Key Orientation and Context

The IEC is singularly focused on freeing Iran’s political prisoners by exposing and condemning the fascist theocracy in Iran, yet our campaign has firmly and broadly united by proceeding from the interest of humanity. What we call on people of the world, and especially in the U.S., to understand and act on, is concentrated in the last part of our founding Emergency Appeal, 2021. And as made clear in that Emergency Appeal, signed by more than 5,000 voices of conscience worldwide in 50 countries: 

… we the people of the U.S. and Iran, along with the people of the world, have OUR shared interests, as part of getting to a better world: to unite to defend the political prisoners of Iran. In the U.S., we have a special responsibility to unite very broadly against this vile repression by the IRI, and to actively oppose any war moves by the U.S. government that would bring even more unbearable suffering to the people of Iran.

Given our unified focus but divergent political perspectives, the IEC is not in a position to address the complex and dangerous swirl of events in the Middle East with its accelerating contention between the superpowers of the U.S., Russia and China. We encourage you to seek out independent work by many of IEC’s diverse signatories and supporters on the dynamics between the U.S./Israel and Iran (e.g., at revcom.us or Counterpunch). 

Yet it is important for us to note that Iran’s political prisoners are in fact caught between the double-edged sword of U.S. talks with, and vicious threats against, Iran on one side—and on the other, continuing executions and repressions inside Iran. The people in Iran, including its heroic political prisoners, more than ever need support that is clear-eyed about what is at stake and who are their friends and their enemies. Indeed, former and current political prisoners have been very much in the swirl of debate and controversy over the way forward. 

Courageous Dissident Rapper Toomaj Salehi: “Silence Gives Consent”

Artist Toomaj Salehi¹ sent a 2025 Nowruz (Persian New Year) audio message that said, in part:

One who doesn’t know their own history is doomed to failure. We shouldn’t trust prejudice/fanatical individuals and the media. We should study. We need to study from reliable sources… Others are part of us. We should reach society-wide awareness. In the coming year, let’s focus on making ourselves more aware of what is going on. Let’s study and investigate what it takes to make change... And let’s remember that not everyone is fighting for the same side—we are getting attacked from many directions. These are difficult and dangerous times. We don’t always realize how tenuous the situation actually is. As always, silence gives consent. It shows approval. It means complicity. Never forget that if we remain silent in the face of attacks by online thugs, we will lose… Happy Nowruz, my dear brothers and sisters! I love you very much. –Toomaj 

Toomaj was viciously attacked on social media for calling for people to study and his reading of books on video.² A pair of “influencers” posted a video in which they howl that intellectuals were to blame for the Islamic fundamentalists taking power after the 1979 revolution because of the ideas they got from reading books. OSYAN/REVOLT (group of Iranian and Afghan women) pointed out that this foul video was shared approvingly by none other than Yazmine Pahlavi, wife of “Prince” Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed Shah and one key player in a possible U.S.-initiated regime change. He was also hit with coordinated cyberattacks and trolling; in response, thousands of Toomaj’s followers came to his defense. OSYAN goes on to sharply defend Toomaj from this reactionary monarchist assault:

Anyone who is serious about the revolution of overthrowing the Islamic Republic and building a fundamentally different society should consider their first duty at this stage to be raising political awareness about the nature of this regime, the roots of existing oppression, and its connection to the global system. Otherwise, every effort and sacrifice will be seized by such opportunistic movements that are supported by global powers, and the cycle of oppression and exploitation will continue.

On February 18, Toomaj Salehi was called to court for charges related to his song, “Typhus.”³ The result of this hearing is not yet clear. “Typhus” condemns fellow rappers for mindless nationalism, anti-knowledge of Iranian history, and serving the reactionary regime:

Which way the wind blows, which way the money lies, 
That is the way your flag flies…
They call me an “enemy of the system”, 
I'm a rebel rapper, a warrior, and my base is the people
…I don’t give a fuck about your might.

Before the court appearance, Toomaj posted: 

This court can be an excuse for me to say again: No one should be arrested, threatened, and subjected to psychological pressure for their beliefs and the expression of their beliefs. The existence of political prisoners in any country is a sign of the weakness of that country's government.

“Maximum Pressure” and “Maximum Support” by U.S.: A Two-Edged Sword

One of the first of fascist Trump’s executive orders instituted a U.S. campaign of “maximum pressure” against Iran. He has continued to make threats to bomb Iran, working with Israel. Recently he blustered that if Iran does not stop its nuclear energy program, “Iran will be in great danger.” Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on Iran, and the largest GOP caucus introduced a Congressional sanctions “Maximum Pressure on Iran” package which includes expanding sanctions and targeting “Iran-backed militias.”⁴ 

An especially insidious part of that package is a bipartisan “Maximum Support Bill” which claims to support the Iranian dissident movement but in reality is a cynical handout to reactionary forces inside and outside the IRI, including those who long to bring back the bloody torture regime of the CIA-installed Shah (1953-1979) and his SAVAK torture police.⁵ It is an appeal to current Iran military and other regime-rats who deserve to be tried by the people for their crimes, who may be hoping for protection by jumping ship to a pro-Western imperialist regime. For example, the bill calls for offering safe channels for defection by Iranian officials and utilizing information shared by defectors. The bill also would use seized Iranian assets to “fund civil society actors inside Iran,” which, in the context, can only mean funding those who would keep the repressive agencies essentially intact and switch their allegiance to the U.S.-led forces, those who likely include the violent lunatic supporters of “Prince” Reza Pahlavi.⁶ 

This took place in the context of the IRI having been weakened politically, economically and militarily over the past year and a half of Israel’s rampage across the Middle East. The theocratic regime is resorting to ever more repression, along with whipping up a toxic brew of nationalism and extreme religious patriarchy among its social base which is directed against political dissidents, “indecent” women, non-Persian nationalities, and Afghan immigrants. 

Truly Brave Resistance Up Against Gruesome Execution Republic 

IRI executions continue at a monstrous pace. According to HRANA, 58 people were executed in March 2025, many of them youth of oppressed nationalities or ethnic minorities. Courts have rejected retrials for political prisoners sentenced to execution, including the Kurdish women Varisheh Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi, as well as Sharifeh Mohammadi, on a vague, catch-all charge of “Baghi” (armed rebellion).

IRI media has promoted media campaign attacks on the revolutionary political prisoners. Political prisoner Golrokh Iraee posted an extensive letter from Evin Prison that starts: 

My former cellmate, Bahareh Hedayat, sits in an online studio in Tehran provided by the Islamic Republic and declares solidarity with the monarchists. By stirring up the nationalist sentiment of a people whose nationalist tendencies were humiliated due to living under the shadow of a theocratic government, she is trying to destroy revolutionary forces and, by ignoring the regime's opponents, reduces the opposition to a monarchist movement.

There are many, though clearly not all, of Iran’s political prisoners who oppose the Islamic mullahs as well as the pro-U.S. monarchists. It is a dangerous development that Iran’s regime has stepped up executions of all its prisoners, as well as more and more political prisoners. Among 26 prisoners executed from April 3 to April 8, five were political prisoners, three of them of the Baluch oppressed nationality, charged with “Baghi” (armed rebellion) in sham trials. They were executed without any notice nor final visit with their families. There are at least 50 more political prisoners, including the three prominent women activists named above, who are awaiting this unjust, cruel and inhumane state murder.⁷ 

The IEC continues to highlight the bravery of Iran’s prison resistance and their 63rd consecutive “No to Execution Tuesday” prisoner-led weekly hunger strikes, which have spread to 38 prisons across Iran. As they continue to struggle against injustice—not just their own but for each other—we honor their humanity and call for solidarity to free them—against all threats to their lives and dignity. They are our sisters and brothers in the fight for a better world.