Sina Mirzaei: Tehran's Pressure on the Azerbaijani National Movement is Based on Strategic Plans

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, December 31, 2023

Sina Mirzaei 

In recent months, many Turkish activists in Iranian Azerbaijan have been interrogated for long periods in intelligence service detention facilities. Political scientist and activist Sina Mirzaei discussed the mechanisms of repression used by the Iranian government against the national movement in an interview with Voice of America.

Mirzaei stated that the pressure applied by the Islamic Republic against the Azerbaijani National Movement, which it sees as a threat to its existence, is based on long-term plans and programs.

“The national movement in Iranian Azerbaijan appears as a heavy political force. Naturally, this potential creates fear within the Islamic Republic. Even in the recent protests in Iran, if we look at the statistical data, we can see that nationalist and cultural activists with a history of political activity were arrested without participating in the protests, more frequently in Azerbaijan compared to other regions of Iran. This is because the Islamic Republic believes that the potential in that region can pose significant problems to its existence,” the political scientist said.

According to him, Iran's intelligence and security agencies know the potential of the national movement very well and are familiar with the various groups within it.

“We must note that the Islamic Republic knows the National Movement even better than the nationalist activists themselves. While the government may be incompetent in many areas, it is highly skilled in establishing and operating pressure and repression mechanisms. For this reason, it conducts arrests with pre-planned strategies, targeting them with different tactics and goals,” he added.

In the interview, Mirzaei elaborated on the Iranian government's goals when arresting activists.

“Many of these arrests, for example, may be to test the waters. The Islamic Republic periodically wants to know what resources the movement has, how much energy it possesses, and how much potential it carries. The government might also choose to focus on more selective targets instead of large-scale arrests. Since the government knows the internal divisions, alliances, meetings, and overall dynamics of the movement, it can arrest key individuals selectively without letting large street protests occur,” he explained.

According to the political scientist, sometimes the Iranian government arrests activists in order to "control the narrative" surrounding the movement, both internally and externally.

“One of the goals of the security agencies may be to control the movement or the narrative surrounding it by arresting key individuals. When these activists are arrested and labeled as divisive, we see some social media users or trolls of the Islamic Republic directing the narrative in a way that portrays them as divisive and claims that the Islamic Republic is doing the right thing by arresting them,” Mirzaei said.

“The government even sometimes looks for internal divisions within the movement. Based on these divisions, it may begin strategic arrests... For this reason, we must be loyal to ourselves and recognize that the Islamic Republic, as a state with the help of security forces, sometimes knows us better than we know ourselves. We must be cautious so that any arrest or cost paid is directed against the Islamic Republic. We need to be aware that arrests should lead to unity, not division,” Sina Mirzaei concluded.

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Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Sina Mirzayi: Tehranın Azərbaycan Milli Hərəkatına qarşı təzyiqləri strateji planlar üzərində qurulub