Arya News - Iran’s former president said the regime must make major reforms or face more protests as cracks emerged within the Islamic Republic leadership.
Iran’s former president said the regime must make major reforms or face more protests as cracks emerged within the Islamic Republic leadership.
Hassan Rouhani said the regime had to make swift and significant changes or risk further mass demonstrations such as those that threatened to bring down the ayatollah.
In a rare intervention, echoed by other emboldened reformist politicians, Mr Rouhani criticised the regime for addressing only minor complaints while ignoring broader demands.
“People have demands and we must respond to them with a major reform, not a minor reform,” Mr Rouhani said after the nationwide protests, in which at least 6,000 people were killed, according to rights groups.
“If you make minor changes, God forbid, we might face problems again in two or three months, or even in 10 days,” he added.
His comments triggered a backlash from within the regime, with Nasrollah Pejmanfar, a hard-line MP, saying: “Today is the time for major reform, which is the arrest and execution of Rouhani.”
New talks with the US are intended to bring an end to the infighting , with Steve Witkoff, Washington’s special envoy, due to meet Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s foreign minister, in Turkey on Friday.
A US official said on Monday: “The president’s been calling for them to make a deal. The meeting is to hear what they have to say.”
The Istanbul meeting will kick-start diplomacy on the long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme, with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates also in attendance.
The recent unrest in Iran started because of economic frustrations, but spiralled into calls for the ayatollah to be deposed.
Hassan Rouhani, right, the former president, with Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s former chief of staff - 2025 Anadolu
Those calls were met with brutal repression, the internet was turned off and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) opening fire on protesters.
Mr Rouhani said the Islamic Republic must address underlying grievances. Reformist politicians also said they could no longer justify the regime’s handling of the demonstrations.
Javad Emam, a spokesman for the Reformist Front, a coalition of moderate politicians, said reformists must stand with the people and that current conditions bear no relation to their vision of the Islamic Republic.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, leader of Iran’s Green Movement, described the crackdown as a “black page” in Iranian history.
Iranian politicians wear Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps uniforms and chant slogans during a session of parliament in Tehran - ZUMAPRESS.com /Avalon
He called on security forces to lay down their guns and allow people to “chart the path to freedom”.
Mr Mousavi, under house arrest since 2011, said internal suppression had exposed the country to external interference.
Mehdi Karroubi, a reformist cleric and former parliament speaker, said Iran’s current “dire situation is the direct result of destructive domestic and international interventions and policies” by Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader,.
Mr Karroubi, who spent years under house arrest and was released last year, cited the “costly and fruitless nuclear project and the heavy consequences of sanctions over the past two decades on the country and people” as examples of failed policies.
Referring to the killing of thousands of protesters this month, Mr Karroubi said “the depth of the tragedy is so deep that no excuse or justification can be accepted for this horrific and merciless massacre and disrespect for the bodies of victims.”
He said the only peaceful way out of the crisis was “referring to the people and recognising their right to self-determination in a free referendum”.
Growing internal tensions
Reformists have been sidelined from politics in recent years through mass disqualifications of their candidates in elections.
The public statements by former president Rouhani and other reformist figures are a fracture in the regime’s unified front, as moderates now openly criticise the establishment’s handling of dissent.
The developments suggest growing internal tensions within Iran’s political structure as hardliners face unprecedented challenges to their authority.
In one sign of the government backing down, protester Erfan Soltani was released on bail after facing possible execution for his role in demonstrations against the government.
Mr Soltani, 26, was arrested on Jan 10 at his home in Fardis, west of Tehran. He faced charges of “assembly and collusion against the country’s internal security” and “propaganda activities” against the regime.
His case drew international attention during the widespread protests that swept Iran last month.
Relatives said authorities planned to execute him, though Iran’s judiciary dismissed those reports as fabricated.
Donald Trump, the US president, has repeatedly threatened military strikes against Iran and warned against them carrying out the execution.
Inside the country, internet access was slowly restored over the weekend after weeks of blackout. Footage emerging from Iran shows funerals for protesters and widespread grief.
But state TV prompted criticism by airing a broadcast in which a host mocked slain protesters.
One presenter asked viewers where the Islamic Republic stores dead protesters’ bodies, offering multiple-choice answers including “side-by-side fridge” and “ice cream maker”.
The broadcast drew condemnation across Iranian social media.
The violent crackdown prompted the European Union to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation last week.
Unrest and protests in Iran started because of economic frustrations - MAHSA/AFP
Iranian legislators retaliated on Sunday by designating all EU militaries as terrorist groups. Legislators wore IRGC uniforms and chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
On Monday, 10 individuals and one organisation were sanctioned for their role in enabling and facilitating brutality and violence against the Iranian people.
They included Eskandar Momeni, the Iranian interior minister, who is responsible for Iran’s police force and Seyed Majid Feiz Jafari, the police chief of Iran’s public security police who has directed violent crackdowns against peaceful protesters.
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