542 members of the Iranian Resistance’s parliament-in-exile who gathered in Baghdad from all over the world unanimously issued a resolution this morning vowing to overthrow the mullahs’ regime. "Whatever the turn of events, the regime of velayat-e faqih (clerical rule) faces no ultimate prospect other than being overthrown," read the resolution.

The Iranian Resistance’s President-elect Maryam Rajavi, as well as the chairpersons of the Council’s 25 committees and the NCR’s representatives in different countries attended the session.

The resolution read in part: "The escalation of the power struggle among the clerical regime’s factions is a result of the Iranian people’s irreconcilable conflict with the ruling religious dictatorship.

All the Council’s members concurred that the yardstick for reform is the clerical regime’s acceptance of a free election, something this medieval regime cannot tolerate. The National Council of Resistance once again stressed that the National Liberation Army of Iran is the main instrument for the overthrow of the mullahs’ regime and establishment of democracy and popular sovereignty. The NCR members unanimously declared that "if the mullahs and their allies are true to their words, they can try their luck against the National Council of Resistance in a free election supervised by the United Nations. The Iranian Resistance is able to face every test for a peaceful confrontation, including a general referendum or free elections which are backed by strong international guarantees. It is the clerical regime, however, which will never surrender to this.

The resolution also emphasized that "the unraveling of the clerical regime in its final stages is not a sign of reform or opening. Khatami’s gang has shown that it, too, is neither interested in, nor capable of, bringing about political reform. The real intention behind this gang’s fake and demagogic claims to reform and its talk of ‘civil society and rule of law’ is to prolong the rule of the clerical regime and slice out a bigger share of power for itself."
 
 

Mullahs' Leader Warns Against The Resistance As "Internal Enemies", Agence France Presse, April 15

TEHRAN - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged the armed forces of the Islamic Republic to remain vigilant against the "internal enemy."

"The real enemy intends to attack us from within by aiming to weaken our determination, faith and firm resolution," Khamenei said in an address to troop commanders on Wednesday ahead of Sunday's celebrations of Army Day.

"Therefore the outside enemy can only be defeated when the internal enemy is defeated," newspapers on Thursday quoted the country's supreme leader and spiritual guide as saying.

Khamenei, who is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces, underlined the "need for the exercise of vigilance vis-a-vis the attack of the enemy on the internal foundations of every single force of the army."

He also cautioned against showing leniency towards "sweet diplomatic smiles" and the "exchange of warm diplomatic greetings," stressing that the world of diplomacy and international relations is not a venue for serenity and honesty.

"The enemy is the same element which is constantly at work to strip our nation and country of the means of power," Khamenei said.

Khamenei's remarks came nearly a week after the assassination of a top army officer, General Ali Sayad Shirazi, in Tehran for which the Iraqi-based People's Mujahedeen claimed responsibility.
 
 

Trial of Little Known Cleric Displays Factional War, Reuter, April 15

TEHRAN - An Iranian court is due to issue a verdict within a week after it ended the trial of a dissident theologian accused of defaming Iran's Islamic system, newspapers reported on Thursday.

Kadivar stands accused by a Special Court for Clergy of defaming the country's Islamic system and confusing public opinion through speeches and press interviews. He has been jailed since February.

The ruling would be issued within a week. It would then be forwarded to the general prosecutor's office at the traditionally secretive tribunal for confirmation. Kadivar, a little known thinker who has been catapulted to fame because of his challenges to the conservative clerical establishment, could still protest the verdict.

The judge ordered him to remain in jail pending the verdict.

The case has put the 40-year-old religious thinker at the center of a factional storm.

Kadivar insisted he was innocent and asked to be acquitted.

"I reject these charges. I have not engaged in propaganda against the sacred regime of the Islamic republic. All I have done is to criticize things, which is free under the constitution," he said.

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