Sister labels Ayatollah a despot and calls for end of Iran regime

THE sister of Iran’s Supreme Leader branded him a “despot” and called for his regime to be overthrown, in an extraordinary intervention in the nationwide protest movement.

Badri Hosseini Khamenei, who lives in Iran, issued the humiliating criticism of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a letter that was posted on social media by her France-based son.

“I think it is appropriate now to declare that I oppose my brother’s actions and I express my sympathy with all mothers mourning the crimes of the Islamic Republic, from the time of Khomeini to the current era of the despotic caliphate of Ali Khamenei,” said her letter which was shared on Twitter by her son, Mahmoud Moradkhani.

“Ali Khamenei’s Revolutionary Guards and mercenaries should lay down their weapons as soon as possible and join the people before it is too late,” the letter continued, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which is an elite unit fiercely loyal to Ayatollah Khamenei.

It has developed a vast network of proxies across the Middle East and is regarded as a threat by the West.

There was no immediate response to the letter from Iran’s leadership but it could lead to reprisals for Ms Khamenei if she remains in the country. In November, Farideh Moradkhani, her daughter, was arrested by Iranian authorities after she called on Western powers to sever their ties with Tehran.

Iran has been gripped by the mass protests that broke out in September after the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, while in the custody of the regime’s “morality police”. She was arrested for incorrectly wearing a hijab and died after allegedly being beaten.

Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets across the country, leading to intense clashes with security forces that have killed more than 300 people.

The protests were initially in response to Ms Amini’s death but have evolved into a full-blown street movement to depose the Supreme Leader.

It is not the first time that Iran’s socalled Aghazadeh – the children of the elite class – have lashed out at the leadership. Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the former supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini, has been a long-standing and vocal critic of the regime.

The denunciation comes after an official signalled that the morality police unit, also known as the Guidance Patrol, will be scrapped, in an apparent concession to the protests. However, a state broadcaster later denied the claim, dismissing it as a misinterpretation of the law by Western media outlets.

‘I oppose my brother’s actions and sympathise with mothers mourning the republic’s crimes’