Tomorrow, September 28th, thousands of protesters will gather in at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at 11:00 am to denounce Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his presence at the United Nations. The vast majority of the protesters will be Iranian, or of Iranian descent, and most will represent the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), a powerful and vocal Iranian opposition group. However, these activists will be joined by prominent U.S. policy makers, including former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson.
The anti-regime movement is being spearheaded by a growing cohort of young, secular Iranians who want to see regime change in Iran. Under the umbrella of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and the MEK, the next generation of the Iranian opposition has emerged as a vocal and increasingly influential group, and their primary target right now is Rouhani and the clerics he represents.
While Rouhani is being viewed by many as a moderate, critics claim that he embodies a continuation of the same policies long pushed by the Iranian clerics. Under Rouhani, thousands of prisoners have been executed, students have been arrested for making “Happy” music videos, and Iran has continued to fund and supply shia militias groups that are wreaking havoc across the Middle East.
Rouhani has been lauded by many international leaders for his willingness to sit down at the negotiating table, however, critics warn that this diplomacy is actually helping the regime stay in power. As Behrang Borhani, 22, puts it “the only thing holding the Iranian people back from achieving this goal [regime change] is the obsessive desire of the international community to negotiate diplomatically with the Islamic Republic.”
The MEK is now one of the few groups that still has the influence and numbers to oppose the Iranian regime. In the early days of the Iranian revolution, the MEK was a powerful, armed opposition group fighting for a more secular, democratic government. Once in power, the Iranian clerics moved quickly to silence the opposition, and it’s estimated that more than 100,000 MEK supporters were executed throughout the 1980s, forcing the group to flee to Iraq and abroad.
The MEK disarmed more than a decade ago, but continues to push for regime change through political means, advocating for a secular, democratic government in Iran. As Delaram Ahmadi, 22, puts it:
“Their [the MEK] fight is to bring regime change. The aim is to bring down the current government under the leadership of Khamenei. With the dictatorship no longer in power, the people of Iran will be able to vote and bring into power what they believe is best for their nation.”
While most of the younger members of the MEK were actually born abroad, or else left Iran at a very young age, for many of them Iran is still a homeland of sorts. When Hamid Yazdan was asked why he was so passionate about Iran and seeking regime change, he cited two reasons:
“One is that I want to live in a democratic, secular and modern Iran. Secondly I believe that a change in Iran would be a change for the entire middle east and usher in a new era of hope and progressive change in that region.”
Whether or not the MEK will be able to bring about regime change remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that the group will not toil on silently, and that the Iranian clerics will have to face at least one vocal, powerful opposition group, even if said clerics allow a supposed “moderate” to hold the office of President. While many world leaders, such as Barack Obama, have grown weary of confrontations with Iran, the MEK has proven that it’s here to stay.
To see some profiles and statements from the MEK’s younger members, check out their Tumblr page here.
