their lives Iranian activist Taghi Rahmani and his wife Narges Mohammadi, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year for fighting on behalf of Iranian women, both of which are shocking. The word ‘prison’ is repeated over and over. That’s how they met in 1994. Rahmani (Qazvin, 64 years old) had just been released from prison and was giving secret lessons in the basement of a bookstore when he encountered Mohammadi (Zanjan, 51 years old). They have since married, had twins Kiana and Ali, and spent years (14 for him, 12 for him) in and out of the Iranian regime’s dungeons, such as Evin prison, where Mohammedi is now. A quarantine that occurred in the middle Latest wave of protests in IranThat’s why her husband became the voice of activists in the West.
Rahmani speaks to El Periódico of the Prensa Ibérica group at the end of an event in Rome. Is showing nervous and worried. His wife continues to resist wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf, and she says this affects the medical care she receives. Emphasizing that he did not underestimate the Iranian regime, he said: “He has about 50% blockage in his arteries, so he urgently needs an angiography. If it is not performed, he risks having a heart attack.” “Jameini is smart and Regime emerged from a violent revolution“Who has learned to effectively suppress any dissent,” says this nationalist activist, who describes himself as a moderate Muslim.
When was the last time you talked to your spouse?
21 months ago, before he was imprisoned again.
Are you afraid for your life?
We know that depriving political prisoners of medical care is a ‘modus operandi’ of the regime.
Is it possible to be released?
There doesn’t seem to be much hope right now. Still we won’t give up. We are trying to involve various human rights organizations and countries that can help put pressure on the Iranian government to allow him to go to the Nobel ceremony.
What is the future of the protest movement that emerged in Iran in September 2022 after the murder of Mahsa Yina Amini in police custody? [una joven de 22 años que tres días antes había sido arrestada por llevar mal el velo]?
There are currently three opposition groups in Iran: the trade union world, human rights activists who support gender equality, including many academics, and those who represent the voices of ethnic and religious minorities. But unfortunately they do not share a common strategy.
Does this mean that an alternative to the current Iranian regime is unlikely to emerge there?
The problem is that the regime has been weakening opposition voices for years, so today even the diaspora cannot maintain a deep and stable relationship with the internal opposition.
Here, Rahmani ruminates on the need to ensure that “any possible alternative” to the current power in Iran is “democratic” and “tolerant of dissent.” “We must avoid at all costs a repeat of experiences like those in post-Soviet Russia. [Vladímir] “Let Putin come to power,” he says. And he insists that we should not underestimate Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneini, whom he describes as “intelligent” and even compares him to Francisco Franco. “If you asked me to make a historical comparison, I would say Jameini was more like Franco than Mussolini. Franco understood that it was better not to go to war and not support Hitler, and that’s how he stayed in power,” he thinks.
He also uses the comparison to explain why he believes Iran will not engage in open conflict with Israel, even now that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is waging a relentless offensive against Gaza; Here we have Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group whose leaders are complicit. of the Islamic Republic. Rahmani thus draws a direct link to what he sees as part of Iranian leaders’ tactics to weaken domestic opposition.
So, is it true that the war between Hamas and Israel could cause a reaction from Iran?
I firmly believe that Iran will not go to war with Israel unless Israel takes the initiative. Because this will be a war that will destroy everything, and the interest of those who rule the Islamic Republic is to stay in power for a long time. No, Iran will not attack. This is a position that has been consolidated within the regime since 1984. [del fundador de la República Islámica, el ayatolá] Khomeini. What benefits Iranian leaders is uncertainty.
Introduce yourself.
Iran’s support for Hamas not only distracts from the internal problems faced by Iran, but also provides Tehran with negotiating power with actors such as the United States. Negotiations are currently ongoing with the United States, and US President Joe Biden also needs to meet with Iran. Therefore, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is also a misfortune for many countries in the region. [en los que hay movimientos disidentes] and for Iranian dissidents. It strengthens the power of the Iranian regime.
They are getting stronger, the activists are getting weaker. Is that what he said?
Exactly the same. The Gaza war is also a burden for the Iranian protest movement.
What do you think about Netanyahu?
Netanyahu uses religion the same way the Iranian regime does. He wants religion to be part of the state, which is exactly what Hamas and the Islamic Republic say.
The Iranian dissident then recalls Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Rabin, who was assassinated by a Jewish ultranationalist in 1985, dealing a fatal blow to the only moment when Palestinians and Israelis faced the possibility of a lasting peace. “From that moment on, many fundamentalist Jews began to come to Israel, and secular Israelis became a minority. So Israel began to feel powerful, with the support of the United States. This strengthened Hamas and weakened the Palestinian National Authority (ANP, ordinary people)” says. “Netanyahu is even now claiming that the Israelis will guarantee the security of Gaza once they control the Strip, which completely leaves secularists in the ANP out of the equation.”