Revolutionary often reactionary

Iran's nearly half a century of terror

The Islamic Republic of Iran, a curious title, executed a British-Iranian yesterday for spying. Ali Reza Akbari had actually served in the Iranian defense establish several years ago but became the target of yet another claim (apparently all who differ with the regime are spies in their eyes; certainly do the bidding of those seeking to oust the regime) from Teheran’s mullahs that he spied for the west.

Akbari may have; I have no idea.

Iran is not the only state to use capital punishment for a variety of reasons. China is notorious for it and the state of Missouri just executed a transgender prisoner this past Tuesday. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia uses capital punishment so Iran is not even the sole Islamic state.

Yesterday’s action merits notice alone for the questions it raises about the determination of the regime, bruised by massive country-wide protests for almost five months. This mullahs appear determined to retain power, doing so in the most reactionary of manners: strictest interpretation of the Islamic shari’a it deems pertinent for a Shi’ite state.

The Shah, when he fled in 1978, had governed with a harshness of his own for more than a quarter century. Attempting to create a ‘secular’ regime, his secret police, the SAVAK, pursued students overseas much as China pursues its critics overseas through what are referred to as ‘overseas police outposts’. SAVAK’s hand at home was sharp and unquestioned, resulting in one of the many reasons the population rallied around moves to oust the Pahlavi dynasty. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was only one of the options when he returned to the country in early 1979 from long exile in Iraq and then Paris. His Islamic supporters won the day, however.

The Islamic Republic overwhelmingly retains the rigid rules for the society supposedly based on religious dogma. It is especially hard for young women in this country but it’s not prize for anyone. The government also retains its own police who seek to curb any challenges to a continuation of this system.

Not everyone accepts this future of the country as illustrated by the protests regarding the medieval treatment of women. These have been massive protests in dozens of citie and towns. They have been through several groups in this population of 86 million. The protesters are truly brave folks.

The regime has to be shaken. Various elections, amazingly still held periodically though candidates must be religious, conservative, and male, have shown for years indicate there are window cracks within the Islamic leadership but those differences are hardly any foretelling of a regime willing to hand over power it’s held for almost 44 years. The rest of society may not have protested but has made clear in post-election protests, as it did about a decade ago, that it seeks a broader political conversation and opening.

Executions are the most public messaging possible from the reactionaires to the population that the restrictive views will hold. This does not seem in any way a government that is bending to protesters, international pressure, or the reality of the country largely left at least a century behind the rest of the world.

U.S. administration and others fearing the mullahs’ interest in nuclear weapons (their sole concession to modernity seemingly) watch them like hawks. The new Netanyahu government in Israel will never abandon its long-standing fears that Teheran seeks to annihilate the Jewish state. Xi Jinping buying Persian oil and Vlad the Impaler buying arms are the major friends this state has, not a ringing endorsement.

Teheran will continue using barbaric measures against its own people, to the regime’s detriment. Protesters appear willing to stand up to the government by giving their lives if necessary.

The odd part is that there are actually some echoes of what happened in Iran in the 1970s when the Shah fell. Yes, it’s probably a long way from that happening but regimes seem to find their greatest vulnerability when their secret police find their own under attack. Ali Reza Akbari also had British citizenship but had served in the regime. That gives pause to anyone who considers how the mullahs react when they feel under siege from inside Iran.

The ‘revolutionary’ part of Iran was that it sought to oust a long-entrenched ruler in the 1970s. That was about as revolutionary as they ever became. The Reactionary Republic of Iran appears to see an even bumpier road as it seeks to retain its preferences for a past that never existed but is their interpretation of law. What happens as their supporters start reading those laws differently? FIN