are looking for the same in art and culture that your campaign agents addressed, the destination will be somewhere else. Thus, which Iranian is willing to leave his life in a peaceful and prosperous country and return?
“But if you say that all that prosperity, hope, and justice is important to you, first, see why the Iranians, your compatriots are looking for and leave their homeland. Listen to their words and hearts and think of a solution to the problem. This may even take precedence over the returning of those who have left.
“Mr. Raisi! As you read this, many in language classes and legal counseling offices are dreaming to leave. You tell them why they should not go. What awaits them if they stay. Tell them about the dream of Iran tomorrow.
“Mr. Raisi! The path we have taken has not led us to the desired point. They (the people) are packing their items. You tell us about the desired point and show us life. Everyone will unpack their items and relax. And many of those who left will return. Who will reject life and hope, Mr. Raisi?
“But now you can write the destiny of the people. What do you have in your pouch, Mr. Raisi?”
Iran’s Government Fears the Post-Election Situation
The main subjects of Iran’s state-run outlets are the challenges created by invalid ballots and the boycott of the presidential election by the people.
In addition to these issues, they have dealt with some socio-economic crises. Outlets affiliated with the supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s faction famous as the principlists have tried to minimize the blow of this boycott and the reduction in the voter turnout which according to them was less than 49%.
Some, outlets like the Siasat-e-Rooz and the Vatan-e-Emrooz, have tried to minimize this blow to the regime’s government by highlighting the statistics of local elections in France and comparing it with the situation in Iran.
And other outlets are worried about the consequences of the election boycott and the rejection of the regime’s factions by the people.
“We are the owners of the invalid votes”, was the title of an article of the Mardom Salari daily published on June 22, 2021, who wrote: “The statistics of the 2021 elections showed that one should be more skeptical than usual to the passed way of the past years. The level of public dissatisfaction is high and social capital is declining. The powerless of the society will flaunt their power somehow, and this time they may do it more devastatingly.”
“Election and silent cries which must be heard”, is the title of an article in the state-run daily Hamdeli, which highlighted the people’s ignorance of Khamenei and other mullahs’ decrees about the necessity of participating in the election and wrote:
“Contrary to those who say that the turnout in Western countries is also low, it should be said that the turnout in Western countries is around 60 to 70%. In addition, in other countries, participating in elections is never considered a religious and objective duty, and leaving is not considered a great sin and prohibitions. This alarm should be heard, when domestic reference groups become ineffective, the influence of foreign groups and media becomes very strong.”
Then the state-run Shargh daily pointed to some of the social and economic crises and wrote: “It is sufficient to consider some of these social injuries; For example, in the economy, we see the stagflation caused by sanctions, unemployment, the devaluation of the national currency, the purchasing power of the people, gross class divisions, widespread poverty alongside rent-seeking groups; In addition, we must consider the behaviors dealt with the protesters in January 2017 and November 2019.”
The state-run daily Naghshe Eghtesad referring to the low number of voters on June 22, 2021, wrote: “In the context of the current crises, these statistics show that the government is facing a double crisis called the crisis of acceptance during the last two elections.
“Despite encouragement from the highest levels of the system (officials) and other political and party elites, we see that more than half of the entire Iranian society was reluctant to go to the polls. That is, most of the people of the country do not pay the slightest attention to the opinions and speeches of the country’s political elites.”
A Mass Murderer and His Promises
This time the issue of Iran’s presidential election and the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi is far beyond a normal election in which somebody promised the people to make changes and make the living condition for the people more pleasant and comfortable.
Because Raisi has been accused to be one of the four people of Iran’s 1988 massacre ‘Death Commission’ who have implemented Iran regime’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini’s ‘Fatwa’ (decree) to execute more than 30,000 political prisoners mainly members of the regime’s main opposition group the PMOI/MEK.
There is enough evidence about this event, but the purpose of this article is not to point out this issue but to count the promises made by such a killer after he had many times claimed to make the living conditions of the people more pleasant.
And it remains to be seen whether Raisi can hold and execute the promises he made to the people. Noteworthy, many analysts say, that if this regime holds these promises and makes them practical, he will face the people’s protests because the people main desire is becoming regime change and creating a better atmosphere for the people encouraged them to stand up against the regime. The fact is that the regime is using poverty and living difficulties as a lever to control and pressurizing the people. On the other side, if the regime makes not any changes, it will face protests too.
The main promises made during the 2021 election are as follows:
Managerial promises
- Having the same view to all people
- Changing the status quo in favor of the people
- Legal guarantee of the rights of all people
- Ending corrupt relationships and the flow of rent-seeking and dealing with manifestations of corruption
- Orientation towards justice
- Use all the capacities of the country and efficient forces and consensus building
- Changes in the executive system and the way the country is run
- Transformation in the administrative system to combat corruption and remove cumbersome regulations
- Climate recognition of country issues in addition to major issues
- Creating guidance patrols for managers
- Reform the government and fight corruption, inefficiency, and discrimination
- Establish a system of transparency and transparency of actions
- Minimize or eliminate conflicts of interest at many levels, such as housing and health
- Construction of 4 million houses in 4 years
- Create one million jobs per year (4 million jobs at the end of 4 years)
- Reduce inflation to half the current rate and then single-digitize inflation
- Creating a comprehensive economic information system
- Currency market management
- Eliminate the dependence of basic goods and people’s basket on the exchange rate
- Reforming the country’s banking system
- Structural change in the banking system
- Moving liquidity to production
- Increase market monitoring
- Controlling inflation and counteracting inflation
- Reform the pricing and supply and distribution system to solve the class gap
- Resolving class distance and injustice by changing wrong economic policies
- Proportioning people’s wages to inflation
- Distribution of justice using economic capacities
- Reform the tax system and create an intelligent system to deal with a corrupt bureaucracy
- Support for disadvantaged families and groups
- Provide people with a minimum wage by providing shopping cards for the lower three deciles
- Leap in production and strengthen business
- Using the country’s production capacity, 40% of which is empty
- Activate the maritime economy
- Solve the housing problem of young people on the verge of marriage
- Free internet for the lower deciles of the society
- Cyber economy boom
- Revision of cumbersome circulars
- Solve the problem of the health transformation plan
- Resolving the damage of justice in society
- Recognize the rights of all people, girls, women, and villagers to solve their problems
- Adherence to the JCPOA with external authority along with internal authority
- Organizing the economy, livelihood and culture and social issues, and people’s rights in the field of foreign policy
- Do not hesitate to lift sanctions and at the same time neutralize sanctions and not making the economy conditional
- Special attention to economic diplomacy alongside political diplomacy and the use of regional economic potential
Iran: Who Won the Election?
Following the end of the Presidential and City council elections in Iran, almost all Iranian officials congratulated each other. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei described the event as an exciting epic.
“I know it is necessary to appreciate the ‘respectable’ Guardian Council, the Interior Ministry, security and health apparatuses, hardworking ‘national’ media, respected candidates, and all those who have contributed to this great test in some way,” said Khamenei in his message.
Furthermore, before the end of counting the ‘votes,’ ‘reformist’ candidate Abdolnasser Hemmati congratulated Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi on winning the presidency.
Tehran-backed propaganda apparatus inside Iran and abroad was already attempting to tout Hemmati as a strong contender against Khamenei’s desired candidate Raisi to drag the people on polls. However, he became the first congratulator to Raisi.
He was followed by other principlist candidates Mohsen Rezaei, the former chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Sayyid Amir-Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, the Parliament Speaker. Raisi’s rival in the 2017 Presidential election ‘moderate’ President Hassan Rouhani also went to the Judiciary polling station, met Raisi, and congratulated him on his victory.
“Since today, we are completely ready. All of me, ministers, and deputies are in his service each second and hour that was necessary to pass the transition period very well, and the President-elect establish his cabinet in the scheduled time,” Entekhab website quoted Rouhani as saying during his visit to Raisi’s bureau.
In this respect, the number of 28,933,004 votes and the 48.8-percent participation belong to four simultaneous elections, not the Presidential election. Indeed, the government scheduled four elections, including Presidential, Islamic Councils of cities and villages, midterm elections for the Parliament, and the Assembly of Experts.
Over Half of Voters Avoid Voting
Iranian officials vehemently congratulate this ‘rare’ victory while most of the Iranian voters avoided voting in accordance with manipulated stats provided by the Interior Ministry. “It is necessary to inform you that out of all 59,310,307 eligible voters, 28,933,004 people cast their votes, meaning a 48.8-percent participation,” announced Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli in a press conference on June 19. “Hereby, Mr. Sayyid Ebrahim Raisol-Sadati (Raisi) became the winner with 17,926,345 votes, and he is ‘elected’ as the depository of administrative apparatus and President… Mr. Mohsen Rezaei Mir-Qaed gained 3,412,712 votes… Mr. Abdolnasser Hemmati gained 2,427,201 votes, and Mr. Sayyid Amir-Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi gained 992,918 votes… Other votes are considered spoilt votes, which are around 3,726,870 votes,” the state-run TV Channel Six quoted Rahmani-Fazli as saying. The Interior Minister spoke about 48.8-percent participation while the opposition and international mainstream media like Associated Press, Reuters, MSNBC, CNN, Anadolu, and Deutsche Welle reported an unprecedented apathy. “At the end of the clerical regime’s election masquerade, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) announced that less than 10 percent of the eligible voters cast their vote in the sham presidential election. The assessment was based on the reports of more than 1,200 journalists and reporters of INTV from 400 cities in Iran and more than 3,500 video clips from deserted polling stations,” stated the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on June 19. Furthermore, Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, the daughter of former President and Speaker Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, implicitly approved the MEK’s report. “I checked polling stations in two-three different times… I tried to check polling stations in the east, west, south, and center of Tehran…Two Considerable Points
Raisi Gains Lower Votes Than Bashar al-Assad
According to statistics declared by the Interior Minister, Raisi gained 30.22 percent of total votes. This is while Bashar al-Assad, Tehran’s close ally, has recently won the Syrian Presidential election with 95.1 percent of votes. No doubt, no one trusts these outcomes obtained through the untransparent process, which the United Nations was prohibited to supervise. Nevertheless, Raisi’s 30.22-percent victory means only one-third of eligible ‘voters’ have trusted him. This is a flagrant defeat for the Islamic Republic in terms of holding forged elections in comparison to his ally closest ally Bashar al-Assad, the dictator of Damascus. In other words, regarding the nationwide boycott of the election, Khamenei’s desired candidate failed to win the election significantly and gain maximum votes for his successor. In the past few months, the Supreme Leader had done his best to credit Raisi, who is believably the next Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Indeed, the outcome of the 13th Presidential election in the Islamic Republic revealed that he as a leader has the lowest acceptance among principlists and ‘reformists,’ let alone 51.2 percent of people who boycotted the election, according to fabricated stats.Untold Stories Behind the Presidential Election in Iran
Furthermore, there are several untold stories behind this bleak election, which intensify ambiguities surround the election—or selection that is generally called by the people. Here, it is worthy to scrutinize two major stories. First, with a ballpark assessment between the total number of candidates’ earned votes and total casted and spoilt votes, you find a distinction of 446,958 votes. To downplay this flaw in announced figures, Interior Minister Advisor Ruhollah Jome-ei unveiled another truth. “The distinction between the announced number of votes and the counted votes is due to tariffs received by voters but did not cast in ballot boxes. ‘Regarding the holding of four simultaneous elections, several voters cast their votes in boxes of other elections,” he tweeted.
In this respect, the number of 28,933,004 votes and the 48.8-percent participation belong to four simultaneous elections, not the Presidential election. Indeed, the government scheduled four elections, including Presidential, Islamic Councils of cities and villages, midterm elections for the Parliament, and the Assembly of Experts.
Boycotters Won the Election
Authorities in Iran and their lobby and pressure groups in the West pretend that the Supreme Leader’s faction has won the election. However, the people seemingly spoke louder declaring they are looking for a better future beyond ballot boxes. In this context, the opposition describes the election as a dramatic failure for the Supreme Leader. “This was the greatest political and social blow to the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the ruling theocracy,” said NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi. Nonetheless, Khamenei is not the sole loser in this competition. He had already warned about polarizing the election between principlists and ‘reformists.’ Following his remarks on March 21, the ‘respectable’ Guardian Council purged the court from ‘reformist-moderate’ candidates like the former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and the current Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri. However, not only did they not boycotted the election but also extremely urged the people to participate in polls. Furthermore, ‘moderate’ Rouhani, the ‘reformists’ leader’ and former President Sayyid Mohammad Khatami, and even house-arrested ‘leader of green movement’ and former Speaker Mehdi Karroubi attended polling stations and voted. Therefore, different factions showed that there is only one genuine struggle inside Iran, and it is between the state and 96 percent of society—according to Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, whose back has been broken due to the officials’ mismanagement and corruption. Those who were lethally suppressed whenever they expressed their demands for essential rights and complained about the country’s horrible situation in any aspect. In conclusion, the actual winner of the June 18 Presidential election was neither merciless Judiciary Chief Raisi nor his superior Khamenei. It was the people of Iran who clearly declared their hatred of the Islamic Republic in its entirety and their desire for the establishment of a free, democratic, secular, and non-nuclear government in Iran.Raisi’s Crimes As Judiciary Chief and Before
Ebrahim Raisi was the victor of the Iranian presidential election last Friday, rather predictably given that he was the favorite of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Given his new role, we’ve decided to look back at his history with the mullahs.
Judiciary chief: 2019-2021
In just two years, Raisi has become infamous for his crackdown on protesters, particularly those who took part in the November 2019 uprising. Some 1,500 protesters were shot dead in a few days, while many thousands more still languish in prisons under torture. For this, Raisi was sanctioned by the US Treasury. There is much evidence that women suffered much harsher punishments under Raisi, with at least 30 women being executed and 24 being sentenced to hundreds of lashes each. One of the women being lashed was 80-year-old Salbi Marandi, who had merely been inquiring about the status of her imprisoned child, who was left paralyzed. In addition, physical and psychological torture of political prisoners increased under Raisi, with Lamia Hamadi burned with electric prods and Massoumeh Senobari beaten savagely resulting in many broken bones. They are denied medical treatment and subjected to long periods of interrogation, in order to extract confessions. Furthermore, the judiciary has been keeping political prisoners behind bars following their sentences by filing new cases against them, as was the case with Golrokh Iraee Ebrahimi, initially arrested for writing a fictional story about the evils of stoning that was never published, and Atena Daemi who was sentenced to a further two years in prison. While Raisi has been targeting protesters, he’s also been abusing the families of martyrs who gather to remember their loved ones. This includes the families of at least four martyrs of the November 2019 uprising – Shabnam Dayani, Azadeh Zarbi, Ali Tamimi, and Farzad Ansarifar – killed by security forces. Human Rights Watch reported that plainclothes officials attended public and private memorial services for martyrs and didn’t allow relatives to see their relatives’ bodies.1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners
As a member of the Tehran “death commission”, Raisi personally sent thousands to their deaths for political crimes after one-minute show trials. Like many of those who sat on the commission with him, he has expressed pride in his role. Other roles within the regime that Raisi held between the massacre and 2019, included:- Tehran’s Revolutionary Prosecutor
- Head of the National Inspectorate
- First Deputy of the Judiciary
- Special Prosecutor for the Clergy, Chairman of the State Television Supervisory Council
- Attorney General
- Custodian of Astan Quds Razavi
- Head of the Judiciary
Invalid Votes Show the Truth of Iran’s Political Atmosphere
Despite all the claims of the Iranian government about a great win and people’s participation in the 2021 presidential election, the state-run media could not hide the blow on the government and the people’s ignorance and boycott of this election. A blow which its effects will become visible in the next month, widening the gap between this government and the people, who have lost their trust in this regime.
Even the regime’s main social base which the officials called the ‘Mostazafin’ (the oppressed) is not supporting this regime anymore as the outcome of this election showed and the state-run media admitted.
State-run daily Etemad Online in a short article entitled, ‘Why do officials ignore the non-participation of 30 million Iranians? / The officials of the Islamic Republic must declare a state of emergency among themselves’ on June 20, 2021, wrote:
“Four years ago, in such days, more than 41.300 million people participated in the presidential elections. In that election, 56 million eligible voters cast their ballots. Yesterday, however, the number of voters dropped to less than 29 million; a huge drop of 12 million people; At a time that the number of eligible people has increased by 4 million.
“In other words, in the 2017 presidential election, 15 million eligible people did not participate, but in the 1400 election, this number has doubled to about 30 million.
“Thus, for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic, the participation rate fell to half of the eligible and a meaningful number of 48.8% was recorded. Also keep in mind that the presidential election was held at the same time as the council elections, which is inherently participatory due to its local nature.
“The point is that a significant proportion of voters in the presidential election voted white or invalid. No one could have imagined that one day in the Islamic Republic, the invalid ballots with 14% would take second place in the elections.
“In such circumstances, the officials of the Islamic Republic must declare a state of emergency among themselves and investigate immediately and without prejudice why more than half of the people did not participate in the elections.
“It would be a great strategic mistake to ignore the tens of millions of Iranians who did not vote or give a white or protesting vote and to ignore the fact that many previous voters did not go to the polls this time. Listening to the voices of the silent (people) and the protesters is not a moral duty that is necessary for the rule and the survival of the rule.
“Doubling the number of voters who boycotted the ballot box and the reaching of invalid ballots from 3% of the previous election to 13% is a loud voice that must either be heard and respected or wait for the disastrous consequences.” (State-run website Etemad Online, June 20, 2021)
And with similar content, two other state-run outlets while shocked about the result of the election showed their fear and wrote:
“More than 3.7 million people did not write the names of any candidates on their ballots in the 13th presidential election. They went to the polls and actually ran in the election but did not find the candidate they wanted.
“The ‘undecided’ people, or those who wanted to run but did not have a preferred candidate, had a very significant number of over 50% of the turnout since the announcement of the Guardian Council.” (State-run daily Nameh, June 20, 2021)
“None of the statistics extracted from the electoral contests were as shocking as the figures of the invalid ballots. The number 3,726,870 indicated that a significant portion of the population did not consider any of the candidates eligible for the presidency of Iran. An issue that has not been seen in any of the last 12 rounds of elections.
“But one of the remarkable points of the results was that the second person in this election was not one of the candidates, but more than three million invalid votes and Nasser Hemmati also fell behind Mohsen Rezaei and became the third person. Some say that if this number of invalid votes is deducted from the total turnout, the turnout will be significantly lower than what was announced. At the same time, this number of invalid votes has a clear message to the political atmosphere of the country.
“In a way, it shows that the more than three million people who decided to run in the elections for any reason did not accept any of the candidates in this scene. This number of invalid ballots was unprecedented in the Iranian elections.” (State-run daily Hamdeli, June 20, 2021)
Officials Acknowledge to 50% Poverty Rate in Iran
The Iranian officials admitted that up to half the population lives in poverty, which is horrifying in itself, let alone when you consider that the mullahs deliberately underestimate any of the statistics that make them look bad.
Despite their attempts to keep the figures under wraps, the data does eventually filter out through state-run media and the comments of government officials.
For instance, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in 2017 that 96% of the country is poor, while Minister of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare Mohammad Shariatmadari said earlier this year that most of the population require subsidies that the population below the poverty line has doubled since 2017. This doubling comment was echoed by the head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, who said that rising inflation had widened the class gap and increased the percentage of the population under the poverty line.
Meanwhile, the state-run Hamdeli daily wrote on June 12: “Most Iranian households are currently living in absolute poverty… According to the United Nations, in 2020, incomes below $2.19 per person per day will push people below the absolute poverty line. This means that today, every person in Iran who has less than 500,000 rials (about $2) to live is considered below the absolute poverty line.”
The definition of absolute poverty is that someone is unable to provide basic needs, like food, shelter, and medical care for themselves and their families.
The head of the Supreme Chamber of Trade Unions said in May that a 39% increase in wages this year, would only cover 10-15% of living expenses. The problem is that this only relates to employed people and says nothing of the issues faced by the vast unemployed population who have no way to earn a living.
This shows us that the ruling system in Iran has stolen from the people and distributed the money amongst insiders and affiliates. This will not improve while the mullahs are in power and the people must overthrow the mullahs if they want change.
The Iranian opposition wrote: “Poverty has caused many people, especially the educated and skilled, to leave the country and many are thinking of going abroad. Those who lack such an opportunity must make ends meet with empty tables. This is due to institutional corruption and a rent-seeking economy in Iran under the mullahs’ regime, in which state entities, with the regime’s support, have been able to reap enormous wealth by plundering the country’s natural resources and people’s assets.”
