The gruesome human rights abuses and crimes against humanity of the Islamic Republic regime are no secret to anyone who has followed the news over the past 44 years, but the regime has truly unveiled its face over the last 4 months for the entire world to see. Congresswoman Porter, the naked savagery that the world has seen during the current Iranian revolution is what many of your constituency have had to live through for decades. For years, under this fascist Islamic Republic, many of us in the Iranian diaspora have drowned our sorrows in our day-to-day lives as US residents and American citizens. However, with the current historical women-led revolution, our lifelong yearning for freedom and democracy in the motherland has brought hope and opportunity back to us. It is time for the world and especially the United States to seize this opportunity and support the Iranian people to once and for all rid the world of the menace of the Islamic Republic regime in Iran. 

To that end, we would like to bring your attention to some of the many reasons that we would like to strongly urge you to support HR9203 - MAHSA Act & HR9606 - REGIME Act of 2022.

     1. Human Rights Abuse and Crimes Against Humanity: 

While the heinous crimes of the Islamic Republic are not news to anyone who is paying attention, it is worth reviewing this regime’s behavior throughout its existence once more. Since its inception, this regime has engaged in what can only amount to crimes against humanity starting with mass executions in the early 1980s and 1988. The regime has continued to engage in such activities. Most notably, it has continued to commit these crimes for every subsequent protest and uprising, of which, there have been many. With many of these instances being left out of this petition to focus on the most notable ones, in 2009 during the Green Movement, the regime engaged in mass, arbitrary arrests, executions without due process, and the regime’s signature tool for spewing fear and silencing the voice of the people, has been torture and rape. 

In 2019, the regime conducted the bloodiest crackdown on protesters since it took power in 1979. The protestors took to the streets over a surprise gas price increase but not only did they not get what they were demanding, but the regime also cut public access to the internet and massacred over 1,500 peaceful protestors in less than 2 weeks. While it is impossible to land on an accurate number, some reports estimate the number to be much higher. 

With its bloody and horrific background in mind, we arrive at the 2022 uprising which is now considered a full-blown revolution by Iranians inside and outside of Iran as well as many non-Iranians around the world. Since Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody over wearing her hijab “improperly”, the regime's crackdown has escalated immensely. The number of civilian casualties is by some reports in excess of 600 people since the protests began in September. While the exact number of detainees and casualties is a closely guarded secret, there are reports that the regime has arbitrarily detained some 40,000 individuals. So far, an unknown number of Iranians have been executed without proper representation and due process of the law (as is always the case with the Islamic Republic during times of unrest), rape and torture are rampant in prisons. The regime has used live ammunition against unarmed civilians on multiple occasions and has killed children as young as 7 years old. In creating an atmosphere of shock and awe, the fascist Islamic Republic has also taken to blinding civilians in order to beat the civilians into obedience. 

 

     2. The National Security of the United States and its Allies: 

In the Iranian American community, there are many American citizens who feel unsafe on American soil. Just during the past 4 months, individuals from the highest echelons of the Islamic Republic’s security apparatus including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, have issued death threats to Iranian activists and journalists who reside in the EU and the US. Just today (1/10/2023), the commander of IRGC issued death threats to the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists. These are not empty threats! This past June even prior to the uprising, Iranian agents participated in a plot to kidnap New York journalist Masih Alinejad. The regime also tried to assassinate former US National Security Advisor, John Bolton, and the former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. 

While both plots were foiled by the FBI, the FBI has to succeed every time to keep American citizens safe but the regime only has to succeed once. In fact, it has succeeded before. In the early 90s, the regime successfully assassinated a number of dissident figures in Europe including singer, Fereydoon Farrokhzad and the former Iranian prime minister, Dr. Shapour Bakhtiar. 

It is of utmost importance for all members of the IRGC and the Iranian security apparatus and their commander in chief Ali Khamenei to be designated as terrorists and their assets and the assets of their families to be frozen. Annually, millions of dollars enter the US financial system through the regime officials' family members using sophisticated money laundering networks, “charitable organizations”, and shell companies that span from Asia and South America to Europe and the United States. 

For the reasons mentioned above, we declare that: 

a) We call on congresswoman Katie Porter to support HR9203 - MAHSA Act & HR9606 - REGIME Act of 2022. While the language in these acts in many Iranian Americans’ beliefs is not strong enough, these bills are the strongest ones proposed to date. 

b) As it is apparent in our rallies that we've been participating in every weekend across the United States since the “Woman, Life, Freedom” revolution began, we want the US government to know that we are seeking nothing less than regime change in Iran followed by a free election to establish a democratic and secular form of government. 

c) The National Iranian-American Council (NIAC) is not the true voice of Iranian Americans and we will not support any politician who receives campaign funds from this organization or pushes their agenda and policies. Furthermore, NIAC is not the voice of the Iranian citizens in Iran either. NIAC is a shell lobby of the fascist Islamic Republic government that has whitewashed every brutal news of this fascist government that reaches the world.

We also declare that we will withhold our support and votes for any politician who does not meet the criteria set forth in this petition including the bullet points above. As you know there are over 400,000 Iranian Americans in California many of whom you currently represent in your district and many more that you are hoping to represent in the future. A significant number of Iranian Americans are reliable Democratic voters, however, for us, the most important issue today is our representatives' support of a regime change in Iran and your policy decisions will determine our choice for many election cycles to come. 

We thank you for your time and consideration in this matter. With your help, we hope to achieve a free Iran and a world free of the terrors and destruction of the Islamic Republic of Iran.