Iran’s Crackdown Is Now Targeting Its Own Politicians
Killing of thousands of protesters creates fracture within the country’s political system
Iran’s theocratic rulers are extending their clampdown beyond the streets and into the broader political sphere, targeting politicians who took a stand against the bloody crackdown on protesters.
At least seven members of Iran’s reformist movement—designed to change the Islamic Republic from within—were arrested in recent days, including its leader. The arrests come as the realization that Iranian security forces carried out one of the biggest waves of political killing in recent history creates fractures within the country’s political system. That has prompted many in the reformist camp to stake out much bolder positions against the regime, putting them at risk.
Members of the Reformist Front—an umbrella group for reformist parties and a key backer of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in the last presidential election—broke ranks recently with the government’s official line that the deaths were the work of rioters and terrorists and condemned the killings.
“We declare our disgust and anger at those who ruthlessly and recklessly brought blood and dirt to the youth of this land,” Azar Mansouri, the leader of the Reformist Front, who has become increasingly critical of Iran’s rulers in recent years, said on Telegram. “No power, no justification, and no time can cleanse this great tragedy.”
In a separate post earlier this month, Mansouri said efforts to reform the regime from the inside had failed.
A few days later, on Feb. 8, she was arrested by members of the intelligence unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to the Reformist Front.
Iran’s Mission at the United Nations in New York declined to comment. Fars News, affiliated with Iran’s IRGC, said the detained reformist politicians were part of a subversive ring aligned with the country’s enemies. Without naming the individuals, the report said they face accusations that include undermining national unity and planning to incite social and political forces against the Islamic Republic.
“Those who issue statements against the Islamic Republic from within are echoing the voices of the Zionist regime and America,” judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on social media after the arrests.
Two of the detained reformist leaders—Javad Emam, the Reformist Front’s spokesman and Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, the head of its political committee—were released on bail on Thursday, according to Iranian state media.