Saudi News Portal Posts Articles By Iranian Oppositionists Calling To Topple The Iranian Regime

Memri

3 days ago

In the recent months, the Saudi news portal Elaph posted many articles by Iranian opposition figures in exile that slammed the Iranian regime. The writers, some of them members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI),[1] decried this regime's oppression of and violence against the Iranian people, its pursuit of nuclear weapons, its support for terrorism and its actions to destabilize the region. They also criticized the international community's impotence in the face of the regime's conduct and argued that the futile negotiations with it will not lead to any change in its positions.
According to the articles, the regime's pursuit of nuclear weapons and its export of terrorism are meant to guarantee its survival. Therefore, as long as this regime exists, it will not stop advancing these aims, although the Iranian people are unwilling to sacrifice themselves to this end.
The authors of the articles stressed that Iranian people, which suffers the regime's tyranny, now feels it has a historic opportunity to achieve freedom and justice. Therefore, it will not cease its struggle until the regime is overthrown and Iran is established as a free and democratic state. "The time has come for the Iranian regime to collapse," said the writers, and called on the international community to support the people's struggle.
Iranians in Europe protest against the regime (Image: Ar.ncr-iran.org, April 25, 2025)
The following are translated excerpts from these articles:
Iranian Oppositionist: As Long as the Iranian Regime Exists, It Will Not Cease Its Repression, Terror And Pursuit Of Nuclear Weapons; The Solution Is For The People To Replace It
In an article published on June 16, 2025, three days after Israel launched its offensive against Iran, Iranian oppositionist Nezam Mir Mohammadi stated that, as a result of this attack, the Iranian regime is now facing an existential threat. He urged the international community to take a firm stance against it, and to understand that it will never stop its terror and repression, so that the only choice is for the Iranian people to replace it.
Mohammadi wrote: "The Iranian regime is at a dangerous turning point in light of escalating international and regional tensions. The resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors,[2] as well as Israel's military strike on the Natanz nuclear facility [and its elimination of] senior Iranian officials, have placed the regime in an embarrassing situation. Now it is trying to buy time and maneuver to avoid [further] confrontation, but it is facing unprecedented pressures that threaten its continued existence...
"For over four decades the Iranian regime has relied on instigating wars by means of its proxies in the countries of the region, which turned it into a major source of chaos and instability. By politicizing [various] religious and Islamic-Arab causes, this regime managed to impose its influence on the region's countries and to embroil them in long-term conflicts…
"The regime tries to use these tensions [in the region] to mobilize the Islamic countries and peoples to support it, but after 46 years of deception and concealment, the world now realizes the truth about it. This strategy, which was effective in the past, no longer works because the world [now] sees the regime turning against the interests of the region and of the Iranian people itself.
"The Iranian regime currently faces two options: either succumb to the international demands by dismantling its nuclear program and [thus] lose one of its sources of strength, or continue the escalation, which will lead to a military confrontation that sources have called 'military suicide.' The Israeli attacks, as well as the exposure of the secret nuclear program by the [Iranian] opposition,[3] increased the regime's isolation in the international arena. Its insistence on continuing its policy of deception and of instigating crises left it at an impasse, for its mask has slipped, exposing its true face as a threat to the region's security…
"The international community must reassess its policy toward Iran, with focus on [taking] a firm stance that will ensure the region's stability and security. Continuing its present policy could bring the [Iranian] regime to a disastrous confrontation, not only with the world but also with its [own] people.
"The clerics who rule Iran have a rich record of deception and concealment, and were it not for the [information] exposed by the Iranian opposition over the past 34 years, they would have obtained nuclear weapons long ago. This regime has never met its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) or under UN Security Council Resolution 2231,[4] and has always used negotiations to buy time and [to try] to complete its nuclear program.
"Obtaining a nuclear bomb, exporting terror and sparking foreign wars served this regime as a strategic [way to] guarantee its survival. Due to the great failures suffered by the regime and its proxies in the region over the past year, the nuclear program became even more vital to it. Experience proves that, as long as this regime exists, it will not cease its oppression, terror, export of extremism, instigation of wars and [advancement of] its nuclear program. The ultimate way to eliminate this terrorist tyranny, [that seeks to be] armed with a nuclear bomb, is for the Iranian people and opposition to replace this regime. And as thousands of lawmakers, leaders and senior political figures in various countries have declared, the international community must recognize the right of the Iranian people and the Iranian opposition to fight this regime and replace it."[5]
Iranian Oppositionist: The Iranian People Will Continue Its Struggle Until The Regime Falls And A Free, Democratic Iran Is Established
In an April 22, 2025 article, NCRI member Mehdi Oghbai noted that the renewal of nuclear negotiations between the Iranian regime and the West was frequently accompanied by a surge in the regime's execution of dissidents. He explained that this phenomenon stems from the regime's fear of a domestic uprising against it, and stressed that, despite the danger, the Iranian people will continue their struggle until they achieve their liberty.
Oghbai wrote: "Amid the internal and external crises faced by the Iranian regime, there is a close and conspicuous connection between a rise in the number of executions and the start of new rounds of nuclear negotiations. This link is no coincidence. It is a calculated strategy [on the part of the regime] aimed at repressing the Iranian people and preventing the outbreak of a popular uprising as a result of the regime's weakness in these negotiations. In 2024 there was a significant surge in executions by the Iranian regime. By February there were 124 [executions], six times as many as in February 2023 (21 cases)…
"The Iranian resistance renews its call for the UN, the EU countries and all the international organizations that defend human rights to condemn these barbaric executions and take immediate measures to save the lives of the prisoners sentenced to death, especially the political prisoners.
"In his Eid Al-Fitr sermon, [Iran's Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei revealed his real fears, saying that the biggest threat [to Iran] was internal rather than external, namely, the possibility of popular revolutions and uprisings. This fear causes the regime to increase the rate of executions, especially of political prisoners, in order to intimidate the people and prevent any protest activity. The Iranian resistance, which represents the voice of the people yearning for liberty, underscores that these executions are a desperate attempt by the regime to survive amid the increasing pressures it is facing.
"Khamenei himself described the nuclear negotiations as 'dishonorable,' which indicates that he realizes he will have to make concessions. These concessions, which reflect the regime's weakness and helplessness, are a clear message to the Iranian people, who are preparing to take this opportunity to rise up. This is why the regime resorts to executions as a means of repressing the public, in an attempt to stem the wave of protests it thinks may come… Suffering under the tyranny and oppression of this regime, the Iranian people see this moment as a historic opportunity to attain liberty and justice.
"In sum, these developments reveal the distress of the Iranian regime, which is trying in vain to extinguish the embers of popular resistance. History teaches that no oppression, no matter how cruel, can stop a people determined to achieve its freedom. The Iranian resistance, which enjoys the support of the people, will keep struggling until this regime falls and a free and democratic Iran arises."[6]
Iranian Oppositionist: The Time Has Come for the Iranian Regime to Collapse; The People Are Fed Up With It Just As They Were Fed Up With The Shah
Following the attacks on Iran by Israel and the U.S., Iranian oppositionist Mahmoud Hakimian, a member of the NCRI's Foreign Affairs Committee, called on the international community and the countries of the region to help the Iranian resistance topple the regime, which, he said, has spent four decades waging war in the region and deceiving the world at the negotiating table, and is now continuing on this destructive path. He wrote: "For the past four decades, the region has experienced wars and conflicts that have left a negative mark on the people who live there… The indisputable fact is that they all occurred following the establishment of the regime of the Islamic Republic, which is based on the extremist ideology of the Rule of the Jurisprudent.
"The positive diplomatic efforts and the contacts held by the countries of the region and the international community with the Iranian regime did not prevent the outbreak of the wars [instigated by Iran]. Worse, with the passage of time these [wars] became much more bitter, destructive and dangerous to the peace and security of the region and the world…
"Against the backdrop of the series of wars in the region, which ended with the fall of the Syrian regime and the curtailment of Hizbullah's military role in Lebanon, the most recent confrontation between Israel and the Iranian regime erupted in the context of Iran's nuclear program. This is a very grave confrontation that is likely to bring the region to the edge of an abyss. No matter what has been said or written about the circumstances of this confrontation, [it is clear that] the central and significant motivation for it is the policy of the Iranian regime and its [stubborn] adherence to its plans and its dubious path. Even if we assume that this confrontation will end, there is no guarantee that another war won't break out as long as this regime exists and adheres to its path.
"No agreement with this regime, including a nuclear agreement, can influence its aggressive nature, now or in the future. When this regime rows weak, it keeps silent and presents itself as innocent; but if it senses that it has the upper hand and that the conditions are right, it will revert to its familiar pattern in the region and the world. [Then, the region and the world] will not be safe from its evil unless they support the legitimate struggle of the Iranian people for freedom, for a [new Iranian] regime that believes in human rights and coexistence, and for a non-nuclear Iran that maintains a separation between religion and state."[7]
In an earlier article, Hakimian argued that today's popular resistance against the Iranian regime closely resembles the opposition against the Shah's regime in 1978, just before its collapse. He stated that the Iranian people, who have paid a heavy price for the regime's nuclear program, are tired of this and are no longer willing to do so, and that the time has come to overthrow the regime and to reforge Iran as a democracy.
Hakimian wrote: "The rapid events and developments of the situation in Iran, especially the domestic developments, are reminiscent of 1978, the year preceding the fall of the Shah's regime, when everything was at an impasse. The regime [at that time] did everything in its power to ensure its survival, and even agreed to unprecedented concessions in order to stop the spread of the growing popular resistance. But [eventually], what happened, happened... and the regime had no choice but to face its bitter fate and collapse.
"The similarity between 1978 and 2025 lies in the popular sense of rejection and hatred toward the regime, which have reached their peak… However, it is important to note that, in addition to the regime's acts of oppression [against its own people], which have crossed [every] line, the regime's foreign policy has also turned Iran into a source of terror that instigates wars and crises [abroad], thus harming Iran's reputation and standing in the international arena. This [too] has caused the people to be fed up with this regime and regard it as unfit to rule…
"The main demand in Iran right now is for a regime change that will not allow the return of dictatorship. That is why the popular protests are increasing significantly, as well as the operations of the Resistance Units,[8] which the regime can no longer hide… The Iranian people, who became fed up with the previous regime [of the Shah] and saw no choice but to overthrow it, are now taking a similar stance toward [the current regime]…
"What is clear is that the Iranian people, who suffered greatly because of the nuclear program and continue to suffer because of it, are not willing to sacrifice for a dubious program that has brought nothing but negative consequences for them and for Iran. This regime, which is heading for a disconnect with the world, is doing the same thing vis-à-vis its [own] people, who will apparently not allow it to remain. It is time for the Iranian regime to collapse. This is the moment to replace it, to support the Iranian people and resistance in overthrowing this terror-sponsoring regime, and to establish a democratic and popular government."[9]