Exiled Iranian dissidents taste ‘victory’ for the people in 2023

A group of prominent exiled Iranian pro-opposition figures issued a coordinated message a day before 2023 predicting the new year will be one of "victory" for the people in Iran, whose regime is gripped by protests.

Those sending the message include leaders from the fields of culture, human rights, and sports.

The Iranian diaspora has long been seen as lacking unity, split into different political factions and strategies for dealing with the Islamic Republic that ousted the shah in 1979. But with protests still continuing in Iran over 100 days after they were sparked by the death of young Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, the message appears to be an attempt to find a long-sought unity.

"The year 2022 was a glorious year of solidarity for Iranians of every belief, language, and orientation," it said. "With organization and solidarity, 2023 will be the year of victory for the Iranian nation. The year of freedom and justice in Iran."

The message was sent simultaneously on social media by a variety of figures, ranging from the influential U.S.-based dissident Masih Alinejad to the son of the ousted shah, Reza Pahlavi.

'Hopeful sign'

The protest movement sparked by the death of Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly breaching Iran's strict dress code, is presenting the clerical leadership with its biggest challenge since the 1979 revolution.

Roham Alvandi, a history professor at the London School of Economics, said the message was a "hopeful sign in dark times.”

Iran Human Rights has reported 476 people killed in the ongoing crackdown and two executed, while at least 100 detainees are at risk of execution. The United Nations says at least 14,000 people have been arrested, with several well-known figures such as the actor Taraneh Alidoosti still in detention.

Tehran has accused foreign foes, including Israel and the United States, of stoking the unrest, calling protestors "foreign agents" and traitors. 

“The grievances are real. People are upset for very real reasons because they live in a dictatorship that is detached from them," said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute.

“But the regime just wants to blame the enemy," he told i24NEWS. "If it was smart, Tehran would come out and say, ‘We got it wrong, we’ve marginalized a majority of our own people, we’ll go a different route.’ But no, it continues to blame others.”