A prominent Iranian reformist who has been under house arrest for the past seven years has criticized Iran’s supreme leader, urging him to introduce and implement major reforms “before it is too late.”
Mehdi Karrubi said on January 30 that Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei needs to stop blaming foreign “enemies” for Iran’s problems and, instead, “accept responsibility for your policies of the last three decades.”
Karrubi, a Shi’ite cleric like Khamenei, also said recent protests that began over economic conditions in Iran were inevitable because of the depth of “injustice, corruption, and discrimination” in the country.
At least 25 people were killed and more than 3,000 detained during the protests that began in Mashhad and other cities on December 28.
The protests spread to more than 70 cities and towns across the country and continued into January — with some demonstrators calling for Khamenei to step down.
“I urge you, before it is too late, to open the way to structural reforms of the system,” Karrubi wrote in an open letter than was published on January 30 on Saham News, the official website of his reformist political party that is blocked in Iran.
“The system is going downhill to such an extent that it feels endangered by a few thousand people demonstrating,” he wrote.
Read More : RFERI – Iranian Reformist Tells Khamenei To Bring Reforms, Stop Blaming Foreign ‘Enemies’
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