Iranian rebel details how West must help fight against brutal regime

A dissident Iranian politician has urged Western powers to unite behind the Iranian protesters and commit to overthrowing the clerical regime. Speaking to Express.co.uk, Shahin Gobadi, a spokesperson for the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran said it was ‘very important the international community’ recognised the rights of the Iranian protesters, as well as increased sanctions on the ruling elite in Iran and shut down their embassies across the world, which he branded ‘nests of terror and espionage’. His comments come as protesters took to the streets for the 56th day following the merciless killing of a 22-year-old woman over her hijab. Mr Gobadi said: ‘I think it is very important that the international community, particularly the West here, plays its role and be on the side of Iranians. ‘First of all, they must recognise and announce that the Iranian people have all the right to resist, to defend themselves in the face of such barbarism and to overthrow this regime. ‘Secondly, they must impose serious sanctions on Iran, and thirdly, they must shut down the Iranian embassies, which are nothing but the nests of terror and espionage.’I don’t think anyone in the West expected the Iranian people would continue the protests week after week after week, but the reality is things have been brewing in Iran for years. ‘What we are witnessing is that after all these years, things have come to a head. No matter what the regime does, there is no way they can put the genie back in the bottle.’  Shahin Gobadi, spokesperson for the MEK, urged the West to fight against the regime (Image: EXPRESS) An unveiled woman watches on as thousands protest near Mahsa Amini’s grave (Image: UGC/AFP via Getty Images)Protests in Iran raged on streets into Thursday with demonstrators remembering a bloody crackdown in the country’s southeast, even as the nation’s intelligence minister and army chief renewed threats against local dissent and the broader world.The protests in Iran, sparked by the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her detention by the country’s morality police, have grown into one of the largest sustained challenges to the nation’s theocracy since the chaotic months after its 1979 Islamic Revolution.At least 328 people have been killed and 14,825 others arrested in the unrest, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been monitoring the protests over their 54 days. The Nation Council of Resistance in Iran suggested the death toll is closer to 550 protesters, including 45 teenagers. Iran’s government for weeks has remained silent on casualty figures while state media counterfactually claims security forces have killed no one.READ MORE: ‘Iran’s hateful regime could be preparing for war on the West’ Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks during his meeting with Iranian students in Tehran (Image: GETTY )As demonstrators now return to the streets to mark 40th-day remembrances for those slain earlier – commemorations common in Iran and the wider Middle East – the protests may turn into cyclical confrontations between an increasingly disillusioned public and security forces that turn to greater violence to suppress them.Online videos emerging from Iran, despite government efforts to suppress the internet, appeared to show demonstrations in Tehran, the capital, as well as cities elsewhere in the country. Near Isfahan, video showed clouds of tear gas. Shouts of ‘Death to the Dictator’ could be heard – a common chant in the protests targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.It wasn’t immediately clear if there were injuries or arrests in this round of protests, though Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged the demonstrations near Isfahan. DON’T MISS: Iran on brink as leaders warned ‘revolution’ to end Islamic regime [REVEAL] Iranian mourners gather at cemetery in defiance of dictator [REPORT] ‘It’s a revolution’ Iran regime rocked by sixth week of mass marches  [REVEAL]  The United States has now begun to issue sanctions against the Iranian regime (Image: GETTY )The protesters were commemorating the September 30 crackdown in Zahedan, a city in Iran’s restive Sistan and Baluchestan province, in which activists say security forces killed nearly 100 people in the deadliest violence to strike amid the demonstrations.The United States has now begun to issue sanctions against the Iranian regime for its brutal crackdown on the protests. Last month, US President Joe Biden wrote: ‘The United States stands with Iranian women and Iranian citizens who are inspiring the world with their bravery. ‘This week, we will impose further costs on perpetrators of violence against peaceful protestors. We’ll continue to support the rights of Iranians to protest freely.’READ NEXT: ‘Iran on threshold of becoming nuclear power and West looks other way’Iran blames Joe Biden for inciting violent protestsIranian protesters defy crackdownCries from Iran’s streets are not ‘reform’ but total regime changeIranian protestors ‘will not give up’, says former freedom fighter