Swedish Parliament Member Alireza Akhondi has visited Israel five times. On all previous occasions, he kept his arrival secret. Last week, for the first time, he decided to go public.
The reason, he said, is “because we face a serious threat that Trump will make a deal with the Islamic Republic. This would be a massive blow to Iran’s freedom movement and Israeli interests as well. Any kind of deal is a threat.”
Born in Isfahan in 1980, Akhondi was 12 when his parents immigrated to Sweden, where he grew up and was educated. Since 2018, he has served as a parliament member for Sweden’s “Center Party,” and for most of that time, he wasn’t involved with events in his homeland.
The change came two and a half years ago.
“For 30 years, I followed what was happening in Iran, but I had no connections there,” he said.
The 2022 killing of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who died in prison after being arrested because her hair was not covered, became the turning point in his public life, which also shook his private life.
After launching an international campaign to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, the ayatollahs tried to reach him, he said. “I think there were eight death threats. It’s nice, it gives good credibility,” he added with a sarcastic smile.
“Now, I have a secret identity in Sweden. The police forced me to sell my apartment and move elsewhere. You know, in Sweden, everything we do, especially as public figures, is public information. I used to joke that people know what color underwear I have before I choose it.
“So, to get the secret identity I have now, they forced me to move. This way, they can hide my address, phone numbers, and so on. But as a parliament member, they can’t hide me completely, so damage is done to my car. Still, someone called from a hidden number and said, ‘We’re going to kill you. Get in line, you’re not the first.'”
But the threats don’t deter him. During his sixth visit to Israel, as on previous visits, he met with, among others, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, with one supreme goal in mind—”to weaken the Islamic Republic and ensure we reach a situation of regime change. This is by creating a domino effect that will trigger things to happen.”
Akhondi hoped to initiate this chain of events, as mentioned, by having Western countries designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity. “The Islamic Republic will be angry at the Europeans who do this,” he said. “It will recall its ambassadors back to their country. We [Europeans] will do the same thing.”
After that, he continued, there will be no more trade between the European Union and the Islamic Republic. “A few years ago, trade stood at several billion euros annually. We don’t see those numbers anymore. But the point is that to reach this goal, we also need to understand how Iranians think and how they behave. And I don’t mean the opposition in exile, but the Iranian people inside,” he said.
To undermine the regime, he has built a “network inside Iran that does things to harass the Islamic Republic,” he said.
While it’s no army, he continued, “they do various activities on social media, political activities at different levels. I have activists, also political figures, and I’ve been quite successful. But as a parliamentarian in a Western country, there are also limitations on what I can do.”
‘The gift they need’
Akhondi, therefore, devotes considerable efforts to toppling the regime. He has a detailed plan, which he presents in meetings he holds here in Israel and also in the United States.
But now he is very troubled, and fears all his efforts will be wasted. Because, as mentioned, in his opinion, even if U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff achieves the toughest deal with the Iranians, it will push away the ultimate goal of toppling the regime. Therefore, Akhondi opposes any type of deal.
Even a Libya-style deal that includes the full dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure would be insufficient, in his view.
“They have what they have. Iran has foreign currency reserves left for only four or five months. They are at their weakest point during the 46 years since the Islamic Revolution,” he said.
“Any deal will set back two and a half years of my work to weaken the Islamic Republic. It will give them exactly the gift they need when they’re on the verge of failure. That is, time and money,” he added.
Although he is a strong supporter of the Trump administration, Akhondi harshly criticizes the choice of Witkoff to negotiate with Iran.
“To be honest, I’m upset that they used an amateur like Witkoff as a negotiator. The Islamic Republic demanded that it not be Marco Rubio, but Witkoff. Russia demanded him, too. It’s the same strategy. Why? Because it’s easy to play with him. He has no experience in such sensitive geopolitical issues,” said Akhondi.
While he supports the Trump administration, he doesn’t fully trust the president himself, he explained.
“I don’t trust Trump. He’ll be busy with the stupid trade war he started against the whole world. Even Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plan to strike Iran militarily in May, which Trump said ‘no’ to, is not the right way forward,” he said.
“Because you can destroy 1,000 military sites. That’s big, but the regime won’t fall. The only solution that will bring stability to the Middle East, provide security for Israel and prosperity for Iranian society, is regime change,” he continued.
Akhondi emphasizes that he has a plan on how to bring down the regime in Tehran. Naturally, he doesn’t reveal it, but he did say that, “You need to ensure that Iranian society is with you. You need people in the streets.”
Akhondi is trying to promote the plan and idea here in Israel and also in the United States, “which hasn’t gotten on board yet.”
He reiterated that the solution vis-à-vis Iran is not military.
“I hope the Israeli government sees the advantages of this plan, both for the short term, the medium term and the long term. Because a military strike will simply solve the immediate threat, but not the long-term problem,” he said.
“Right now, it’s a double Iranian chess game. If they reach nuclear capability, they’ve won, and if there’s a deal, they’ve also won because the regime has gained time,” he continued.
It may be surprising, but Akhondi is not the only European troubled by the conciliatory approach that Witkoff seems to display in negotiations with Iran.
Trump is indeed threatening Iran militarily these days, with unprecedented intensity and tangibility. But, and this is a big but, while American stealth bombers fly toward the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean, “rapid progress” is being achieved at the negotiating tables. This is reported by both Americans and Iranians.
What’s certain is that Witkoff’s soft approach, coupled with his inexperience, also troubles France. Yes, that same country that is currently organizing another international conference with a “new vision for the Middle East,” bypassing America on the right regarding Iran and nuclear issues.
“We have a lot in common with Israel’s concern,” says a French government official. “The clock is ticking, and we want to avoid a situation where Iranians buy time through negotiations. We also want to prevent a quick and dirty deal that will prevent a root solution to the problem.”
For the Iranians, sophisticated propaganda champions that they are, there is, of course, an interest in showing they have not given up anything, but it’s clear that talks with the United States were forced upon them, for fear of military action.
After all, they refused to speak with the Biden administration for four years. The Trump administration was also boycotted until aircraft carriers made their way to the region.
Therefore, the smile offensive should be taken with a very large grain of salt.
Trump understands personally, nationally and internationally the danger posed by Iran. It’s hard to believe he will agree to a deal like the one Obama signed 10 years ago. After all, he himself withdrew from exactly such a deal during his first term.
It should also be said that the word of the American military is very important as well. In the current case, there is someone telling Trump that all tools are prepared and ready for his command, and that is the head of U.S. Central Command, Michael Kurilla.
The general is the architect of Israel’s military integration in the Middle East. Kurilla proved during Iran’s two missile attacks on Israel how well this regional array works.
Now the general is convinced that Iran can and should be attacked, and that there is no better time than now. Trump, for his part, is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in three weeks. It stands to reason that at least until then, no forceful action will be taken.
But having said that, we must remember that at the head of the world’s only superpower stands the most unpredictable leader in the world.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.