Executions Mark Iran Regime's Frenzied Bid to Cling to Power

OPINION

When Masoud Pezeshkian assumed office as president of Iran on July 28, 2024, many Western leaders hailed the former heart surgeon as a "reformist" and a "moderate."

Ever determined to look for a pearl in the rotting oyster of the Islamic Republic, Western appeasers continue to ignore the 85 million Iranians who are clamoring for regime change and instead, search fruitlessly for ways to revive dialogue and concessions with the criminal mullahs, all in the misguided belief that somehow this could moderate their intimidating behavior.

They should think again.

In the 12 weeks since Pezeshkian became the regime’s president, over 337 people have been executed, including 13 women.

Confronted with this shocking statistic, Pezeshkian, in defense of these brutal executions, mockingly said that those who "talk about human rights ask why you execute a murderer."

Pezeshkian is a willing puppet, a mouthpiece for the fanatical Supreme Leader --- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He is no moderate.

Alarmed at the effective dismantling by Israel of their proxy forces like Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the mullahs are terrified that a further nationwide uprising would drive them from power.

They've resorted to a frenzy of executions in prisons across Iran to frighten the rebellious public into docile submission.

In a calculated snub to those calling for an end to the death penalty in Iran, 13 were hanged on as recently as Tues. Sept. 24, the very day Pezeshkian addressed the UN General Assembly in New York.

An additional seven were hanged in Karaj and Zahedan on the eve of the World Day Against the Death Penalty on Oct. 10.

Now, courageous prisoners in 22 different prisons across Iran are staging protests and hunger strikes on Tuesdays in a campaign, "No to Execution Tuesdays."

In a statement following last week’s protest the prisoners declared, "The execution regime in Iran, to prevent public protests, executed 30 people in various prisons across the country on the 1st and 2nd of October, three of whom were women.

"As we approach the 'World Day Against the Death Penalty,' we are witnessing the most extreme violence by the backward regime, which executes prisoners in public, ranking globally first in executions.

"Since the start of the Persian year 1403 (March 2024), nearly 450 people have been executed."

Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, said, "This year, the World Day Against the Death Penalty holds particular significance for the Islamic Republic of Iran, where we continue to witness an alarming increase in the use of the death penalty, with over 500 executions reportedly carried out this year."

In September, a conference, "Human Rights Violations and the Wave of Executions in Iran," was held at the European headquarters of the UN, during the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

In a speech by Antonio Stango, President of the Italian Federation for Human Rights, he recalled his federation’s support for the global campaign to stop executions in Iran and the "No to Execution Tuesdays" campaign.

He said, "Somebody has said that the Iranian regime is the head of the snake of evil in the region. I do share that opinion, and that is the reason why I think that the international community has to strongly support the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom. They bravely, every day, are challenging the regime."

Many of the executions target political prisoners, particularly members and supporters of the main democratic opposition movement — the People’s Mojahedin of Iran/Mojahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK).

Supreme Leader Khamenei and his cohorts are horrified at the burgeoning strength of the PMOI and its Resistance Units, as well as their growing support throughout Iran.

The wave of executions, including two men hanged in public earlier this month in the city of Khomein, is aimed at deterring further uprisings.

But the regime’s brutality has had the opposite effect.

Iran is now a bubbling cauldron ready to erupt.

Iranians are sick to death of the corruption and viciousness of the theocratic regime that has sponsored conflict and terrorism throughout the Mideast and globally, while impoverishing their own people through incompetence, corruption, and maladministration.

The slightest spark will ignite the next nationwide insurrection that will drive the mullahs from power and restore justice, freedom, democracy and an end to the death penalty, as well as an end to the nuclear threat.

The Iranian people know that the mullahs are now at their weakest point in their 45-year existence. No longer able to rely on its proxy militias in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Gaza, and Lebanon, the regime is lashing out like a wounded beast, ensuring that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — the mullahs’ Gestapo — and its executioners, are now the only Iranians with stable employment.

The clear path to lasting change lies in the complete overthrow of the decrepit theocracy, an outcome that can best be achieved by the Iranian people themselves, not by the military.

Western policy has shamefully overlooked the Iranian people and their courageous organized resistance for far too long. That must change — now.

Struan Stevenson is the Coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change (CiC). He was a member of the European Parliament representing Scotland (1999-2014), president of the Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Iraq (2009-14) and chairman of the Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup (2004-14). He is an author and international lecturer on the Mideast.