By NCRI-US Staff
Washington, DC–On October 3, 2024, LiveNOW from FOX interviewed Alireza Jafarzadeh, the deputy director of the Washington Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI-US), who provided critical insights into the Iranian regime’s strategic motives behind its barrage of 180 missiles launched, believed to be the largest attack of its kind. The interview had over half a million views on the first day.
Mr. Jafarzadeh emphasized that the Iranian regime’s primary objective is the regime’s survival. The Ayatollahs, facing significant internal unrest, used these displays of military aggression to project power and mask their vulnerabilities. “The regime is facing a discontented population… [and] is engulfed in corruption,” Mr. Jafarzadeh explained. Tehran’s reliance on its proxy forces across the region, including but not limited to Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iraq, is part of a broader strategy of survival.
A focal point of the conversation was the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, the main ally of the Iranian regime. Mr. Jafarzadeh described Nasrallah’s death as a major blow to the supreme leader and the Iranian regime, as Hezbollah has long acted as Tehran’s primary proxy in Lebanon, which has also been used to keep the Syrian dictator in power and train the Houthis in Yemen. “When Hassan Nasrallah says, ‘We get everything from Tehran,’ it underscores the deep dependency of Hezbollah on the Iranian regime,” he stated. The assassination of Nasrallah, according to Mr. Jafarzadeh, has put the Iranian regime in a defensive position, scrambling to maintain its regional role meant to keep the regime in power.
The interview also discussed the ongoing threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program. In 2002, Mr. Jafarzadeh, on behalf of the NCRI, brought to light for the first time the regime’s clandestine nuclear program, which triggered the IAEA inspections of Iranian nuclear sites. The Iran regime’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is central to its plan to stay alive, alongside its export of terrorism. “Their survival strategy has two pillars. Repression inside the country – export of terror, development of nuclear weapons and missile programs abroad,” Jafarzadeh said. He criticized the international community for allowing the regime to advance its nuclear ambitions over the past two decades, which now poses a grave threat. Jafarzadeh observed, “Instead of holding the regime accountable, instead of trying to prevent the expansion of the program… the outside world just gave concessions to the Iranian regime and legitimized the regime’s nuclear program.” He stressed that “the real solution to end both the threat of terrorism and the threat of the nuclear weapons… is regime change by the people of Iran.” He reminded the viewers that “since 2018, there have been nine rounds of major uprisings in Iran which engulfed all 31 provinces of Iran, as people called for regime change and the regime had to kill many people to stay in power temporarily.”
He urged the international community, particularly the United States and Europe, to adopt a new approach toward the Iranian regime—one that emphasizes holding the regime accountable while supporting the Iranian people’s desire and effort for regime change. The NCRI’s 10-Point Plan calls for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear republic in Iran, spearheaded by NCRI’s president-elect Maryam Rajavi, he said. Concluding the interview, Mr. Jafarzadeh made clear that despite Tehran’s attempts to project strength, its greatest weakness remains its people. “The regime can survive pressure, they can survive sanctions, but what they cannot survive is their population,” and the organized Resistance determined to bring down the regime.