In an interview with Bloomberg earlier this month, the Nobel laureate Iranian lawyer and human rights activist, Shirin Ebadi, openly called for regime change in Iran. Her call would include the removal of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and introduction of a new democratic constitution. She also criticised the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) for helping to keep the mullahs in power.
NIAC, however, did not hit back directly at Ebadi apparently because she is the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Prize and the lobby group knew that she commands respect around the world.
Whatever the reason, the NIAC attacked Donald Trump, his new national security advisor, John Bolton, and new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, accusing them of being “with pro-war advocates”. Iran lobby is apparently falling apart following Bolton’s appointment. What is striking about NIAC’s statement is that the lobby group did not disagree with Ebadi calling for regime change in Iran and denouncing NIAC.
It’s no secret that since the nuclear deal was agreed in 2015, Iran has proven false on almost every claim that the NIAC has made about the regime, from human rights advocacy to a broken economy to government corruption. This has led many mainstream media outlets not trusting the group any longer and leaving it mostly isolated.
The NIAC needs to save the Iran nuclear deal if it has any hopes of remaining relevant, but even NIAC’s president Trita Parsi admitted that he was “pessimistic” about the deal remaining intact.
Parsi tries to pin the blame for the nuclear deal’s failure on Trump’s rhetoric, which has put businesses off investing in Iran and, in turn, caused Iranian to riot over the failing economy, according to him.
This is a classic tactic of the Iran Lobby: blame anyone but the mullahs. We all know that the nuclear deal is failing because the regime cannot keep their promises and the people are rising up against a corrupt and brutal regime that has oppressed them for far too long.
Luckily, the NIAC’s echo chamber is crumbling and so will the Iranian regime.
Now the Iranian regime is trying to ban the Telegram messaging application, which is used by almost half of all Iranians, because it was used by many to communicate during the recent uprising and protests. This reactionary move will only cause more people to rise up against the regime.
If there is any wonder why Iranian people are calling for regime change in Iran, censorship, a failing economy, human rights abuses, and support for the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad who uses chemical weapons on civilians are not all but some of the reasons.
