Pezeshkian in New York: Can promise change reality in Iran?

A promise to hope or just empty words? Iran's new President Masoud Pezeshkian is in the focus of the world public! At the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, he tries his appeals to the Iranian people, while reality in Iran is completely different.

Pezeshkian described Iranian civilization as a "valuable legacy", but the election victory came in the middle of countless challenges and profound problems. "The solution to these problems requires participation from every citizen," he made it clear. But are they just empty phrases?

Introduction to a world full of contradictions

The President is urging the rights of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran. "Everyone has the right to act because of their skills," he said recently in Tehran. But what about the Bahá’í that have been suppressed for decades? "We have to pay more attention to acts than in words," said Jascha Noltenius, human rights representative of the Bahá’í community in Germany. "The evidence of the persecution is overwhelming."

The discrepancy between Pezeshkian's promise and the brutal reality for the Bahá’í is becoming increasingly obvious. "We see ourselves exposed to the same persecution, no matter who rules," says Noltenius. "The government is aiming to extinguish the Bahá’í community!"

The terrifying reality of the Bahá’í community

• unnoticed by the world, thousands of Bahá’í youth were excluded from universities-a clear break with the concept of free thinking that Pezeshkian propagates.
• in summer repression increased dramatically: two music teachers lost their positions after the ministry put pressure on their employers. A Bahá’í businessman in Shiraz was also threatened.
• The arrests increase, women and children are illegally separated - a mother was arrested in Shiraz while her toddler was by her side!
• The Bahá’í community recently had to experience how her cemetery in Ahvaz was devastated by an arson attack.

And what about Pezeshkian's promise to "hear all ideas" and promote dialogue? As he appeals to the dialogue, the Bahá’í leader Mahvash Sabet, who was awarded for her courage, is still isolated from her family in the Evin prison. A clear contrast to the speeches of the President!

The words of the president are in shocking contrast to the cruel reality of the Bahá’í, which continue to suffer from persecution and discrimination - an unforgivable scandal! The international community must insist that these promises not only remain empty words, but also lead to real change!

NOLTENIUS sums it up: "The Iranian government has to pay attention to human rights. We demand the equality of all people before the law - regardless of what ethnicity or religion it belongs." The wheel of history continues, but when will the Bahá’í in Iran finally be a turn to better?