President-elect Pezeshkian praises minorities, but critics say he is part of a system that jails them
A Baha'i researcher under arrest and three Baha'is convicted are the latest examples of sectarian persecution. The president-elect has Azerbaijani and Kurdish roots, and one of the first steps he took was to meet religious leaders. For Turkey’s Erdogan, he will improve relations because he "speaks Turkish". For others, the focus on dignity is just propaganda. The world is waiting to see who will be the next foreign minister.
Milan (AsiaNews) – A few days after reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s presidential election, minority groups continue to be the victims of sectarian attacks and persecution by the Islamic Republic.
A Baha'i researcher was recently arrested and three members of the religious minority were sentenced to several years in prison because of their faith.
Security forces arrested Mojgan Salmanzadeh, a Tehran-based researcher and scholar, in Maku, where she had been stayed for two weeks.
The reasons for her presence in the town located in northwestern Iran, the circumstances that led to her arrest, and the charges against her are currently unknown. She was only able to contact her family, informing them that she had been moved to the city’s central prison.
This event, still wrapped in mystery, is one of a long list of arrests and a long history of persecution against Iranian Baha'is, whose religion is not recognised by the state and whose members are victims of decades of “discrimination and persecution".
Proof of this is the decision by the Appeals Court in Fars Province to uphold the convictions of three Baha'is. Hassan Salehi, Vahid Dana and Saeed Abedi were convicted of affiliation with an illegal and anti-regime sect with the intent of undermining national security and spreading "sectarian propaganda against Islamic law (Sharia).”
In this case, charges of being "spies or dissidents" was a pretext to attack the minority, something that also happens frequently with Christians, especially Protestants.
Iranian, Turkish, Kurdish
The relationship between minorities and the Islamic Republic will be carefully monitored during the first months of Pezeshkian's presidency. In addition to a reputation of a reformist, the new president has long ties with different ethnic groups.
Pezeshkian was born on 29 September 1954 in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, a Kurdish-majority area. Like Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he is of Azeri ancestry on his father side, but Kurdish on his mother side.
This has led him to support the rights of minority groups – Azeris, Kurds, Baluchis – and the full application of Article 15 of the Iranian constitution to all ethnic groups.
The provision states that Farsi (Persian) is the official and common language of Iranians, used in official documents and textbooks, “but the use of local and ethnic languages in the press and mass media and the teaching of their literature in schools is free, along with the Persian language.”
In addition to Persian and Azeri, the new Iranian president speaks English and knows some Kurdish and Arabic.
As a staunch supporter of minority languages, he believes that the implementation of this principle would contain separatist or dissident groups.
For Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this closeness to minorities will favour a positive development of Iranian-Turkish relations. For the Turkish leader, his Iranian counterpart’s ethnic background can serve as a potential diplomatic bridge.
“Masoud Pezeshkian is actually a Turk," Erdogan stated. "He speaks Turkish in Tabriz, can speak Kurdish in Kurdish regions, and is also fully proficient in Persian,” the Turkish leader, stressing how Pezeshkian’s ethnic background is rooted in the Azeri community, an important group in Iran, particularly in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province where Turkish is also spoken.
For the Turkish president, all these factors give hope for improved relations, although the reality on the ground remains full of challenges. Meanwhile, Pezeshkian will take office on 30 July with the official investiture by the supreme leader.
Islamic republic and minorities
One of first steps taken by the president-elect (the 10th of the Islamic Republic) after his victory was to meet on 13 July with representatives of religious minorities in Iran’s parliament at Shahid Beheshti Hall to discuss a series of issues, ranging from greater inclusion in government to dialogue between the parties.
His approach is seemingly one of openness, not confrontation, at least in words, and his background in West Azerbaijan, known for its minority communities, Azeris and Kurds, certainly helps.
He deeply reflects his Azeri heritage, even if Mahabad is predominantly Kurdish, while holding onto a vision of Iran as a unitary state capable of safeguarding the rights of minorities.
The dignity of the Iranian people, especially women and ethnic minorities, played a crucial role in the election campaign before the presidential vote but, in practice, it lacks substance according to some experts and critical voices.
Pezeshkian himself, 69, has repeatedly addressed the issue during the election campaign, citing the presence and role, above all, of (Sunni) Turkmen, Kurds and Baluchis who are “deprived of the proper status and dignity of an Iranian due to religious distinction.”
Like other candidates who have had a prominent role in the Islamic Republic's power structure for decades, the president's words about the status of minorities (as well as women or the economy) seem reflect the view of an opposition figure rather than a member of the establishment.
In fact, when he speaks about “them”, he is trying to differentiate himself from the other candidates to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died in May in the helicopter crash, event though they have all been part of the Iranian system for decades.
Khamenei himself, to whom Pezeshkian says he is "indebted", has repeatedly attacked Christians, describing house churches as “tools of the enemies of the Islamic Republic ... to weaken religion in society”.
One of Pezeshkian’s most high-profile supporters, former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a so-called moderate, once mendaciously said “no-one goes to prison for his beliefs in Iran”, and that stories of Baha’is and others going to prison for their beliefs were “lies”.
This is why, Article18, a Christian non-profit advocacy group, argues in an editorial that “regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, etc.”, unless all Iranians “are afforded basic human rights, slogans such as ‘Iran for all Iranians’ or even words like ‘Iranian nation and people’, ‘women’, ‘minorities’, and ‘ethnicities’ are only the latest propaganda tools, which after 45 years of the Islamic Republic neither the narrator nor the audience believes in any more.”
Foreign policy staffing
In addition to the dealing with domestic minorities, the new president must choose a new foreign minister, who will play a key role in the future cabinet, outlining Iran’s international relations.
Although Iran will continue to look east, towards China, and will maintain strong ties with Russia, it remains to be seen whether a new foreign minister will be able to restore Iran’s presence in the world scene, as Zarif did when he negotiated the nuclear agreement. Some would like to see the latter back in his old post.
The foreign ministry is one of the appointments – along with Intelligence, Culture, Interior, and Defence, that require the approval of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, since it is crucial in the state apparatus.
Citing Iranian sources, Middle East Eye reports that four names are currently under consideration, and Zarif’s is not one of them since he is disliked by much of the right-wing establishment in Parliament (Majlis).
One man who appears to be leading the pack is Ali Akbar Salehi, a MIT graduate who served as foreign minister during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad between 2011 and 2013, as well as represented his country in international bodies, including the UN nuclear agency (IAEA).
In the past he received the green light from Khamenei to negotiate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Washington. Resolute, fluent in Arabic, full of resources and global contacts, he also boasts a profile that allows him to reach out to conservatives.
The second name is Majid Takht-Ravanchi, a former ambassador to the United Nations and Switzerland, also part of the team of nuclear negotiators, recognised for three qualities: high specialisation and a low profile, part of the team that secretly negotiated with the current head of the CIA Jake Sullivan in 2013, and a non-controversial figure with a good chance of getting Iran’s parliament to approve his appointment.
The third is Abbas Araghchi, who previously worked at the foreign ministry as a deputy political director and nuclear negotiator. Known in the West, he enjoys greater esteem abroad than at home where he has many enemies in parliament.
The fourth and last candidate is university professor and former parliamentarian Mehdi Sanaei, who served as Iranian ambassador to Russia and worked on several cooperation agreements over Syria.
Although not decisive, whoever is picked to fill this post will signal which way the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic will go, especially vis-à-vis nuclear power and sanctions that are holding back the country's economy and bringing the population to its knees.
GATEWAY TO THE EAST IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO THE MIDDLE EAST. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY TUESDAY? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE.
.png)
28/02/2024 19:28
16/11/2021 15:07
