Sediqa Voseqi Calls for a Stronger Voice from Civil Society and the People of Iran Against War

Sediqa Voseqi, an Islamic scholar and critic of the Islamic Republic, called for restraint from the Iranian government and a change in Iran's regional policies in an interview with Radio Farda. She also urged for a louder voice from civil society, intellectuals, and the people of Iran against any potential war. Following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of the extremist group Hamas, who had traveled to Tehran for the swearing-in ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian, concerns about the escalation of war in the region have increased. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. After the killing of Fawad Shukr, a senior commander of Hezbollah in southern Beirut, and the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran, officials from the Islamic Republic and the Secretary-General of Hezbollah have threatened that revenge against Israel is certain. Israel has claimed responsibility for the killing of Fawad Shukr but has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the killing of Ismail Haniyeh. Voseqi, who is currently in Iran, warned in her interview with Fereshteh Ghazi from Radio Farda about Iran's involvement in any war and emphasized that if Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran due to the Islamic Republic's intelligence and security weaknesses, the people should not pay the price. According to her, avenging Haniyeh's death through war is not possible: 'Intelligence and security weaknesses in war can be more detrimental to the Iranian nation and even the government. War is by no means a solution, and the Islamic Republic must resolve its problems differently.' Voseqi recalled the experience of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, stating: 'War is neither a solution to the Iran-Israel problem nor to the Palestine-Israel issue.' She called for a louder voice from civil society, stating: 'The voice of civil society should have been raised long ago. The Iranian nation must warn that we do not want to enter a war that the rulers want to unilaterally engage in based on their own decisions without considering public opinion.' While fears of retaliatory attacks by Iran and its proxy groups against Israel in response to Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran have increased, diplomatic efforts in the region to prevent the outbreak of war have also accelerated. In such circumstances, Voseqi stated in another part of her interview with Radio Farda: 'We have not paid a low cost because of the Islamic Republic's regional policies, which many people oppose. We have experienced these policies for 45 years, and they have not benefited our people and country. With various evidence, I say that the Iranian nation opposes the government's micro and macro policies and is dissatisfied that people's money is spent outside the borders while they are grappling with poverty and unemployment.' According to this civil activist critical of the government in Iran, war brings nothing but destruction and misery, and the Islamic Republic must refrain from plunging the country into war with restraint: 'Any step, even a small one, towards war can be dangerous for the country and the nation because the next step will be taken by the other side, and we do not know what goals they are pursuing.'