OPINION:
• Growing recognition and legitimacy of the Iranian Resistance on an international stage was evidenced at the Free Iran Summit attended by more than 350 dignitaries from 47 countries on June 30, 2019, in Ashraf 3, the new home of thousands of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (PMOI/MEK) members.
• Nationwide uprisings with greater frequency and intensity have shaken the foundations of the mullahs’ rule. Demonstrations in January 2020, November 2019, and January 2018 demanded the overthrow of the religious dictatorship with youth and women having even stronger opposition voices.
• The mullahs responded with ruthless suppression, killing at least 1,500 protesters in November in a matter of days, further enraging the public.
• The regime’s economy has never been so weak and fragile, to the extent that the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani admitted that the government is completely bankrupt.
• Iran is one of the world’s largest COVID-19 epicenters, and more than 70,000 Iranians have lost their lives to date. The regime’s attempts to cover up the death toll and manipulate the crisis have backfired. The mullahs calculated that the country’s first and second COVID-19 outbreaks would dampen the public’s outrage toward the oppressive regime or divert citizens’ attention away from their grievances toward health concerns. The regime’s incompetence and rampant corruption served to exacerbate the society’s resolve and explosive potential.
• Regime officials, including the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have warned of the prospect of a more massive uprising and identified the organized Resistance, particularly the MEK, as their existential threat.
In response, a major demonization campaign against MEK, waged at home and abroad, sought to counter MEK’s growing influence among Iran’s younger generation.
The MEK has expanded its activities nationwide through the Resistance Units to counter the regime’s propaganda.
In retaliation, the Iranian regime arrested dozens of MEK activists, including award-winning students, on charges of supporting the MEK.
• The regime’s regional strategy of meddling and influencing other countries using terror and warmongering has faced major setbacks in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, and pro-Tehran proxy forces are weakening rapidly.
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