Н. E. Seyyed Mohammad Javad Rassouli: Protests in Iran were triggered by external forces

Protests of the young people in Iran (source: YouTube)

“Europe’s and the US’ human rights positions are a political joke”

Georgi Markov

This article was published on 26 October 2022 on the website of the BNR Horizon programme.

“The protests, which have grown into riots, were triggered by external forces.” This is what H.E. Seyed Mohammad Javad Rasouli, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Bulgaria.

Protests accompanied by riots continue in Iran. Tensions escalated in September following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, three days after she was detained by morality police for improperly wearing a hijab. Protesters blamed law enforcement for her death. The authorities deny these allegations.

“The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes the right to public protest and criticism. Many peaceful gatherings were held and ended even without the presence of police and security forces. At the same time, like any political system in the world, the Iranian Government regards the preservation of territorial integrity, the security of the people and public order as its red line and, from this point of view, distinguishes between ‘protest’ and ‘disorder’.

“What we witnessed after the second day was no longer just a protest but organised disorder and violence. As a result of investigations by the security services, armed terrorist groups were found to be present among the protesters. I ask you, if your security institutions were confronted with actions that violated security and public order, what would they do? According to statistics, last year hundreds of people, including women, were killed as a result of shootings by US police. Have the European Union and European countries taken any action against the United States to uphold and respect human rights? Has the West imposed sanctions on Saudi Arabia because of human rights? In my opinion, the positions of Europe and America regarding human rights are a big political joke. European governments, for their political and economic interests, are acting against the security of Iran, which is the only true democracy in the region’.

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The visit of the Iranian president Raisi to Moscow “does not appear to be a breakthrough”

The nuclear power plant Bushehr is a symbol of Russian-Iranian technological cooperation in the last 3 decades. It is also a representative of the Iranian peaceful nuclear programme (source: YouTube)

The TASS correspondent in Tehran put the visit into the context of the Russian-Iranian relations of the last few years

On 19 January 2022 the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi held a meeting in Moscow with the Russian president Vladimir Putin and on the next day he spoke before the State Duma (the lower chamber of the Russian parliament) and made a visit at the Cathedral Mosque in Moscow. The underlined text is written by Vladimir Mitev and is based on TASS reports and Iran.ru’ coverage about Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Moscow. The title and the subtitle are written by the Persian Bridge of Friendship.

Are the Vienna nuclear talks meant to reach an agreement?

Fereydoun Majlessi (source: Fereydoun Majlessi)

The Iranian site Economy 24 interviewed the former diplomat Fereydoun Majlessi on the latest round of talks in Vienna and “the pessimism” it encouraged with regards to the solution of the Iranian nuclear issue and corresponding international sanctions. Majlessi analyzed the rationale of the United States, Israel, the current Iranian government and discusses what a sanctions-ridden future of Iran could look like

Mira Ghorbanifar, Economy News Site 24/ Dec. 2.  2021

For the last few days the eyes of many experts in the field of diplomacy, politicians and media have been fixed on Vienna. Mainstream international media have been reporting and have been analyzing what is going on in Vienna in their political and international section. 

This time, the negotiation process may be more difficult than many previous attempts at reaching a resolution. It looks like there is a high wall of distrust after the withdrawal of the American government during the times of Trump. The wall of distrust has gotten taller and thicker than ever.

Now, the statements and interviews of the negotiating parties also show that there is a serious gap between the demands and the goals of each one of them and what is put on the table. A part of disagreement is the specific guarantee request of the Iranian side, which demands that other negotiating parties, especially the United States, agree not to leave the agreement in the future. 

The field of diplomacy and politics, of course, is the field of “conflict and compromise” and sometimes in negotiations, achievements can be realized when there is less hope for obtaining them. But what is the situation for Iran and the other parties in these negotiations? To better understand the current situation in the negotiations, we approached Fereydoun Majlessi, a former diplomat, historian, politician, and international expert, to look for his views on the seventh round of talks in Vienna.

This is an interview by Mira Ghorbanifar from the Economy 24 news site in Iran, which was published on 2 December 2021. 

A guideline for understanding Raisi’s presidency

(source: Pixabay, CC0)

The contradiction between two important generations of the Iranian establishment; the foreign policy dilemmas – militarized regional policy or international diplomacy, based on easing of sanctions; the ecological and energy issues set the frame in which the new Iranian government will have to fight for solutions to the crisis in the country

Fereydoun Majlessi 

This is an edited version of an article, which the Iranian political analyst Fereydoun Majlessi, published on 24 October 2021 in the Iranian Business Magazine Trade of Tomorrow. 

The head of the Iranian government is not called prime minister, but a president. He is supposed to be  democratically elected every four years. In August 2021 the new Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi formed a government, which received approval by the parliament. In order to understand the nature of the president’s position in the state apparatus, we need to see his position and options as ones being shaped by the long experience of contradictions between the elected presidents and the high-ranking supervision of the ruling state machine in Iran. There are also the international context, the foreign policy dilemmas, and the ecological and existential crisis in the country. 

Fereydoun Majlessi comments on all those and creates the frames in which Ebrahim Raisi will have to act. The Persian Bridge of Friendship blog republishes this article as it allows the reader beyond Iran to become more aware at the political and existential dilemmas before the Iranian establishment. 

Iran: conservative victory and America’s shadow

Ebrahim Raisi during the election campaign (photo: Tasnim News Agency, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Malgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat

The portal Strajk talks with Vladimir Mitev, a Bulgarian Iranist, editor of the left-wing portal Barikada on why the Iranians elected a conservative president, on the record low attendance, and on what in Iranian realities escape the attention of Western commentators.

This article was published on 22 June 2021 at the Polish site Strajk.

Mr. Mitev, why there is such a low, record low voter presence in Iran? The first, intuitive thought, however, would suggest that society is very disappointed by something (or someone).

A few days ago, local elections took place in France. Attendance was very low. Does anyone claim on this basis that French society is disillusioned with republican or secular government?

Yes, the turnout in the Iranian elections was low, but it still exceeded expectations. One of the leaders of the reformers, Mir Hoseyn Musawi, under house arrest, urged his supporters not to vote. In turn, another influential reformer, Mehdi Karubi, urged them to go to ballot boxes. 

I would rather pay attention to another aspect – about 10 percent of those who came to vote cast invalid votes. Iranian analyst Mehdi Motaharnia stated that the society has divided into those who see the sense of going to the polls and expressing their opinion there, and those who voted “against” the ballot boxes. 

It does not change the fact that the Iranians with whom I have personal contact are actually disappointed with what is happening in the country. Some even look for the possibility of emigration. In previous elections, there were inspiring candidates and people voted for them en masse. But now there competition was not strong at all.

Anti-Iranian sanctions can be reduced, but will not be lifted completely

Ebrahim Raisi in the times of the election campaign (source: Tasnim News Agency, CC BY-SA 4.0)

An interview with the Iranian political scientist following the recent presidential election: on the legacy of Hassan Rouhani, on the future economic policy of the newly-elected Ebrahim Raisi, on the low turnout and on the expectations from the ongoing nuclear negotiations in Vienna

Vladimir Mitev

Mehdi Motaharnia (born 1965, Kashan) is a university professor with a background in sociology, political science, communication, futurology and security. He is a professor at Islamic Free University in Gom, central Tehran; in North Tehran and a visiting lecturer at the higher national universities of Defence. He also collaborates with the Islamic Free University as director of the Research Institute for Social Sciences and Revolution of the Central Organization of the Islamic Free University; and is the author of books and articles in the fields of social and political sciences, futurology, communication, media, security and psychological operations.

The Barricade has published the full version of the interview, which was aired on the Bulgarian national radio in a shortened form on 21 June 2021.

If the government in Iran changes, a new agreement with the USA is possible

Isfahan (photo: Pixabay, CC0)

An interview with the Iranian foreign policy expert Farzad Ramezani Bonesh on the February 2020 parliamentary elections and what their consequences might be for the country

Vladimir Mitev

Farzad Ramezani Bonesh (photo: Farzad Ramezani Bonesh)

Farzad Ramezani Bonesh is an Iranian senior researcher and analyst on regional and international issues, with a focus on the Persian Gulf and South Asia. He has previously been chief editor of desk research at several Iranian research centers. He has published hundreds of research articles, short analyses and journalism in Persian and English.

This article was published on 10 February 2020 on the Bulgarian section of the site “The Barricade”.