Swedish Parliament Member Alireza Akhondi has visited Israel five times. On all previous occasions, he kept his arrival secret. This week, for the first time, he decided to go public.
Why?
"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."
Any kind of deal?!
"Yes, any kind."
He was born in Isfahan in 1980. When he was 12, his parents immigrated to Sweden, where he grew up and was educated. Akhondi has Persian features, but his accent, appearance, and style are thoroughly European. Since 2018, he has served as a parliament member for the "Center Party" in Sweden, 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. When they killed Mahsa (Amini – a Kurdish young woman who was beaten by the Revolutionary Guards and died because she wasn't wearing the hijab on her head as required)," he summarizes the turning point in his public life, which also shook his private life.
After launching an international campaign to designate the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, the ayatollahs tried to reach him. "I think there were eight death threats. It's nice, it gives good credibility," he says with a sarcastic smile. But nothing here is funny.
"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. My phone number, my address – everything was public. 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 in previous times, he met with, among others, Minister of Strategic Affairs 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 process, as mentioned, by having Western countries designate the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist entity. "The Islamic Republic will be angry at the Europeans who do this. It will recall its ambassadors back to their country. We (Europeans) will do the same thing. After that, 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 (toppling the regime), 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."
Akhondi says that to undermine the regime, he has built a "network inside Iran that does things to harass the Islamic Republic."
Can you elaborate on how many people are involved and what they do?
"I don't have an army... but 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."
Akhondi, therefore, devotes considerable efforts to toppling the regime. He has a detailed plan, which he presents in meetings he held here in Israel and also in the US. He initiated demonstrations against the regime across Europe, passed resolutions against it in the Swedish Parliament, delivered a speech at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, under the auspices of UN Watch – "the Iranian representative interrupted me twice," and more.
But now he is very troubled, and actually fears all his efforts will be wasted. Because, as mentioned, in his opinion, even if 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 dismantling nuclear infrastructure, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demands, isn't good enough in your 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. 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."
Although he is a strong supporter of the Trump administration, Akhondi harshly criticizes the choice of Steve 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 (the experienced Secretary of State), 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."
Don't you think Trump knows what he's doing?
"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. 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."
Akhondi emphasizes that he is equipped with a plan on how to bring down the deranged regime in Tehran. Naturally, he doesn't reveal it, but explains, "You need to ensure that Iranian society is with you. You need people in the streets. To get people out on the street, you need to understand what motivates them, what buttons to push, and you need to make sure the transition doesn't lead to chaos, because no one, especially Europeans, wants chaos in the Middle East. So you need to do several things simultaneously for what needs to happen to happen. There's a plan, there's an idea of how to do it."
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." There are many factors that want to topple the regime and have already tried to do so, but one of the major advantages in his proposal is his prior commitment that he has no interest in participating in the future leadership of Iran, the day after the regime falls. This is unlike many other forces in the exiled Iranian opposition, who fight against the regime, but also against each other, to divide the bear's skin before it's caught.
Either way, the Swedish-Iranian parliament member's visit to Israel lasted only 48 hours. Here in Israel, he knows he's convincing the already convinced. He also understands that his power as a single parliament member is quite limited. But his aspiration is to join state actors, like the US and Israel, to the grand plan to topple the regime.
Is there such mobilization in Jerusalem?
"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. 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."
The French option
It may be surprising, but Akhondi is not the only European troubled by the conciliatory approach that Witkoff apparently displays in negotiations with Iran. We're used to thinking of Trump as a predatory hawk, while Europeans are perceived as soft rabbits. These images are mostly correct. Trump is indeed threatening Iran militarily these days, with intensity and tangibility never seen before.
But, and this is a big but, while American stealth jets fly toward Diego Garcia base, "rapid progress" is being achieved at the negotiating tables. This is reported by both Americans and Iranians. According to their Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has been negotiating with the West on the nuclear program for 20 years, his American counterpart Steve Witkoff, who entered the issue just a month ago, has approved Iran to continue enriching uranium at a low level. If this is indeed the case, Iran has achieved a significant gain.
Witkoff, as we recall, already said on Fox that he has no problem with "civilian enrichment" at a level of 3.67%. He later published a clarification and retracted, and has since kept his distance from the media. He and his team realized that publicity harms the matter and themselves. What's certain is that Witkoff's soft approach, coupled with his inexperience on the issue, 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."
It should be emphasized that the French do not support military action at this stage. At Emmanuel Macron's, they believe that "there is still room for diplomacy." They also believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu's demand for the "Libyan model," namely, complete dismantling of nuclear infrastructure, is unrealistic. In other words, Paris is tougher than Trump but less so than Netanyahu.
Together with their British and German neighbors, the French formed a group called 3E, which held several meetings with the Iranians in recent years. The Europeans offered the Trump administration to leverage European experience and start talks with Araghchi at the point where those conducted by the 3E forum ended. Trump's envoys responded negatively. The excessive self-confidence of the Americans has already cost them several embarrassments. Since there is currently a heavy blackout on the content of the talks, it's difficult to understand the situation properly, but as mentioned, both sides say "progress" has been made.
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 US 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 and explanations as if they received everything they wanted from Witkoff should be taken with a very large grain of salt. It's not that there's no room for concern, there certainly is. Still, 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 ten years ago. After all, he himself withdrew from exactly such a deal during his first term.
Eyes on Kurilla
It should also be said that the word of the American military is very important as well. Just like in Israel, when the defense establishment tells its supreme commander, "we cannot do what you ask," he thinks twice before giving the order. However, if the message is "Mr. President, we are ready. You just need to approve," it will instill confidence in Trump.
In the current case, there is someone telling Trump that all tools are prepared and ready for his command, and that is the commander of the US Central Command, Michael Erik Kurilla. The general is the architect of Israel's military integration in the Middle East. "Kurilla the Gorilla," as some call him, proved during Iran's two missile attacks on Israel how well the regional array works like a fine orchestra.
Now the general is convinced that Iran can and should be attacked militarily, and that there is no better timing than these days. 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, so that the visit passes peacefully.
But after saying that, we must remember that at the head of the world's only superpower stands the most unpredictable leader in the world. Is it possible that, despite Witkoff's talks in Oman, the president's visit to the Middle East is actually a diversion, or perhaps will take place after the nuclear infrastructure is bombed?
