Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President of the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), sent a message expressing her deepest condolences to the family of Senator John McCain after his passing away.
Senator McCain was a strong critic of the mullahs’ regime ruling Iran and visited members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in 2017 after their successful transfer to Albania, where he also met with Mrs. Rajavi.
On December 30th, 2017, coinciding with the Iranian people’s uprising across the country, Senator McCain expressed his support of their nationwide protests.
@SenJohnMcCain
For too long, the Iranian people have been oppressed by their government, which cares more about sowing instability abroad than its own citizens. The U.S. stands with the brave protesters who yearn for freedom, peace, and an end to corruption in Iran
Price protests turn political in Iran as rallies spread
Demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans in several cities across Iran on Friday, Iranian news agencies and social media reports said, as price protests turned into the largest wave of demonst...
On April 19th, 2017, Fox News reported the Iranian regime, its nuclear program and what critics consider this regime’s utter support for terrorism in the Middle East, were all in the center of discussions in a major rally held in Albania. This was a pivoting point for Iran’s main opposition group, Fox News added. Arizona Senator John McCain delivered a speech in this rally and hailed the Iranian opposition members.
During his meeting with Mrs. Rajavi the Senator expressed his support for the Iranian opposition’s objectives and once again criticized the Iranian regime for its support of terrorism across the Middle East and, for example, Tehran’s decision to stand alongside the Assad regime in Syria.
Senator McCain praised the Iranian opposition for setting an example for the entire world and proving anyone will be able to obtain freedom if determined and willing to sacrifice for it.
Senator McCain meets Maryam Rajavi, PMOI members in Tirana
The Hill, April 24, 2017 - By Dr. Majid Sadeghpour
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, met in Tirana, Albania, with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi,the President-elect of National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and discussed the latest developments in Iran, the clerical regime’s nefarious meddling in the Middle East region and prospects for the future.
Prior to the meeting, Senator McCain visited one of the centers of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Tirana and met with the PMOI members who were relocated to Albania from Camp Liberty, Iraq.
Following is the Text of the speech of Senator McCain and Mrs. Maryam Rajavi Please click here
Maryam Rajavi expressed her appreciations to Senator McCain for his unsparing efforts in support of the MEK from Ashraf and their relocation out of Iraq. She said, 'Today, there is a general consensus in the region on the clerical regime’s destructive role and there is no doubt that the religious fascism ruling Iran is the prime source of war, terrorism and crisis in the region.'
'Regime change is not only the need for ending brutal violations of human rights in Iran but to establish peace and tranquility in the region,' she added. 'As long as the clerical regime is in power, it would not give up export of terrorism and fundamentalism.'
Mullahs' Foreign Ministry: Senator McCain's Meeting With Mrs. Rajavi Is Wrong U.S. Policy in Expansion of Terrorism
In a journalists’ briefing on Monday, April 17, the Spokesman of the Foreign Ministry of the clerical regime lashed out against the meeting of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, and Senator John McCain, the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Senate. He said, this meeting is part of the “wrong policy and obscene conducts of the U.S. in expanding terrorism in the region,” adding, “This is a mistake that the U.S. government will pay for like other mistakes.”
What the mullahs’ regime refers to as a “wrong policy and obscene conduct” is the indication of an end to the failed policy of appeasement towards the clerical regime, as the main source of exporting terrorism and extremism; a policy that has had the most destructive results and has engulfed the entire region in war and crisis.
Al Arabiya, 18 April 2017 -Video: In the middle of election fever, Iran opposition gets major boost: ANALYSIS
As the regime in Iran is engulfed with major turbulence over its upcoming presidential election, scheduled for May 19, Tehran saw its concerns increase significantly as Senator John McCain, Chairman of the US Senate Armed Forces Committee and a very influential senior member of the Republican Party, visited Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Albania on Friday.
In October, Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian regime’s president, reiterated that Tehran will continue to develop ballistic missiles, defying the latest round of Congress-approved sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program and a U.N. resolution calling on Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”
This bit of news might come as a disappointment to those who view Rouhani as the “moderate” leader the U.S. and the international community should back against “hardliners” in Iran. But it won’t surprise those who know the true nature that governs all the factions that compete within the theocratic regime ruling Iran.
Rouhani made deceptive claims and promises before May's presidential elections to strengthen his bid and portray himself as being at odds with the Revolutionary Guards. The IRGC, the notorious military body that only reports to Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s unelected Supreme Leader, was designated as a terrorist organization by the Trump administration last month.
However, after securing his second mandate, Rouhani retraced his steps and re-established his ties with what he previously called the “government with a gun.” Last month, Rouhani praised the IRGC as the "beloved" of the Iranian people despite the evident fact that it is the main player behind Iran’s terrorist forays, ballistic missile program, and human rights violations.
sually, the hope is that after an election a country can move forward, the new leader’s agenda bolstered by a popular mandate. That is not the case with Iran. Hassan Rouhani’s second term as president was far from a win for Iran’s economy, Iran’s international standing, and certainly not for Iran’s people.In the words of the only opposition posing an existential threat to the regime, the strong-arm tactics demonstrated by the regime during the election process further divided a regime already gravely weakened by an internal power struggle. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, foresees Rouhani’s second term as serving only to aggravate that power struggle, bringing about a crisis at the leadership level of the ruling theocracy.In Rajavi’s view, given the current circumstances at home and abroad, it is crucial for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to consolidate if he is to maintain his regime’s balance and weather out the near-daily crises that Iran faces. Khameni’s failure to manipulate the election so as to make usher Ebrahimi Raisi, his chosen candidate, into the presidential palace was a major defeat which does not bode well for his regime’s longevity.
Forbes, 26 May 2017 - Following the May 19th presidential “election” in Iran and the incumbent Hassan Rouhani reaching a second term, there was an outpouring of Western mainstream media describing him as a moderate again.
As described by the National Review, Iran’s sham election was nothing but “a ridiculous farce. In reality, an anti-American jihadist beat a slightly-worse anti-American jihadist.”
Rouhani was the first Iranian regime official in the early days after the mullahs’ hijacking of the 1979 revolution who openly called for public executions.
Struan Stevenson: Cracks Are Showing in Iran's Regime Regime, and the sham elections held last week exposed the growing divisions within the ruling elite, former European lawmaker Struan Stevenson wrote on Thursday for the United Press International.In his op-ed for the UPI, Mr. Stevenson pointed out that the Iranian people have suffered persecution and repression at the hands of the turbaned tyrants in Tehran for the past 38 years. “The decline and fall of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a spectacle eagerly awaited by 80 million impoverished Iranians and by a world frustrated by decades of threats,terrorism and proxy wars Read more Iran's Sham Election Doesn't Represent Voice of Its People - the Daily Caller the Presidential election held last week in Iran does not represent the voice of the Iranian people but portrays the result of a failed engineering campaign and a final decision made by the Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to a new opinion article in the Daily Caller.Khamenei’s decision to accept Hassan Rouhani for a second term as the regime’s President is also a show of his utter fear of a nationwide uprising against the mullahs’ apparatus, argues Iranian dissident Shahriar KIA.
With the election façade coming to an end in Iran and the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei claiming victory – based on rigging the number of votes in the millions – will the divides amongst the regime’s senior ranks ease?
Amir Mohebian, a politician and theoretician of Khamenei’s faction, claims the election results prove there is no rift amongst the ruling elite and Iran’s populace.
Rouhani's 2nd Term Deepens Rift Within the Regime, Intensifies Mullahs' Crisis and Power Struggle
Khamenei’s heavy defeat in manipulating election is an indication of an end to the regime
• Crisis at the top of the religious fascism will continue until its downfall
• Rouhani neither wants, nor is able to alter regime’s foundations and behavior; massive economic and social destruction, crackdown and repression will persist
Maryam Rajavi, described the mullahs’ regime at the end of its sham presidential election, as a divided regime that has been gravely weakened by its internal power struggle. She added: Rouhani’s second term would only entail growing crisis and a more intense power struggle. Crisis has precipitated at the leadership level of the religious fascism and would continue until the downfall of the regime of the velayat-e faqih (absolute rule of clergy). The heightening power struggle is a reflection of the regime’s strategic failure in resolving the most pressing social problems and growing discontent.
Forbes, 20 May 2017 -The Truth Behind Iran's Presidential Election Travesty
Since its foundation, the clerical regime ruling Iran has used false elections to paint a democratic picture of its tyrannical rule across the world. Unfortunately, for different motives, some western politicians and governments acknowledge this and try to invest in the power-jockeying between the so-called “moderate” and “hardliner” factions in the Iranian regime, a competition they deem authentic.
If not stemming from economic interests and political considerations, this logic is rooted in a flawed assessment of the structure governing the religious dictatorship ruling Iran. This erroneous line of thinking and the decisions it has resulted in have come at a huge cost to peace and stability in the region and across the globe. Read more
What Iran doesn't want the world to know about its presidential election
Examiner, May 16, 2017--During the past weeks, Iran's state-controlled media has been dominated by the presidential candidates making their case for occupying the country's ceremonial role of president and trying to paint a democratic picture of a tyrannical regime. What it's not reflecting, however, is what the people of Iran really think of the elections and why they categorically reject the ruling regime and all its presidential nominees. Read more
PMOI Resistance campaigns against #ShamElections in Iran
The Oslo Times International News Network, May 17 - Tehran: Throughout Iran, posters, videos and even social media posts have all been geared toward encouraging the Iranian people not to participate in the upcoming May 19th Iran elections. These videos are focused on showing the support among the Iranian people, not for another election, but to overthrow the regime. There are also videos that have been created to document the efforts of these campaigns and show that they are located throughout the country, not just in Tehran or a few key cities.Read more
What Will Change After Iran’s Presidential Election?
Practical Politicking, May 18, 2017 - What will change after Iran’s presidential election? Absolutely nothing. While a fierce showdown is in the making for the May 19th Iran presidential election, and analysts are weighing the possibilities of the second round on May 26th and the final outcome, there shouldn’t be any hope for any fundamental change. Read more Atena Farghadani mocks the mullahs' sham election
Young artist and former prisoner of conscience, Atena Farghadani, sketched a new cartoon mocking the sham election in Iran.
In her Facebook account, she explains, Read more
John Bolton: If Free Elections Were Held in Iran, Ayatollahs Would Be the Losers
On the eve of Iran's presidential election, the prominent diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, in an exclusive interview with the Voice of America's Persian service said: If free elections were held in Iran, Ayatollahs would be the losers. John Bolton former Undersecretary of State for International Security in an interview on May 17th said: I think the difference between moderates and extremists is a lie because only those can run for election whom pass Guardian Council’s screening and meet supreme leader’s approval.
Maryam Rajavi Lashes at Iran's "Sham" Election; IRGC Has Half a Million Votes Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, described Iran’s presidential election scheduled for May 19th as “sham”, CNN Arabic reported Wednesday, May 17th.
Rajavi accused the Revolutionary Guards of allocating half a million votes of its members, along with hundreds of thousands of votes belonging to its secret elements, to the candidate of their choosing, CNN Arabic added.
This subject was reflected in a series of Maryam Rajavi’s tweets where she said:
“#ShamElections is a ritual of power sharing among the regime's ruling factions; it is categorically rejected by the people of #Iran… If you claim that the May19 showcase is a genuine election, you have to withdraw the half-a-million strong force of IRGC #ShamElections #Iran” Read more Joseph Lieberman: There Is No Election in Iran, the Regime Decides for Iranians
he Prominent politician and former United States Senator from Connecticut, Joseph Lieberman, believes that a brief comparison of what is happening in the Iranian election with America and France indicates a true Iranian election would not be held. He indicated that the results are initially a decision that regime will make. Lieberman has served as a U.S. senator and vice presidential candidate.
In an exclusive interview with the head of the Voice of America's Persian service, Mr. Lieberman expressed his views about the Iranian regime’s election. Some parts of this interview, which was broadcasted by Voice of America's Persian service on May 15th, follows:
Election Sham Is a Ritual of Power Sharing Among the Regime's Ruling Factions; It Is Categorically Rejected by the People of Iran
In the wake of elections, the mullahs' crisis-riddled regime will emerge weaker and more vulnerable
The Iranian regime has put its security forces on an emergency state of alert on the eve of the sham elections on May 19, to prevent any eruption of popular protests and upheavals.Challenging the mullahs' supreme leader, president and their accomplices, the Iranian Resistance's President-elect Maryam Rajavi said, "If you claim that the May 19 showcase is a genuine election, you have to withdraw the half-a-million strong force of Revolutionary Guards and State Security troops as well as hundreds of thousands of plainclothes agents and the plethora of other repressive agencies. You must let the people of Iran go to the streets and freely express their vote and true desire. It would then become clear what would remain of the Velayat-e Faqih regime." Read more Video: The state of Iran’s presidential election after recent exits
Heshmat Alavi, Special to Al Arabiya, 17 May 2017
On May 12th a number of political prisoners in Zahedan Central Prison in southeast Iran issued a statement calling on the Iranian people, ethnic and religious minorities, especially the Sunnis to boycott the farce presidential election. To read the part of the statement click here
Interview With the Chair of NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee
In an interview with ncr-iran.org, the chair of Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Mohammad Mohaddessin responded to a series of questions concerning Iran regime’s upcoming “presidential election”, the following is the first part of this interview.
Maryam Rajavi's Image on a Major Bridge in Capital City The faction of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reacted to the nationwide presidential election boycott campaign and activities led by supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) inside Iran. Read more +watch the videos
Dr. Mohammad Maleki, the first Dean of Tehran University after the revolution, called the regime's elections a “puppet show" and ridiculous play. The performance of the reformists and the conservatives are only created to deceive the people. Dr. Maleki, in an interview with an online television show on May 9th, said: “What is happening in Iran, it is essentially a puppet show. It is a show, because according to them, among 1600 registered candidates, only five were chosen, who also regularly worked for the system and then they are asking people to vote for six. I think this is simply not an election.” Read more
The so-called presidential “election” that is scheduled for May 19th in Iran is in far contrast to what is witnessed in today’s democratic countries, according to a new op-ed which appeared on Friday on the Forbes website.
Polls in Iran under the mullahs’ regime are neither free nor fair, and the upcoming presidential election will weaken the regime in its entirety to an unprecedented scale, argued Heshmat Alavi, an expert on Iranian affairs.
He pointed out: Read more
Iranian Regime Official: People's Mojahedin Are Trying to Make an Impact on The "People's" Election
NCRI - The Iranian election is neither free nor fair, but it is significant since the regime is facing unprecedented culmination of political, social, economic and international crises. The election’s outcome will make the regime weaker and more fractured, according to two leading experts. On Thursday, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) hosted an online conference with Ambassador Giulio Terzi, Former Foreign Minister of Italy and Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chairman of the NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee. Amb. Terzi, underscored the failure of the regime in resolving any of the social and economic problems in the country despite the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He added that economic collaboration with Iran is “in contradiction of the West’s imperatives and objectives.” The senior European diplomat stressed that any such collaboration will only serve to strengthen Tehran’s support for terrorist activities in the region while empowering the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC). He emphasized, “One should not expect a major shift in Tehran's policies after the elections. It will be a huge folly and total misguided approach by the West to pin any hope on the results of this election.” Mr. Mohaddessin reminded viewers of the limited power any president would have under the velayat-e-faqih system (absolute rule of clergy) in Iran, and emphasized “any flow of state of affairs in the clerical regime is in the hands of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his office, and the IRGC.” “Elections in the clerical regime is power sharing between various factions of the brutal regime. It is also about various factions’ share in plundering the Iranian people’s wealth,” Mohaddessin said. Read more
The first debate of three debates between the six presidential candidates held in a controlled atmosphere. The candidates themselves, who are the present government officials, were careful so the debate remains limited to the economic problems of the country and not on the politics issues.
In Tehran, the television viewers who watched this three hours debates, described it boring and hopeless.
However, the candidates pointed to some of the country’s protracted economic downturn results. Read more
Iran’s presidential election: Nothing new after 38 years
We were recently witness to the first debate of Iran's 2017 presidential election, which can be evaluated from a variety of perspectives. One simple conclusion is that all candidates failed to provide any hope for a better future.
Remembering how the 2009 debates paved the way for nationwide uprisings, rattling the regime's entire establishment, this year's debate was shortened in timing to prevent any uncontrollable sparks. Despite all this, the arguments provided a vivid view into the regime's critical domestic crises.
Teachers Trade Association Representative Calls for Boycotting the Election
Representative of Khorasan (North Eastern province) Teachers Trade Association called in a statement for boycotting Iranian regime’s presidential election show.“Iran’s rulers are holding a presidential election while lacking the least domestic and international legitimacy”, the statement says, “With wage-earning and toiling workers and teachers forced to live in poverty and with the highest degree of difficulty.” To read the text of the statement click here
Is there anything Iran’s presidential election can change?
By Heshmat Alavi-Al Arabiya, 24 April 2017
The US is said to be weighing a variety of different approaches on the regime ruling Iran after the upcoming May 19 presidential election.
This line of thought argues any punishing measure by the US now would support “hardliners” against “moderates”. The problem is that any such distinction of Iran’s political landscape is entirely incorrect.
The regime in Iran does not, to say the least, has the best interest of Iranians or people across the region at heart, let alone other nations throughout the planet.
Iran's Ridiculous Presidential Election Debates Scene
The regime’s election campaign commission at the Interior Ministry made a decision during a meeting with representatives of the judiciary to ban live debates of the presidential candidates.
Presidential Election Is a Critical Task, Iranian Cleric Says
Friday prayer leader Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani, a senior cleric close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, described the upcoming presidential election as a very critical task to overcome. Kermani went on to call on former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, without mentioning his name, to not raise much of a stir after being disqualified.
Ahmadinejad was removed in an internal surgery, marking terminal phase of the Iranian regime's rule
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian regime's former president, was excluded from the list of presidential candidates on direct orders of the mullahs' supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
The new surgical operation within the mullahs' religious fascism clearly signals the terminal phase of the regime's rule. Read more
Arab News, 18 April 2017 - In 2015, when there was no expectation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ’s comeback, or talk of his potential registration for Iran’s 2017 presidential elections, I wrote that he “can present a viable challenge to the incumbent President Hassan Rouhani ” in this year’s vote.
I meant that Ahmadinejad could use his political weight and populism, and could capitalize on people’s economic grievances and hard-liners’ criticism of Rouhani, to campaign and rally the hard-liners’ social base behind another hard-line candidate, not for his own presidency. Running for himself is very unlikely due to reluctance among Iran’s top echelons of powers.
Any distinction between 'extremists' and 'moderates' in Iran's political establishment is false.
Whatever the results of the upcoming Iranian elections, there will be no shift in Tehran's human rights violations or core aims of regional hegemony and pursuit of nuclear weapons.
What does matter is the behavior of the West, particularly the United
States, in the near future. If it again resorts to cooperating with Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria, Khamenei will not only be able to pursue his regional and global interests unfettered, but will be better equipped to contain crises at home.
NCRI - In an interview with Ehsan Aminolroaia, member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the questions turned toward the state of Iran's presidential election.
Iran Regime's Reaction to People's 'No to Sham Election" Campaign
Iranian officials and state-run media outlets have responded widely to the “No to Sham Election” campaign launched by the Iranian people and Resistance, stating:
“We are facing a ruthless enemy. Therefore, even small differences inside the country are not right and must not be provoked,” said Taha Mohammadi, the Friday prayer imam in Hamedan, western Iran. “The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) are striving to disrupt the country’s elections,” he said with grave concerns according to the state-run Fars news agency.
THE WEST MUST STAND WITH IRANIANS AGAINST THEIR ABUSIVE REGIME
he world is watching on as Iran plans to hold its presidential elections in less than six weeks, but it's important to look at its consequences through the prism of human rights.
While critics point out, correctly, that an election whereby all candidates must prove their loyalty in heart and deed to the Supreme Leader, and are filtered stringently by a Guardian Council whose members are themselves appointed by the Supreme Leader,
can hardly be considered to represent the free will of the nation, the prospective choice of candidates offered to the Iranian people is itself a stark indicator of the fate that Iranians are expected to face.
The presidential election in Iran, scheduled for May 19th, witnessed a major development last Thursday when Ebrahim Raisi, of the “principalists” faction and considered a close confidant of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, announced his candidacy. A few weeks ago, 50 members of the all-clerics Assembly of Experts, the body in charge of appointing the next supreme leader, issued a letter to Khamenei calling for Raisi to become the regime’s next president. Raisi himself had informed the regime’s various factions he will participate only if he enjoys Khamenei’s blessing. Wrote Shahriar Kia in ‘American Thinker’ on April 12, 2017 and the article continues as follows:
An Executioner and a Charlatan, Two Main Candidates in the Mullahs' Presidential Election
Raisi has publicly announced that he will stand as a candidate in the sham Presidential election.
In a letter addressed to the regime's Supreme Leader Khamenei on March 22, some 50 mullahs, members of the Assembly of Experts, requested his nomination. He had told other factions that he would run for office if he had Khamenei's approval.
At the same time, Rouhani told his cohorts that he had obtained Khamenei’s approval to run.
Therefore, the two main candidates, one an executioner mullah and the other an impostor one, both claim to have Khamenei's backing and have decided to run.
Raisi's Candidacy Intensifies Crisis Within the Regime
NCRI - Ebrahim Raisi is officially announced the Iranian regime’s presidential candidate, with his candidacy revealing more than ever the Iranian regime’s critical conditions.
As one of the executioners and a member of the death committee that executed 30,000 political prisoners in 1988, and also for his running the empire of plundering ‘Astan Quds’ foundation, Raisi by himself is a true symbol of a regime that has been built on the foundations of blood and plundering. Read more
Death Commission’ Member, announced as Prime Candidate
By Heshmat Alavi
American Thinker, April 7, 2017 - The candidacy of a cleric well known for his role in the atrocious crimes by the regime ruling Iran over the past three decades was announced. Ebrahim Raisi, currently head of the massive Astan Quds Razavi entity in control of a sacred Shiite Muslim shrine, will be running for president in the May 19 polls.
While there are claims that this new development will unify the faction opposing the incumbent, President Hassan Rouhani , it is important to shed some light on Raisi’s past to understand how, very similarly to Rouhani himself, this new candidate has played a major role in the mullahs’ crimes. One can also conclude that this is a prerequisite for any candidate taking part in any so-called election – read: selection – held by the regime in Iran, thus rendering no change at all. Click here to read
Who is Hassan Rouhani, Iran's Executioner?
Iran’s Presidential Election: Democracy Or Theocracy Seeking Legitimacy?Daily Caller, April, 8, 2017 - Iran’s presidential election will be held on May 19th. Many in the West are interested to know if the so-called “reformist” Hassan Rouhani , the incumbent, will be reelected, or will he be replaced by a candidate of the “hardliners”? And will Iran head towards real change following this presidential election?
