Iranian opposition calls on West to help citizens topple regime in Tehran

WASHINGTON: Members of an Iranian opposition group living in exile on Wednesday demanded that the West steps up its pressure on Tehran, as protests against the regime continue across the country for a second straight month.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran said during a briefing in Washington, attended by Arab News, that Western countries should order the closure of all Iranian embassies and impose more severe sanctions against the regime.

The current widespread protests began shortly after the death in police custody of 22-year old Mahsa Amini on Sep. 16. She had been arrested by the so-called morality police three days earlier for not following strict rules on women’s dress.

It is widely believed that her death was the result of a beating by officers. The Iranian government denies that this was the case but outraged citizens are not convinced and have been taking to the streets in protest for weeks, prompting a brutal crackdown by security forces that has resulted in many deaths, injuries and arrests.

Iran has been ruled by its religious establishment since a revolution in 1979 that toppled the ruling, pro-Western shah. Women in the country are required to conform to government restrictions on Western-style clothes, dress modestly and cover their hair with a hijab in public.

Soona Samsami, the NCRI’s US Representative, said the current protests have outlasted all others since 2017 and are mainly being led by women and younger Iranians, who demand the toppling of the regime.

“What is happening in Iran today has all the hallmarks of a revolution in the making,” she said. “We have passed a historic inflection point, with people’s fear dissipating and fear reigning in the regime — a point of no return.”

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