Tag: Islamic Republic

Iran’s Exiled Scholar Who Impeached Khamenei

An exiled Iranian mujtahid — imprisoned twice, banned across Iranian platforms, and teaching at Duke University — gives his most candid assessment of the Islamic Republic, Velayat-e Faqih, and what the Trump-Netanyahu war has done to Iran’s democratic reform movement.
He breaks down the two dimensions of the Islamic Republic — where it succeeded and where it failed — and shares his final position: a secular democratic state. He reveals why he impeached Khamenei, why Iran’s hardliners, US Republicans, and Israeli Zionists are aligned against peace, and why Trump bears responsibility for the war.

The ‘Ayatollah’ opposing US imperialism, and Iran’s Islamic ‘regime’

Kadivar offers a rare insider critique of Iran: opposing US imperialism and Israeli aggression, while also challenging the authoritarianism of the Islamic Republic from within Shia theology itself. He traces his own journey – arrested under both the Shah and the Islamic Republic – and explains how the revolutionary promise of freedom, democracy, and justice was only partially realized. We explore how guardianship of the jurist reshaped Iran. This conversation takes a deep look into how power, religion, personalities, and competing visions of destiny have interacted to make Iran, Iran.

The American side did not truly come to negotiate

L’Humanité. This war was directed against the Iranian people, the country’s territorial integrity, its civilization, and its culture, far more than against the Islamic Republic itself. This military aggression is a war of modern barbarism against a people and a country that refuse to submit to brute force, lawlessness, and injustice. This war has had an extremely negative impact on the democratic and liberation movement in Iran, delaying it indefinitely. Iranians firmly defend their homeland, while remaining fervent critics of the system in place. Velayat-e Faqih is a symbolic matter.

War will increase religious fundamentalism around the world

Iran’s movement for democracy and freedom has suffered a lot of damage. After the war, the country is ruled by the IRGC, not by the symbolic supreme leader. Most Iranians do not support the regime. But this invasion has strengthened Iranian hardliners and the IRGC. All these replacement commanders or political figures that are coming to power after Netanyahu’s foolish assassinations are harder-liners and more radical than those who were before. Netanyahu and Trump are spreading fundamentalism in the world. Their policies are against peace, international law, and American values.

Iran at a Crossroads: Protests and Political Futures

The Islamic Republic bears direct responsibility for the bloodshed, and its Supreme Leader is the principal accused. Opponents of the Islamic Republic can be divided into two groups. The national opposition adheres to three core principles: non-intervention by foreign powers, rejection of domestic tyranny, and a peaceful, democratic transition away from the Islamic Republic. According to the second type of opposition, the Islamic Republic must be overthrown at any cost—even through foreign intervention, and internal armed conflict. A referendum on the constitution of the future system must be held.

Amid federal crackdown on free speech, Duke professor and Iranian dissident Mohsen Kadivar remains vocal

Criticizing the repressive Islamic Republic, he is against U.S. military action in Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran failed, but liberal democracy in the U.S. and Europe failed in the same way. There is no international law, no ethics. As the Iranian Constitution was violated, the U.S. Constitution was violated too. I’m supporting justice, freedom, and peace for the world, for the U.S., for Iran, for Palestine, and everywhere. I’m a global citizen. I belong to humanity. The only thing I want is to have a better, more peaceful world.

“We don’t need a Supreme Leader”

Kadivar evaluates the future of Iran, characterizing the current authoritarian theocratic regime as a failing state that has lost its popular legitimacy. While he acknowledges the government’s continued resilience against immediate collapse, he argues that ‘systemic reform’ or a transition to a secular democratic republic is essential for the nation’s survival. Condemning any foreign aggressions, Kadivar emphasizes that the recent illegal Israel-US attacks have temporarily bolstered Iranian nationalism, while true stability requires the abolition of the Supreme Leader’s office. A national referendum allows citizens to choose between various political models.

Only a Referendum Could Decide Iran’s Future

The Islamic Republic, once born of popular revolution, has evolved into an authoritarian state under Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s long rule, marked by repression, economic decline, and public disillusionment. Over 85% of Iranians oppose current policies, calling for a referendum on the system’s future, with growing support for a secular democratic republic. Despite hostility toward foreign aggression, especially from Israel and the U.S., Iranians reject regime change via external force. Israel’s recent attack on Iran, alongside atrocities in Gaza, underscores global failures of international law, human rights, and ethical governance.

Religion and Politics In Post-Revolutionary Iran

This course will narrate a fair and balanced critical and historical analysis, and is organized into five thematic sections: a brief overview of the relationship between religion and politics in Iran, an intellectual history of the Islamic Republic, examining the concept of the “sacred as secular” and exploring the dynamics of secularization within a theocratic system, the governance in the name of Islam, focusing on theology and theocratic rule in the Islamic Republic, and the revolt against theocracy: the Mahsa Movement and the feminist uprising against theocracy in Iran.

Reflections on Israel’s War Against Iran

Israel’s aggression on Iranian soil must be unequivocally condemned from every perspective. Although Israel has pursued its objectives in the Middle East through military means, backed by highly advanced American and European weaponry, it has failed miserably in the realms of law, morality, and humanity. As a result, Israel is arguably the most hated country in the world. There is no doubt that the aggressor’s hold must be broken and the homeland firmly defended, regarding two principles: prioritizing public consent over governmental demands and respecting national capabilities.