Carlos Alsina has interviewed Nilufar Saberi, Iranian exile in Spain and human rights activist, in Más de uno, to analyze the situation in Iran after the escalation of international tension.
Saberi explained that among the Iranian population, feelings of joy and hope are mixed with deep concern about the risk posed by a possible war. However, he has clarified that these lives “are no more in danger than they already are under the yoke of the ruling Islamist inquisition in Iran,” in reference to the ayatollah regime.
The activist has also referred to Donald Trump’s call to the “people of Iran” to rise up against the theocratic government. He has highlighted the internal diversity of the country, although he maintains that the vast majority of the population is opposed to the Islamist theocracy. At the same time, he has warned that there are no consolidated liberal democracies in the region and has been blunt regarding the former US president: “I don’t trust Trump at all.”
I don’t trust Trump at all
Saberi has recalled his participation in protests against the regime that were responded to with repression and violence. In his opinion, if the regime is sufficiently weakened, the Iranian people themselves will try to put an end to the current system. He has framed this aspiration in what he calls a future revolution aimed at overthrowing “Islamist democracy”, in a critical allusion to the current political model in Iran.
“Shameful” Western support for Iran
He has also denounced that some Western governments, in his opinion, defend Iran in a “camouflaged” and “very shameful” manner, now appealing to the international order while – as he maintains – ignoring internal repression. In this context, he has mentioned the principle approved by the UN in 2005 known as ‘Responsibility to Protect’, which establishes that the international community must act when a State attacks its own defenseless population.
Saberi has criticized what he considers “hidden friendships with a criminal Government” and has concluded with a forceful statement: “I am ashamed that the Spanish regime supports the ruling Islamists in Iran, as it supported the Nazi regime at the time.”
