This article will summarise the main points, but we recommend that you read the original for a fuller understanding.

Protests

Anti-regime protests have been the single most defining aspect of Iran this year. The mass uprising that took over the country in January spread to over 140 cities in all 31 provinces in a matter of days. People from all sectors of Iranian society took part, proving that this is not simply one group (i.e. students) that opposes the Regime, but rather all Iranians.

Now, the protests have grown from being about the economy to demanding that the Regime stop supporting terrorists from demanding that the Regime is removed from power altogether.

These protests have been organised in part by the MEK, which is one of the reasons that they have been so successful. Through a nationwide underground network, the MEK knows where to strike for maximum impact and minimum risk. Despite mass arrests and the Regime’s suppression, these protests have continued in different shapes and forms all year.

It has now become clear that the Regime cannot contain a nation desperate for change.

Sanctions

US sanctions on Iran have been another dominant factor, with many Regime members wrongly asserting that the sanctions, supported by the MEK, would hurt ordinary Iranians. Iranians have been speaking out against that idea, noting that the sanctions are not hurting them because sanction relief doesn’t help them.

Many Iranians, like merchant Mahdirashid Mohammadzadeh, blame Iran’s costly interventions in Syria and other places in the Middle East for the dire economic situation in Iran. If the Regime would stop wasting money on that, then poverty in Iran could be eliminated. Most Iranian people support the sanctions, like designer Sarah.

She said: “Sanctions have made us poorer, but I can tolerate this situation because I hope that this regime will be overthrown and will be replaced by a better government…I think [the US] is doing the right thing because these pressures can lead to the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. If all these things would lead to the downfall of the regime, I am prepared to sleep on the streets for six months with my husband and my daughter.”

The mullahs, terrified of the MEK, have resorted to plotting terror attacks against them in the West – all thankfully neutralised – which should show the world that the MEK will soon free the Iranian people from oppression.