Iranian dissidents
calls for regime change
Tens of thousands
of supporters of a dissident Iranian opposition group filled a vast convention
hall here over the weekend to call for the downfall of Iran’s theocratic government.
The
massive and boisterous event, which occurs annually in this town just north of
Paris, was led by the controversial National Council of Resistance of
Iran, a France-based umbrella group for Iranian exiles that brought dozens
of former U.S., European and Middle Eastern officials together to speak out on
its behalf.
Prince
Turki bin Faisal Al-Saud, the former longtime Saudi intelligence chief, drew
loud cheers and applause from the Iranian dissident crowd when he exclaimed
that he too wants the government in Tehran to be overthrown and that their “fight
against the regime will reach its goal sooner or later.”
In a sign that Arab frustration toward Tehran reaches
far beyond Saudi Arabia, Prince Turki was preceded on stage by a delegation of
several other former and current officials from 12 Arab nations — all of whom
also voiced support for the plight of National
Council of Resistance of Iran
The MEK first appeared on the scene during the
late 1970s, when it engaged in a power struggle against leaders ofIran’s Islamic Revolution. The group was
later known to have carried out terrorist attacks against Iranian government
targets during the 1980s.
No
one disputes that the National Council has influence — some even describe it as
the largest Iranian dissident group in the world. But the organization’s
persistence and tactics have given it a double-edged reputation even among some
of Iran’s Western critics.
National
Council leader Maryam Rajavi headlined Saturday’s rally with a demand that
Washington abandon the Iranian nuclear accord and take a far more aggressive
posture toward ُ Terhran
Mrs.Rajavi has led the movement since its founder
— her husband, Massoud Rajavi — went into hiding in 2003. In an
email interview ahead of the rally, she said participants “represent the voice
of millions of Iranians who are being oppressed in their country and who seek
regime change and the establishment of a democratic, pluralist and non-nuclear
government based on the separation of religion and state.”
While the Obama
administration lifted many economic sanctions on Iran under
last year’s nuclear accord, the State Department has continued to list the
nation as a state sponsor of terrorism, and international sanctions remain on
the IRGC.
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