Following the deadly attacks by the so-called Islamic State militants on two key locations in Tehran, the leaders of the Iranian opposition in exile condemned the incidents while accusing Iran of supporting terrorism and perpetrating violence.
In a statement posted on his website, Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran and former crown prince, stated, “I strongly condemn this brutal attack, and I express my deepest sympathy for the people of Iran, especially the families who have lost their loved ones.”
Pahlavi, however, noted that the current government of Iran is also a culprit in perpetrating violence against the country's people.
“Violence causes violence,” Pahlavi said. “By using terror and deception, the ruling people offer nothing but ruin.”
Meanwhile, Maryam Rajavi, a prominent opposition leader and the self-proclaimed president of the National Council of Resistance, condemned the June 7 attacks in Tehran.
“Shedding the blood of innocent people under any pretext must be condemned; the IS practices clearly benefit the clerical regime,” she said.
Rajavi’s own group, the Mojahedin-e-Khalgh (MEK), is accused of terrorism by Tehran. The U.S. also had listed the MEK as a terrorist organization until 2012.
In her statement, she described the suicide attack on Ayatollah Khomeini’s mausoleum as IS attacking “its own godfather.”
The MEK, which was supporting ayatollah Khomenini at the outset of the Iranian revolution, soon turned against his attempts at monopolizing political power. They resorted to armed attacks against the clerical authorities, who in turn unleashed a harsh campaign against MEK and other opposition groups.
The ongoing conflict is a “terrorist rivalry between the claimants of a Sunni Caliphate and the so-called Shi'ite Caliphate,” she said.
Both Rajavi and Pahlavi expressed their wish for the betterment of the situation in Iran.
“We hope to soon return the sovereignty of Iran to the hands of capable people who can save our beloved nation from decline,”Pahlavi said in his statement.
Rajavi posted a similar message on Twitter. “After 38 years of oppression & repression, the people of Iran will not be content with anything less than freedom and popular sovereignty,” she wrote.
