About two hundred Iranian Dutch people gathered on the Malieveld in The Hague on Saturday afternoon. „Iran wants regime change” reads the text on a number of signs, meaning the end of the now 47-year-old ayatollah rule. There are photos of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the ousted Shah, and monarchist flags. “I believe, and many Iranians with me, that Reza Pahlavi with his international platform and fame will be able to shape the transition to democracy,” says organizer Sepideh Pouwels of Iran Human Rights by telephone.
Less than fifteen minutes of cycling away, a smaller group of Iranian Dutch demonstrate at the Iranian embassy. There are no Pahlavi supporters here, Sagdegh Tangestani says by telephone. “The Iranian people long for a democratic republic. Slogans at demonstrations in Iran were: death to the oppressor, whether it is the supreme leader or the Shah.” Iranian Kurds like himself do not have much to expect from Pahlavi, Tangestani thinks: “He labels Kurdish compatriots as separatists.”
The air strikes on the regime in Tehran by the US and Israel expose the divisions among the estimated 59,000 Iranian Dutch. “That division is only political and concerns the future after the possible fall of the regime,” emphasizes Danial Marandi, a Dutchman of Kurdish-Iranian descent, by telephone. The Iranian Dutch are united in their aversion to the current regime, which has suppressed recent massive demonstrations in an unprecedentedly bloody manner.
On the Malieveld, the demonstrators cheer at every report about leaders of the Iranian regime who have now been killed
On the Malieveld, the demonstrators cheer at every report about leaders of the Iranian regime who have now been killed. “We have to keep checking whether it is correct,” says one of the demonstrators, Masoud Roshan Zamir. “Some here have direct contact with Iran and every news is a celebration here.” The rumor that Supreme Leader Khameini may have been killed in the attack on his residence is causing loud cheers and even tears.
Concerned about family
The Iranian Dutch are concerned about family and friends in Iran, now that the country is being bombarded. “This morning I had contact with my niece about the bombings. Fortunately, she was doing well. Hopefully it will stay that way,” says Pouwels. Two of Tangestani’s cousins were injured during the demonstrations in Iran: “Since then, I have been sleeping with my cell phone next to my pillow. The internet is not stable, so you never know when a message will arrive.” On Saturday morning he received a text about the bombings, and the message that his family is okay for the time being.
Marandi’s family lives spread across the country, outside the major cities that are currently targeted. He called an uncle and discussed with him the attack on the residence of the supreme leader, Khamenei. “Of course he doesn’t say exactly what he thinks, because the phone can always be tapped,” says Marandi. “I noticed from his reaction that he didn’t seem to mind.”
US President Trump has called on the Iranian people to rise up (again) after the bombings, which may continue for days. “Pahlavi has also called for this,” says Pouwels. “He does say: don’t do anything for now, go into the shelters and wait. When the time comes, we will take to the streets en masse again. And then I hope that it will lead to a complete uprooting and real redemption of this barbaric regime. This is the last battle, and we will fight it completely, without concessions and without half measures.”
That uprising must indeed happen, Tangestani believes, but the bombings are actually counterproductive. “Looking for a safe place only delays the overthrow of the regime.” The previous attacks were used by the regime to crack down on domestic resistance, he says: “Protesters were labeled as spies and hanged as traitors.” Foreign interference does not help the Iranian people, he thinks. “As the Iranian resistance has repeatedly stated, the overthrow will be carried out by the Iranian people, their organized resistance and the forces on the ground.”
Double feeling
A “popular mobilization” after the bombings will soon be inevitable, Marandi also thinks. The attacks give him “double feelings”. They further weaken the regime, which has now been seriously weakened, Marandi acknowledges: “At the same time, it is an illusion to think that this is enough. The Islamic republic is not only a theological structure, but also a financial and economic oligarchy that has not simply disappeared.”
If the regime falls, what will happen in a huge country (90 million inhabitants) with numerous ethnic and religious groups. Will Iran end up in a civil war, as happened in Syria after the fall of dictator Assad? “I have much less fear of this happening for Iran,” says Pouwels. “To begin with, the people themselves have revolted in Iran, not a specific group. Furthermore, Pahlavi can take control. The demonstrators in Iran have shouted: Pahlavi must return. Under his leadership, Iran can become a country of freedom and democracy.”
The last thing a democratic Iran needs is the son of the ousted shah, Tangestani believes: “If only because he never distanced himself from his father’s dictatorship.” Marandi also sees little in “person-oriented, charismatic leadership of Pahlavi”, because according to him this does not fit a society in which different groups have to work together equally. “It was already clear during the demonstrations that the cooperation between the groups was going quite well.”
These opposition groups have not yet succeeded in finding a recognizable leader. That partly explains why a lot is written about Pahlavi in Western media, Marandi thinks: “In addition to the ancient roots of the Iranian royal family in Europe, the financial center of Pahlavi’s movement and nostalgic sentiments in Iran itself.”
Monarchist or not, the Iranian Dutch are looking forward to the Iranian Nowruz, the New Year’s celebration that starts on March 20. “This festival traditionally involves a major cleaning,” says Pouwels. “Let us hope that during this New Year’s cleanup we will wipe out the entire regime from the country.” Tangestani has a New Year’s wish in three words: “Calm, peace and freedom. For the Iranian people, the surrounding countries and the world.”
With the collaboration of Jos Verlaan
