In his speech at the Free Iran 2023 World Summit, Joseph Lieberman, former U.S. Senator and Vice Presidential candidate, said, “You in the NCRI and the MEK and the resistance fighters in Tehran frighten them more than any government in the world, including powerful governments like my own and European. Why? Because you represent the people of Iran and are the most immediate threat to the survival of this regime.”
This reality can be seen in the regime’s frantic efforts to discredit the MEK through propaganda and fake news, to threaten any politician and legislator who supports the MEK and NCRI, and in its incessant terrorist plots against the Iranian Resistance and its supporters.
“That is why they spend so much money attacking the NCRI and the MEK money that would be much better spent to improve the quality of life of the people in Iran,” Senator Lieberman said.
The reason behind the regime’s fear of the Iranian Resistance is the deep roots that the movement has in Iran’s history, spanning across decades of struggle for freedom and democracy. The sacrifices that the members of the MEK have made throughout the years have turned the movement into an indestructible force in face of the many conspiracies that the regime has devised to destroy it.
The regime has always known that the MEK and the organized resistance movement is its main threat. Forty-three years ago, before the regime began its full crackdown on the MEK, regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini had explicitly said, “Our enemy is not in the U.S., not in the USSR, not in Kurdistan, but right here in Tehran, in front of our eyes.”
But today, it is clear that the Iranian Resistance is stronger than ever, and the regime is at its weakest. As Former U.S. National Security Advisor said at the Free Iran 2023 summit, “After ten months now, the position of the regime continues to deteriorate. It is weaker than at any time since 1979. And the consequences of this are something that the outside world should work with the organized Resistance of Iran to take advantage of this is how to fracture the regime at the top and bring it down.”
The regime has taken great pains throughout the years to create a false impression of the balance of power between itself on the one hand and the people and their resistance movement on the other. In this regard, the regime has resorted to all kinds of deceitful tactics, including the creation and promotion of fake alternatives, and the usage of its domestic and foreign lobbies, to portray public opinion in favor of the regime or to discredit the NCRI and the MEK. In essence, these efforts are meant to preserve the regime by creating the impression that there is no alternative to the mullahs’ rule, that regime change in Iran is not viable, and that the people of Iran and the world should reach out to factions within the regime.
As former U.S. National Security Advisor said in his speech at the Free Iran 2023 World Summit, “In the recent wave of protests that erupted all over Iran last September, we witnessed the crescendo of a symphony of resistance that has played out over four decades. It echoed the unwavering determination of millions of Iranians for change.”
As the Iranian people close in on their final destination to achieve a free and democratic republic, the regime’s responses to the activities of the resistance become even more frantic. Recently, the regime threatened Italy over a trip by NCRI president-elect Maryam Rajavi and her meeting with Italian lawmakers.
But these growing efforts turn out to be more futile than ever as the people and their organized resistance movement continue to gain momentum. Instead these reactions show more than ever who the regime is afraid of and where real change will come from.