Shirin Ebadi: Iran’s Government Will Collapse Sooner or Later

Shirin Ebadi considers the Islamic Republic’s government unstable and the continuation of the current situation in Iran unlikely. This prominent human rights lawyer simultaneously, while opposing foreign intervention, described the return of sanctions as a factor for justifying the chaos by Iran’s government.

According to Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the Iranian people will rise up against the Islamic Republic system. This human rights lawyer and activist said in an interview published on Tuesday, September 20, 1402 (September 11, 2023) in the German newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine”: “Today’s conditions cannot remain stable. The current situation is like a crooked wall that could collapse at any moment.”

According to Ms. Ebadi, although the current crisis has not yet reached extensive dimensions, “it expands every day. The rial is catastrophically losing its value and Iranians are living in fear and worry.”

This prominent human rights lawyer, who was herself forced to leave Iran, also said that under President Hassan Rouhani’s presidency, economic conditions, like the human rights situation, have worsened over the past five years in Iran. According to Ms. Ebadi, more than one thousand and perhaps two thousand people are imprisoned in the country’s prisons for political reasons, and their charges are described as spreading lies, espionage, and actions against national security.

Shirin Ebadi says the main reasons for widespread discontent in Iran are economic problems, corruption and financial abuse of public assets, and the increasing class gap. According to her, based on UNESCO statistics, Iran has the highest number of brain drain and academic migration in the world.

This human rights activist adds: “I have no doubt that the Islamic Republic will one day cease to exist. This situation is not sustainable.” Ebadi, however, opposed regime change through foreign intervention in this interview.