Ghadiani: Khamenei, the 'Power-Hungry Despot', Sees Nightmares in Sleep and Wakefulness

Abdul Fadl Ghadiani, a political prisoner, referred to Ali Khamenei as a 'power-hungry despot' in a message from inside Evin prison, emphasizing that 'the political legitimacy of this regime has completely vanished.' He stated that the 'machine of repression' led by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic will eventually come to a halt in the face of the people's resistance. According to a report by Saham News on Sunday, October 14, Ghadiani noted the 'new wave of repression against political, social, and cultural activists' and described the onset of 'a new cycle of repression after a short period of respite' as 'the most predictable phenomenon in the tyranny of the absolute rule of the jurist.' Ghadiani said, 'Khamenei's regime has no choice but to resort to intimidation for survival, as the political legitimacy of this regime has long been completely lost.' He warned that 'the continuation of this despotism is accompanied by the fear that the voices of critics will one day be shouted by thousands of people in the streets. The power-hungry despot ruling Iran sees nightmares in sleep and wakefulness that the oppressed people of this land, as we saw in the Women, Life, Freedom movement, will shout because their most basic social freedoms have been denied.' Ghadiani also recalled the nationwide protests in 2009, 2017, and 2019 and the 'deprivation of their fundamental right to determine their political destiny,' stressing that Khamenei 'fears being summoned to court to explain why his despotic regime has deprived them of meeting their basic needs for a normal life due to the establishment of a corrupt and rent-seeking system.' This political prisoner characterized the appointment of Masoud Pezeshkian as a replacement for Ebrahim Raisi as a 'tactical maneuver' by the Supreme Leader and his concession to change in the government structure to 'divert attention and buy time for himself.' He stated, 'Khamenei's government has denied the Iranian people social and political freedoms, the provision of basic material needs, psychological security, and peace. This deliberate inefficiency has made the majority of the Iranian people demand and anticipate the end of his absolute tyranny. He has no choice but to drive the machine of repression; a machine that will sooner or later come to a halt in the face of the Iranian people's resistance.' Abdul Fadl Ghadiani, an 80-year-old political activist opposed to the Supreme Leader, has been imprisoned multiple times for his remarks, with his latest arrest occurring on October 1. Some political activists consider this action a 'harsh revenge' by the Islamic Republic against internal critics following the death of Hassan Nasrallah. In recent months, Ghadiani has deemed the boycott of the governmental 'elections' to replace Ebrahim Raisi as 'an effective action in protest against the ruling regime' and has called for 'the change of the ruling religious despotism in Iran.' This critic of the Supreme Leader stated, 'Ali Khamenei's record is dark in every respect, but with the massacre of fall 2022 and the holding of parliamentary elections in March 2024 in a more disgraceful manner than the 2021 presidential elections and the 2019 parliamentary elections, he has sullied his record even further.'