Behind the Headlines/september 21

In tonight’s program of Behind the Headlines we will discuss the ongoingconfrontations between US and Iran on the eve of the UN General Assembly, as well as the emergence of a new opposition groups called Farashgard, that aims to overthrow the regime in Iran.

Our guests tonight are Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh and Amir Hassan Etemadi.

Jamshid Chalangi:

The economic crisis in Iran is getting worse while the main chunk of the US sanctions have not come into effect yet and president sheikh Hassan has gone to New York. How do you assess the situation now, as many people believe the regime is on the verge of collapse.

Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:

Naturally this regime will not cease its power voluntarily and must be overthrown like what happened to Gaddafi and Saddam.

As for Mr. Rouhani in New York, I was at the UN when former president Khatami was in charge and all hopes were pinned on a magical move by him to meet with former president Clinton during the General Assembly and all the many years of animosities would come to an end.

Khatami’s speech had been brought forward so Clinton would be present and he warmly clapped for Khatami after his speech. But Khatami hurriedly left the scene as if he was scared of being around and having to meet with Clinton.

All these many past years the regime’s officials have been spending millions of dollars of expenses for their trips to UN but the result of their diplomatic ventures has been zero for Iran and the Iranians.

Amir Hassan Etemadi:

I think all the top leaders of the regime, from Khamenei to Zarif have agreed not to meet with Trump in UN next week and this could be a decision made on theadvice given to them by John Kerry.

Kerry must have advised the regime to bear with the situation for now as he and people like him are working with the EU leaders to keep the doors open for trade with Iran and circumvent the Trump sanctions.

In fact the nuclear deal with Iran has become a point of rivalry between the Republicans and Democrats in US and the Democrats fear that Trump might succeed in forcing the regime into a new deal, which would bypass them.

If this happens then Trump would have a winning card in his hand for the 2020 elections, whereas the Democrats might have convinced the Iranian regime that he will be ousted in that election.

Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:

When Trump visited Saudi Arabia as his first foreign trip, many Arab heads of states came to Riyadh as a sign of respect and recognition of the Saudis’ regional power.

For the majority of the Arab countries Israel is no longer their main enemy and the Israelis have established low-level diplomatic relations with them.

Amir Hassan Etemadi:

Many Iranians had hoped that Rouhani’s re-election would open up the country to the outside world and bring economic prosperity and civil rights to them.

However they are now calling for the overthrow of the entire regime as not only nothing has changed, but also their situation is even worse than before.

The name of the new opposition group Farashgard is taken from the ancient Zoroastrian religion, and is mainly comprised of young Iranians. It means a movement to take Iran back to its glory and freedom and end the present satanic regime. It is however a secular movement