FRANCE: Leader of new Green Wave Iranian resistance movement vows to topple the regime of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad

Record ID: 313653

  • Title: FRANCE: Leader of new Green Wave Iranian resistance movement vows to topple the regime of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad
  • Date: 4th February 2011
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (FEBRUARY 3, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF HOTEL RAPHAEL IN PARIS, VENUE OF NEWS CONFERENCE IRANIAN OPPOSITION LEADER AND FOUNDER OF THE GREEN WAVE, AMIR JAHANCHAHI ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE NEWS CONFERENCE STARTING JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (French) IRANIAN OPPOSITION LEADER AND FOUNDER OF THE GREEN WAVE, AMIR JAHANCHAHI, SAYING: "In the next 12 months, I and those who joined me in the country, I mean all the Iranian patriots who have joined our resistance network, we will attack the regime exactly where it hurts the most. The Iranian regime, Ahmadinejad, his collaborators, have for personal purposes, by corruption, have sucked the blood of the Iranian people. They have stolen all the money of the energy resources of our country." JOURNALISTS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRANIAN OPPOSITION LEADER AND FOUNDER OF THE GREEN WAVE, AMIR JAHANCHAHI, SAYING: "As a responsible, I will ask the Iranian people to come in the streets when we will be ready, when the regime will be on its knees, when we are sure that we will have the full back of the Revolution guards and the army and the religious. To be sure that we go in a situation of civil war, disintegration of the country and the vacancy of the power." JOURNALIST LISTENING NEWS CONFERENCE ONGOING (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) IRANIAN GENERAL IN EXILE, MOHAMMAD REZA MADHI, SAYING: "As I mentioned before, following my departure from Iran and the search I made in terms of which political organisations could be approached, with whom some sort of unity could be forged, who shared the same vision and the same political agenda, me and my colleagues within "Movement of the society of Companions" inside Iran , we came to the conclusions that the only organisation with whom we could share a common agenda was the Green Wave and Amir Hossein Jahanchani." JOURNALISTS NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France, France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA20GMZRC2MBRB0VBIEIHFFLBYS
  • Story Text: An exiled London-based Iranian businessman vowed on Thursday (February 3) that his new Green Wave resistance movement would overthrow the regime in Tehran of President Mahmoud Amhadinejad, if necessary by force.
    Speaking at a news conference in Paris, one of several to launch his movement, he said that the turmoil in Egypt showed that there was an appetite for more democracy throughout the region and that Iran was no exception.
    The current regime in place was stronger, so other methods would have to be used, he said.
    "In the next 12 months, I and those who joined me in the country, I mean all the Iranian patriots who have joined our resistance network, we will attack the regime exactly where it hurts the most," he told reporters.
    In several interviews given recently, businessman Amir Jahanchahi has called for a regime change by force, arguing that the opposition alone could not accomplish this.
    Jahanchahi, who is also the son of the Shah of Iran's last finance minister, left his native country after the revolution in 1979.
    Jahanchani says that the forces in the country are not ready yet and that he needs to set up the optimal conditions to promote a strong and determined resistance in his country.
    "As a responsible, I will ask the Iranian people to come in the streets when we will be ready, when the regime will be on its knees, when we are sure that we will have the full back of Revolution guards and the army and the Religious. To be sure that we will not go in a situation of civil war, disintegration of the country and the vacancy of the power", he said.
    Jahanchahi was joined by General Mohammad Reza Madhi who until 2008 headed the "Committee for the protection of the regime". Today, as Secretary General of the clandestine organisation called the Movement of the society of Companions, he is the head of a network of disenchanted individuals inside the regime including members of the armed forces and the intelligence services.
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