Ebadi Calls for Global Action to Undermine Iranian Rulers on Revolution Anniversary

By Luke Baker and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

PARIS/LONDON – Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, reflected on her early doubts regarding the 1979 Islamic Revolution, particularly when members of the former Shah’s regime were executed on the rooftop of a school that sheltered Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Ebadi has become one of the most vocal critics of Iran’s clerical leadership, four decades after Khomeini’s return from exile in Paris, which incited jubilant celebrations on February 1, 1979.

As Iran marks the anniversary of Khomeini’s rise to power—gained through the discontent of millions towards the Shah’s extravagant lifestyle and oppressive secret police—Ebadi’s criticisms are also directed at U.S. policies.

The sanctions imposed by the United States, intended to weaken Iran’s ruling theocracy, have instead adversely affected the lives of ordinary Iranians, who now confront severe economic challenges. Ebadi, a human rights lawyer and former judge now living in exile in Britain, remarked, "The economic sanctions are not to the benefit of the people. They make the people poor. However, those close to the regime benefit from these sanctions, as they provide opportunities for illicit financial gain."

Iranian officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Islamic Republic has announced intensified measures against corruption, with the hardline judiciary recently convicting and executing several traders accused of undermining the economy under sanctions.

Iran’s resistance to U.S. sanctions and pressure is expected to be a prominent theme during the 40th-anniversary celebrations of the revolution, which will culminate in a nationwide rally.

However, Ebadi’s recollection of the revolution contrasts with the official narrative. She remembers the upheaval of the early days, the populace’s hopes for greater freedoms and prosperity following years of dictatorship. "Unfortunately, it started a day after the revolution, when in a five-minute court session, they sentenced to death the heads of the previous regime," Ebadi said, recounting her initial doubts, "And they executed all of them on the rooftop of the school where Khomeini was residing."

Her discontent grew further when tens of thousands of women took to the streets in 1979 to mark International Women’s Day, only to be met with violence from Khomeini’s supporters who enforced the mandate for women to wear the hijab in government offices.

Now, 40 years later, signs of instability have surfaced once more, though not on the same scale as in 1979.

Last year, a crackdown on protests erupted in over 80 cities, sparked by dissatisfaction with living standards and government corruption, posing a significant challenge to the clerical leadership since the 2009 uprising concerning disputed presidential elections. Some protesters called for the fall of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who in turn attributed the unrest to external enemies of the Islamic Republic. Small-scale protests over issues like unpaid wages persist, but none have reached the intensity of last year’s demonstrations.

Iranian officials claim that protests and dissent against the regime stem from foreign forces aiming to dismantle it. Although Ebadi opposes the harsh economic sanctions imposed by Washington, she posits that alternative forms of international pressure could potentially lead to the downfall of Iran’s clerical government.

"In my view, it’s very likely because at the beginning of the revolution, 90 percent of the Iranian population wanted this regime. Now, if you survey under free elections, you would find that 90 percent no longer support it," she stated.

To achieve this change, Ebadi argues that "the world must do things to weaken the Iranian government," citing restrictions on Iran’s satellite capabilities as an example to limit its propaganda outreach.

Though she currently has no plans to return to Iran, Ebadi remains hopeful that she will one day be able to go back "whenever the conditions are such that I, as an advocate of human rights and a lawyer, can work there."