He played his cards very carefully, cautiously and kept the faith. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, one of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a dutiful foot soldier and one of its first prime ministers, stayed the course. He made a close comeback in 2009. Embracing a gentle message of reform within the establishment, the unlikely rock star politician wowed the masses.
During his career, young people took to the streets in large numbers, waving green flags, cheering for the stalwart regime of yesteryear, supporting its message of change just before the revolution. When the presidential election was finally called for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, there were huge protests and cries that votes had been stolen. The demonstrations were brutally suppressed and Mousavi, the new hero of the people, was locked in his house and the regime effectively threw away the key.
And suddenly, almost 13 years after his house arrest and effective silence, Mousavi smuggled out a message. A very different one this time. It is extensive, granular, critical and calls for the end of the Islamic Republic regime. A regime, he says, that relied on repressive measures, failed to uphold the rights of the people, created enemies around the world and nearly collapsed the economy.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, a reformist candidate in Iran’s 2009 presidential election, greets supporters during a campaign rally in Karaj, Iran, on June 6, 2009. (Ramin Talaie/Corbis via Getty Images)
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“He points out that the vast majority of the Iranian people and especially Iranian intellectuals no longer want ‘Velayat e Faqih’ (the supreme system of government of an ayatollah) or an Islamic Republic,” Mousavi’s top adviser told Fox News on this call for a new constitution in Iran.
“This regime can no longer respond to the demands of the Iranian people,” Ardechir AmirArjomand said. “The regime doesn’t respect anything,” he says. “It is a totalitarian regime with structural corruption led by mafia clans.”
Mousavi’s adviser, Amir Arjomand, speaks about the power of the demonstrations that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. He says there is no going back because people have lost their fear. And the supreme leader, he adds, knows it. It is hardly a situation where the emperor has no clothes.
“He is aware of everything. It is not a question of knowledge. He has delusions. He does not want to accept the failure of his policy.”
Iranians protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the moral police in Tehran, on October 27, 2022. (AP Images/Middle East, File)
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AmirArjomand says Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will never change, but believes Mousavi still has legitimacy among some corners of the powerhouses, from reformists to the military to the Revolutionary Guard, and his words have the potential for a high impact.
“He (Mousavi) has been under house arrest for 12 years, deprived of contact, but still has maintained his influence. It is Mousavi who could make a decisive contribution to a national consensus for the salvation of Iran.”
On the issue of consensus, a cross-section of Iranian opposition figures, including the late Shah of Iran’s son Reza Pahlavi, at a conference in Georgetown last week, spoke of the need for Iranians to put differences aside. and work together for regime change. in Iran and a democratic future. Like Mousavi, they are convinced that this regime cannot be reformed and that it has turned around since the latest round of demonstrations began last fall.
Presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi shows the V sign after casting his ballot at a polling station June 12, 2009 in Tehran, Iran. (Majid/Getty Images)
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For them, it is no longer a question of “if” the revolution will happen. Has. But unlike Mousavi, these are longtime opponents of the Islamic Republic government. However, Mousavi’s call came up in their discussions and was not met with applause. Still, one of the activists on stage acknowledged that Mousavi’s voice carries weight and that even if it comes from within Tehran’s repressive regime, in the spirit of “all hands on deck” and the theme of unity, his call must be supported.
Meanwhile, in an Iran that has long been famous for oppressing women, AmirArjomand’s words about her role in change are startling.
“Today, the Iranian people,” he says, “the youth, inspired by women, have passed a point. They no longer want this regime. They are no longer afraid either. And what is even more important is the role of women, mentioned by Mr. Mousavi in his statement, which alludes to the motto of this current movement, which is ‘woman, life, freedom’. This is the agenda for the future of Iran. And with the women (in the team) there is not and there will never be a fight that cannot be won.”
