Behind the Headlines/July 5

In tonight’s program we will look at the latest news of the continued tension between Iran and US over Tehran’s support for terrorism and its interference in the internal affairs of the Middle Eastern countries.

We will also look at the statement of the 14 Iranian civil rights activists in which they have called for ayatollah Khamenei to resign and find out what effects the US sanctions have had on Iran’s economy.

Also today the British Royal Marines have helped seize an Iranian supertanker suspected of carrying oil to Syria off the coast of Gibraltar, escalating tensions between the UK and Tehran.

Our guests to discuss these issues tonight are Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh and Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, one of the signatories to the letter of the 14 opposition figures.

Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:

If we look at the actions of the Iranian regime we can clearly see that the only thing that they do not takeinto account for their nefarious activities is the interest of the Iranian people.

I think President Trump has noticed this factor when he has declared that this regime must stop all itsadventurist policies and instead focus on serving the interests of the Iranian people.

The seizure of the super oil tanker by the UK marine forces is an interesting development as Iran has said the oil should have been delivered to Syria.

However, further investigations have revealed that the oil would have been transferred to a Russian tanker at Syrian ports to sell it for Iran as a way of bypassing the US sanctions.

It appears that when Putin andRouhani met last week they had made this deal between them but now their secret has been exposed.

The regime must now realise that the international community knows all its hypocrisy and deceits and it is losing in all fronts.

Mohammad Hossein Sepehri:

When we decided to write our open letter by the 14 opposition activists, we realised that Khamenei is at the centre of all the regime’s policy makings and for the last 40 years the so-called hardliners and reformists in the politics of our country have been competing against each other only for their own interests and have never had any concern about those of the Iranian people.

If you look at the latest picture of Mir Hossein Moussavi that was released yesterday you can see how the reformists are still pinning their hopes on a jailed 78-year-old man.

But in the Iran of today everywhere you look at you can see that death and despair rule over our people who have no hope that any part of this regime can ever solve their problems.

For a democratic and prosperous Iran all institutions of this regime must be dissolved and a new constitution must be written.