The backlash by Iranians to a US State Department post on Instagram continued Saturday with 80 Iranian-American activists and citizens urging the Secretary of State to have it removed.
“It is deeply concerning that the US State Department would endorse and promote an individual with such tainted history and character as a defender of Iranian women,” the signatories write in their open letter. “This decision undermines the credibility of the United States in advocating for human rights and democracy… in Iran.”
The ‘individual’ in question is Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former member of parliament in Iran and daughter to a former president of the Islamic Republic. In recent years, she has become a critic of government policies and has voiced support for women's rights. She has been hailed as a “champion of women rights across Iran” by the State Department’s official account in Persian @USAbehFarsi.
“Ms. Rafsanjani is against compulsory hijab, supports women's rights and defends other prisoners whom she considers innocent,” reads the original State Department post. “Even when her rights were violated, Ms Rafsanjani bravely fought for the rights of others.”
The post was received by anger and disbelief among Iranians, who felt the choice was “at best distasteful”, given that Ms. Rafsanjani’s father, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was the main architect of the regime and at the heart of its every malign activity –inside Iran and overseas– for almost four decades.
“The Islamic Republic regime routinely imprisons individuals within the establishment for minor disagreements, and Mrs. Hashemi Rafsanjani's situation appears to be part of an internal power struggle, rather than genuine commitment to justice on either party,” reads the letter to Secretary Blinken. “We urge you to… support individuals who genuinely champion the rights and freedoms of all Iranians –women and men– and their struggles for a secular, democratic Iran.”
The sentiment in the letter was shared by many Iranians who have moved on from the Reformist-Fundamentalist duality of regime insiders to reject the Islamic Republic in its entirety. In this view, Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani is ultimately an “insider” with unmatched privilege in her social and political life, despite her having become a critic of regime policies. Hence the outrage at the State Department’s decision to pick and promote her.
Within a few hours of appearing on Instagram, the Faezeh Hashemi post received just under 5,000 comments, overwhelmingly negative, which forced the account’s administrator to close the comments section. The backlash continued, nonetheless, spilling over to other platforms such as X.
Most notably, several members of the families who have lost loved ones in recent anti-regime protests took to social media to vent their anger, frustration, and often bafflement at the Biden administration’s Iran policy.
“No doubt that the US State Department is consciously walking alongside the Islamic Republic towards common goals,” posted Saeed Afkari, a brother to Navid Afkari, who was executed in 2020 at the age of 27, for protesting, despite pleading innocence in the face of severe mental and physical torture.
Saba Bakhtyari, whose brother and sister-in-law are in prison for speaking against the killing of their son, Pouya, was another of the Families for Justice who denounced the US government and their Instagram post.
“For us who seek justice, there’s no difference between Faezeh Rafsanjani, [current President] Raisi, and [Supreme Leader] Khamenei,” she wrote on her account on X. “And the fact that the US State Department has called one of our killers brave, proves that the US, just like 1979, is still a friend of the mullahs and an enemy of the people of Iran.”
A video released by Etemad online, showed prominent cleric Alavi Boroujerdi speaking out against the government regarding the people's challenging circumstances. He protested that "The people are no longer able to endure the economic hardships," and pointed out that "the clerics are being held responsible for all their troubles."
Boroujerdi also criticized the government for the way it is running the affairs of the state. He said: "The people's economic situation is very bad. Bring in a few honest experts to address the problems as people's patience has come to an end."
Meanwhile, in an interview with Rouiydad24 website, labor activist Hassan Sadeghi warned the government about a fast approaching 67-percent inflation rate in the new year. Sadeghi also warned that the price of gasoline is also going to rise in the new year. The latest gasoline price increase by the government in 2019 led to nationwide protests in Iran during which security forces reportedly killed around 1,500 Iranians.
Sadeghi lamented the state of the country's economy, criticizing the decision to entrust economic matters to individuals lacking adequate expertise in the field of economics. He cautioned that with inexperienced non-experts overseeing the nation's economy, the Iranian currency is poised to face further devaluation in the upcoming New Year, beginning on March 20.
Expressing concern, Sadeghi cautioned that these developments could precipitate crises, including widespread protests in Iran in the coming year. He highlighted the anticipated impact of inflation and rising prices, particularly on the most vulnerable segments of the population. Additionally, he noted that the heavy reliance on taxation in the government's budget for the New Year is likely to exacerbate the inflationary pressures.
Furthermore, Sadeghi suggested that the Iranian government should take cues from Turkey's approach and adjust wages to keep pace with the rise in inflation. However, talks between the government and representatives of workers yielded no progress on the eve of the New Year.
In another development, former Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, who was President Ebrahim Raisi's rival in the 2021 presidential election, wrote in a tweet: "Government officials are lauding each other for achieving a 4 percent economic growth rate, even as the official inflation rate stands at a staggering 42 percent. Hemmati pointed out that "in 2020, despite facing intense pressure from the US and grappling with the pandemic, Iran managed to achieve a 4.2 percent economic growth, with meager oil revenue of only $7.4 billion." This achievement is particularly noteworthy considering that Iran faced fewer obstacles in exporting oil last year, resulting in oil revenues exceeding $30 billion."
In an earlier letter to the Iranian President, Hemmati had told Raisi that "With the plan you called 'economic surgery' you created a triple-digit inflation rate for commodities such as meat, poultry, and dairy products people need on a daily basis.”
He addressed Raisi directly, stating, "You recently expressed your desire for a headline in the press that reflects the government's empowerment of Iran! But can we truly consider the sharp decline in people's purchasing power, in a country endowed with the world's largest oil and gas resources, and the fact that over 30 percent of the population has fallen below the poverty line as indicators of a powerful nation?"
As evidence of the Iranian government's inefficiency, Hemmati highlighted that one year after the conclusion of Iran's 6th development plan, the country's 7th development plan remains unfinished. Additionally, just five days before the end of the current Iranian year, the government has yet to finalize the annual budget bill for the upcoming year.