Totalitarian governments, whether be it a monarchy or a clerical regime, and their international supporters are pursuing the same goal, which is the elimination of the Iranian people’s values, national identity, independence, and culture. Of course, one with the excuse of creating a modern civilization and the other under the shade of religion.
By losing its credibility among the people after the 1953 coup d’état overthrowing the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, Pahlavi’s dynasty decided to implement a few worthless reforms which he called the “White Revolution.” This was followed by the slogan “Great Civilization,” and the maltreating of Cyrus’ ‘charter of human rights’ to establish its so-called “Island of Stability” with the brutal presence of a police intelligence apparatus.
After the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty, the remaining officials cited and tried to justify that the reason for the failure of Pahlavi was not its incompetence, human rights violations, and lack of freedom, but the people’s unreadiness and incomprehensibility to accept the modern world which was represented by Shah.
However, the people understood that what the Shah did was auction the country’s independence to a few small and big companies, especially in the oil and gas industry. The dynasty relied on Cyrus to hide its thefts, corruption, widespread poverty, national industry destruction, and opponents’ imprisonment and execution, and this was nothing more than a political ploy.
For this reason, independence and freedom were the main slogans of the nationwide uprising against the Shah. Observers and Western public opinion have also assessed the fall of the Shah as the result of dictatorship and governmental corruption.
National identity in its modern sense is precisely derived from the liberation struggles of the people in a specific geographical area, with the aim of participating in political power and eliminating the power of dictators. This process started with constitutionalism in Iran to get rid of British colonialism and royal tyranny.
This unfortunate fate should have not ended for Iran’s people after the demise of the Shah. Following the fall of the dynasty, it was Khomeini’s and his successor’s turn to grab the people’s revolution and continue the Shah’s dark era, which has turned out to be much more destructive. This happened thanks to Shah’s decision to wipe out all the country’s intellectuals and true democratic and freedom-loving people.
Khomeini supported every step of the Shah’s tyranny; because of that, he and other medieval clerics benefited from the extensive financial support of the Shah. From the monthly provisions to the exemption of Qom seminary students from military service.
All the hidden and visible hands came together to force Iran’s people to accept that they should not dream of another revolution. Billions of dollars have been spent to make the Iranian people believe that ‘the era of revolutions is over’, and ‘Iranians, as civilized people, do not resort to violence against violence’.
Is this really the whole truth? Are the Iranian people doomed to accept such a fate? Is the fate of Iran people supposed to be closed in the tyranny of the Shah and the mullahs circle? Never.
Iran’s present history is embellished with four decades of resistance, battles, and epics to keep the flames of freedom flourishing. Internationally disclosing the regime’s crimes and the introduction of a political alternative are complementary to the battle and the ongoing resistance inside Iran.
With the efficient hits of the resistance, the mullahs’ regime lost all its unjustified social, political, and religious legitimacy, which it had acquired before seizing the anti-royalty revolution.
To get out of this crisis, the mullahs, like the Shah, turned to fake reformism and fraudulent maneuvers such as ‘religious democracy’, ‘dialogue among civilizations’, and ‘resistance front’. At the same time, they have spent a huge amount of money to demonize their main opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), by spreading lies.
Thankfully, none of this has worked and over the past few years, the world has witnessed the courage of the people and the MEK’s Resistance Units in their fight against the regime. We are now witnessing the outcome of this resistance with much sacrifice.
Regime elements, like MP Jafar Ghaderi, have been forced to confess that, “there is no doubt that we cannot eradicate the current protests.”
Yes, this time is different, and the people of Iran and all supporters of a democratic republic will be the winner without any doubt, and that is why people in their ongoing revolution and protests all over Iran are chanting, “Death to the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Leader (Khamenei).”
