On Dec. 22, 30 exiled Iranian dissidents penned an open letter to US President-elect Donald Trump, urging him to impose fresh sanctions on “the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the supreme leader’s financial empire and direct the US Treasury to strongly enforce them.”
The dissidents further urged Trump to “form an international coalition to pressure the Islamic Republic of Iran and force the regime to cease its pursuit of long-range ballistic missiles.”
Describing the Islamic State (IS) and the Islamic Republic as two sides of the same coin, the dissidents added, “During the presidential campaign, we and millions of Iranians followed your forthright objection to the nuclear agreement reached between the Obama administration and the Islamic Republic of Iran. We sincerely hope that with your election, the new administration and the United States Congress will have the opportunity for the first time to review the regional and international outcomes of that disastrous agreement without any reservations, as was promised to the voters.”
Given that most Iranians in Iran welcome the lifting of sanctions under the July 14, 2015, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the letter backfired, leading to serious criticism among both social media activists and politicians.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
