Temporary End of 72 Days of Resistance on Strong Medical Advice; Vahid Beheshti Forced to Break Hunger Strike

Vahid Beheshti, a political and social activist who had been on a hunger strike for 72 days in front of the British Foreign Office in London, demanding the inclusion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the UK’s terrorist list, was forced to temporarily end his hunger strike on Friday due to strong medical advice. Matti Hoon, Vahid Beheshti's wife, told a VOA reporter that Vahid's condition worsened from Thursday night due to chest and heart pain, leading to his transfer to the hospital by ambulance on Friday morning. She added, 'The doctors concluded after various tests that continuing the hunger strike would have irreparable consequences for his health, and based on this, Vahid decided to temporarily end his hunger strike.' According to his wife, during the hunger strike, he lost '22 percent' of his body mass and was on the verge of cardiac arrest with a weight drop to 63 kilograms. Matti Hoon considered Vahid Beheshti's action very impactful, stating, 'His hunger strike made many ordinary people and politicians in the UK aware of the crimes of the IRGC, but we must continue this struggle until we achieve the ultimate goal of having the IRGC listed as a terrorist organization.' On Friday evening, Vahid Beheshti tweeted a photo of himself in the hospital, stating, 'Based on doctors' recommendations and to continue the fight against the IRGC terrorists, I am temporarily ending my hunger strike and will return to my sit-in alongside my comrades as soon as my health allows. I swear by the blood of my comrades, we stand until the end.' On Saturday, May 9, at Vahid Beheshti's request and on the sixty-sixth day of his hunger strike, thousands of Iranians opposing the Islamic Republic participated in a large protest march in London, urging the UK to take action to add the IRGC to the list of terrorist organizations. One hundred twenty-five members of the British Parliament also expressed their support for Vahid Beheshti in a letter to the Prime Minister, emphasizing the urgency of recognizing the IRGC as a terrorist entity. Vahid Beheshti is currently hospitalized at St. Thomas Hospital in central London.