TEHRAN – Iran’s opposition leaders lashed out at the country’s Islamic regime on Tuesday, saying the “oppressive and anti-religion” establishment was hurting the Islamic republic the most.
The bitter criticism from Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, once seen as pillars of the Islamic regime, comes three days before 32nd anniversary of the Iranian revolution that toppled the US-backed shah. “Today, the regime is hiding behind this concern that if it does not exist, religion will vanish and, by repeatedly voicing alarms, it tries to rally and organise the religious strata behind itself,” the opposition leaders said in a joint statement posted on their respective websites, Sahamnews and Kaleme.com.
“But in reality what has hurt the religious atmosphere of the (Iranian) society the most is the anti-religion and oppressive behaviour of the regime itself.” Mousavi and Karroubi turned bitter critics of the regime after the June 2009 presidential election, which they both contested but lost to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was returned to office for a second term. The two leaders refuse to acknowledge Ahmadinejad’s victory, which they maintain was due to massive vote-rigging.
Their immediate post-election opposition triggered what was one of the worst crises faced by the Islamic republic since its inception in 1979. Massive demonstrations against Ahmadinejad occurred on the streets of Tehran and other cities after the election, shaking the pillars of the regime and dividing its clerical elite. Dozens of people were killed, scores wounded and thousands arrested by the authorities.
Two detainees were hanged last month and others have been sentenced to long prison terms. Mousavi and Karroubi have also said they want to hold a rally on February 14 in support of the Arab uprisings but observers say it could be a ploy to assemble their supporters in opposition to Ahmadinejad’s government.
