What is happening in Iran right now is neither accidental nor a temporary crisis — it is the result of decades of developments following the 1979 revolution when the promised justice and dignity were replaced with a theocratic regime.

Real power at that time did not go to democratically elected institutions, but was instead concentrated in religious and security structures. The regime's highest authority is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei whose decisions determine the country's political direction and define the limits of what is permitted.

The practical force behind this system is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a state within a state. It is the IRGC that ensures the regime's survival, controls key sectors of the economy, suppresses dissent, leads the repressive apparatus and decides who gets to speak and who disappears into the depths of the prison system. The alliance of ideology and brute force has created a system that does not tolerate compromise or peaceful disagreement.

Every time Iranians have peacefully demanded a better life — whether during the 2009 protests driven by economic despair or through the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement that emerged after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini — the regime's response has followed the same pattern: executions of protesters, mass arrests, torture, show trials and internet shutdowns. The death penalty is not used as a tool of justice, but as a means of terror. It is a survival mechanism for a desperate regime.

The same logic that allows Iranian authorities to execute their own people also enables them to support Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Iranian drones used to attack Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure are not merely a geopolitical detail. The repression in Tehran and the bombs in Kyiv are two expressions of the same worldview.

This is precisely why Estonia stands with the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom. We have repeatedly condemned the arrests and deaths linked to protests, as well as the use of violence by Iranian authorities against their own citizens. We call for the release of peaceful protesters, the restoration of internet access and respect for human rights, freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.

We support sanctions against Iranian leaders and officials responsible for both human rights violations and Tehran's backing of Russia's war in Ukraine. On Thursday, the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels decided to add the IRGC to its list of terrorist organizations. This is not a symbolic move but an honest classification, because an organization that represses its own people and supports terrorism and aggression abroad must be treated as such. Estonia has taken the same step. The Riigikogu has formally declared the IRGC a terrorist organization.

Estonia's decision to support the Open Technology Fund's Iran project is especially important, as it helps ensure access to an uncensored internet. From our own history, we know how vital access to unbiased information is. A censorship-free internet is not a technical luxury — it is a window to freedom and a lifeline for civil society, journalists and ordinary citizens.

What is happening in Iran is neither distant nor abstract for Estonian society — it is painfully familiar. It reminds us why we belong to the European Union and why a values-based foreign policy is not naive but a matter of security. No regime that relies on violence, fear and ideological coercion can ever be stable or a peaceful partner.

The people of Iran have a real opportunity to shape their future. The question is whether the free world, and Estonia as part of it, is ready to stand with them not just in words, but in action. Our own history tells us that we must.

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