Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits the opposition and alternative to theocracy in Iran

On New Year’s Eve 1978, when President Jimmy Carter arrived in Tehran, he described during a state dinner Iran under the Shah as “an island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world.”

Little did President Carter know that the Shah was going to be overthrown in less than 14 months in the course of one of the most unprecedented revolutions in modern history.

Forty-four years later, on May 15, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Maryam Rajavi, the leader of main Iranian opposition movement, at the resistance’s HQ in Albania. No one understands the significance of this visit better than the theocracy in Iran.

The message is simple: This time around, America is on the right side of history and stands with the people of Iran.

For decades, the theocracy has portrayed the main conflict in Iran between the so-called reformist and hardline factions of the regime. However, with the radicalization of society through the major uprisings of 2017 and 2019, mullahs had no choice but to put an end to the so-called reformist theatrics, which became a source of liability for the regime during uprisings.

Mullahs claim that the regime is stable. Then, what explains the uprisings and continuous protest movement to this date? Why would the regime resort to killing more than 1,500 in a matter of 48 hours to quash the uprising of 2019?

Here, we witness a regime on its last leg rather than a stable one. The uprisings did not happen in a vacuum. They should be viewed within the context of decades of struggle, sacrifices, and hard work by the organized resistance of the Iranian people.

The reality is that Iranian people have an alternative, i.e., the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition of a broad range of political forces and personalities established in 1981 to topple the Mullahs’ regime.

As the NCRI’s pivotal member, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) is the most organized opposition group globally. Despite the fact that tens of thousands of MEK members have been killed by the regime, today, MEK thrives in Iran and leads the protest movement through its resistance units. Mullahs correctly see the only existential threat from the MEK.

The NCRI’s platform, competent leadership, and organizational ability inside Iran and outside has drawn support from both sides of the aisles in America. A bipartisan majority of House of Representatives (HR 118, 117th Congress) supported the 10-point plan of Maryam Rajavi for a free Iran.

Maryam’s platform includes equality of men and women, separation of mosque and state, no official religion, abolition of death penalty, free market economy, ballot box as the basis for political legitimacy, and a non-nuclear Iran. Missouri Reps. Emanuel Cleaver, D-5th, and Sam Graves, R-6th, and Kansas Reps. Ron Estes, R-4th, Jake LaTurner, R-2nd, Tracey Mann, R-1st.

Secretary Pompeo’s visit signifies the fact that there exist a viable democratic alternative to the Mullahs’ regime. This alternative is ready to hit the ground running, and that’s an unprecedented phenomenon — a breath of fresh air — in the Middle East.

The capable alternative of NCRI with a track record of 41 years will set Iran on the right course, different than the failed experience of democratization throughout the Middle East.

Saeid Saadi is a practicing physician and represents the Iranian-American community in Kansas.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Mike Pompeo's visit to Iran recognizes opposition in Iran