The ongoing protests in Iran present a precarious, yet potentially transformative, opportunity for democratic advancement, according to Omid Nouripour, a prominent Green Party politician. Speaking to Funke-Mediengruppe newspapers, Nouripour, himself a German native with Iranian roots, emphasized the deepening economic and social crisis within Iran, now impacting even the traditionally more stable middle class.
“The Iranian people are rising up to demand a freer existence” Nouripour stated, “and the regime’s only response has been violence”. This dynamic, he argues, renders the situation inherently volatile, carrying both the promise of a “moment of democratization” and the chilling possibility of a military coup orchestrated by the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Nouripour’s assessment underscores the escalating tension within Iran and the regime’s brutal suppression of dissent, evidenced by the confirmed deaths of at least seven protestors. He is now urgently calling for action from the European Union and the German government, accusing the EU of passively observing events.
“The EU must be vigilant and avoid repeating past failures” Nouripour insisted. Critically, he advocates for the formal designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization by the EU, a move he believes should be prioritized and aggressively pushed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Nouripour asserts that for Merz to demonstrate genuine credibility, he must swiftly implement a policy previously championed by the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) when they were in opposition. This forceful stance highlights a deepening political pressure on the German government to adopt a more assertive and interventionist policy towards Iran, balancing cautious diplomacy with a condemnation of the regime’s human rights record and its destabilizing regional influence. The potential ramifications of the current unrest and Europe’s response to it, are poised to become a defining challenge in transatlantic relations.
