Mehdi Mahmoudian to Ali Khamenei: The enemy does not need to attack from outside

Mehdi Mahmoudian, a political activist imprisoned in Evin, told Ali Khamenei: "The enemy does not need to attack from outside."

Journalist, political and civil activist Mehdi Mahmoudian was transferred to Evin Prison on February 15, 2014, to serve an eight-month prison sentence. Two days later, he announced in a phone call from Evin Prison that he had gone on a hunger strike and drug-free diet to protest the unjust sentences and repression.

On April 8 of this year, he wrote and sent a letter from prison addressed to Ali Khamenei. In this letter, he called Ali Khamenei primarily responsible for Iran's current crises and emphasized that his decisions have led Iran towards internal collapse and regional instability.

His letter was published as Donald Trump repeatedly warned the Islamic Republic of Iran in recent weeks that it had only two options: a new nuclear deal with the United States or paying a heavy price.

In this regard, Mehdi Mahmoudian wrote in a letter to Ali Khamenei: "For years, we have been accelerating towards national, cultural, and economic collapse, and you have not only not been the brake on this movement, but you have appeared to be the engine driving it. Your every decision, every stubbornness, every sermon, every appointment, and every repression has been a step towards collapse."

In today’s risky world, a country that lacks cohesion at home and rationality abroad can easily become a battlefield and disintegration. Regional instability, the threat of military attack, crippling sanctions, internal repression, and the hatred accumulated in the hearts of millions of young people have brought Iran to the brink of disaster today. This is not just a warning, it is an everyday reality.

"By closing the paths to reform, excluding all elites, suppressing civil society, denigrating ethnic groups and religions, eliminating the republic, and disregarding the constitution, even in a formal sense, you have brought Iran to a point where not only the people, but also the main pillars of the system, no longer feel safe. You have thrown Iran from the roof of legitimacy into the alleys of distrust and hatred."

In this letter, he warned Ali Khamenei, adding: "Today's situation is no longer just the suppression of a protest or political discontent. With your decisions over the years, you have pitted province against province, tribe against tribe, and citizen against citizen. If war breaks out, the enemy does not need to attack from outside; you have sown the seeds of hatred in hearts, and this land will spontaneously disintegrate from within."

"If a country attacks Iran today, from which united nation do you expect defense? From the people whose children you have executed? From the tribes whose language you have banned? From the young generation who sees the only way out is to flee Iran? You have destroyed all the bridges behind you."

The political activist wrote at the end of his letter: "Today, neither the JCPOA will save us, nor negotiations, nor the illusory authority that is in your mind. The only thing that can save Iran is your unconditional withdrawal from all power, handing it over to the people, and accepting the fact that no one is immortal, even if thousands of soldiers, judges, and preachers hang your picture in offices every day. Otherwise, what will remain is not your system, nor even our country; only a bitter ruin of the memory of a nation that was once called Iran."

Before Mehdi Mahmoudian, many civil and political activists had also sent warning letters to Ali Khamenei. Mostafa Mehrayin, a sociologist and university professor, also announced in an interview that he had sent three open letters to Ali Khamenei, in which he explicitly demanded that Ali Khamenei step down from power and apologize to the people for his actions.