Jahanshah Rashidian

After the disputed Iran's presidential election, we have three different categories of people who now challenge the regime by taking to the streets: 

-- The first category belongs to a Muslim population who voted Mousavi or Kahroubi by conviction, they still capitalise their hope in reforms within the IRI.  

-- The second one is those who voted one of the "reformists" as a "catalyst' to ease the way for a secular and democratic regime. They voted them as the lesser evils, hoping to have one of them paved the way toward freedom and secularism in the future. 

-- And the third category belongs to the Iranians who boycotted the election and want an immediate democratic and secular regime on the ruins of the IRI. 

Without bringing up the value of democracy and democracy, without denouncing the 30-year-old IRI human rights violations, the first category is a hollow bubble which either disappears soon or must be transformed, materialised, and polarised into a national freedom movement close to the ideals of second, and especially the third category.

Now, according to the news coming from the ongoing anti regime protests in and outside the country, the second category is joining the third one to the point that the Iranian youth do not want to risk their lives for the survival of such a regime under any form. They start casting doubt on the legitimacy of the regime and will join the third category which wants a total elimination of the IRI.

By asserting that the first category is not hostile to IRI survival, regime will try to find a compromise with Mousavi or Kahroubi to halt uncontrolled development of the movement. This is also an option which is desired by Mullahs' international partners and all IRI lobby groups in the West which, among others, broker IRI state mafia with the western Oil Companies and military investors.  

The regime is much prudent; therefore, it reinforces its troops on the streets. The IRI tries to separate "reformists" from the "agents of foreign enemies" or in fact from the second and third  categories which are rapidly increasing. Khamenei openly threatened them in front of three hundred followers and plainclothes of the last Friday prayers to join the establishment before it is too late. 

What concerns all secular and democrats, we should avoid any mistrust and confusion which may result into an unnecessary rapture of these three different categories, it would be vital to focus on the unity of our nation in their fair struggles against the plague of the IRI as long as the unity is possible, only so the first two categories will get closer to the third category and so a regime change will be possible. Only thanks to the unity, a possible desertion of state troops and their solidarity with their people can be expected. It would not matter to which category people belong, in its most common acceptation of Iranian realities, a regime change movement must prudently keep its common front with any popular protest as long as it has achieved complete and upper hand over the popular movement. 

This spontaneous movement improves and like any spontaneous movement needs tactical phases to fulfill its strategy.