Hours after 300 Basij activists and other conservative groups sent an open letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, slamming the regime’s performance, Iranian websites published two separate statements by the Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI) and activist Abolfazl Qadiani, addressing Khamenei.
The statement by the liberal Freedom Movement expressed fear over “widespread violence” in case of renewed protests similar to demonstrations witnessed by more than 80 Iranian cities in December and January.
The statement criticized the lack of political reforms and media transparency as well as the absence of civil national institutions, in addition to the accumulation of capital under the pretext of privatizing state agencies and institutions.
FMI was founded in 1961 by Mehdi Bazargan, the first prime minister in Iran after the revolution, Ebrahim Yazdi who once served as foreign minister, deputy prime minister Yadollah Sahabi, as well as cleric Mahmud Taleqani and Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, the first foreign minister in Iran.
Qadiani, a senior member of the Mojahedeen Organization (IRMO), harshly criticized Khamenei in open letters, likening him to Joseph Goebbels, a German Nazi politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany, and accusing him of telling big lies.
“Khamenei's claims about freedom and democracy, and the right to choose, is reminiscent of Goebbels, Hitler's Minster of propaganda, who believed that the bigger the lie, the more truthful it will appear," he added.
Qadiani further called on Khamenei to put his legitimacy to test by allowing for free elections where various political parties exist in the Assembly of Experts.
He also called on Khamenei to start the battle against corruption from institutions affiliated to him, including his office and the Guard Corps.
