An exiled former member of the Iranian government said this week that he foresees an Iranian regime change within two years, followed by a new government on friendly terms with the Jewish state. He also accused Germany of trading with Iran regardless of the Islamic Republic's nuclear weapons development program.

Speaking at an international conference on Iran at the University of Haifa on Sunday, Ayatollah Mehdi Haeri
"The only thing that preserves the regime is the military - but how long can this situation continue?"
Khorshidi declared, "I guarantee that within two years Iran's regime will collapse." The force for such a fundamental change, he explained, will come from the people - including both religious Muslims and secular democrats.

"Iran has powers that can stun and even defeat the government," Khorshidi said. "There are other elements that wish to separate state and religion. They see that as long as Islamic rule forcibly clings to the government, religion is connected with all that is bad, which harms [the religion]. These elements include religious persons, university lecturers, judges and members of parliament."

Khorshidi, who was a member of the first government established by Ayatollah Khomeini after the Islamist revolution in 1979, said that Iranians "need no foreign element to replace the regime for us. We can and must do it alone."

Once the regime is replaced, the Ayatollah emphasized, the new government will be on friendly terms with Israel.

The Government Fears the Youth
Khorshidi, who was imprisoned for five years in Iran for criticizing the regime, put forward a heavy denunciation of the present leadership, which he blames for the sickness of Iranian society.

"Fifty percent of the university openings are reserved for people associated with the government, and in order to be accepted in the remaining places, the candidates must undergo tests that are of political character and not at all related to the study material. A respected 106-year-old Ayatollah, who can no longer see or hear, determined that using satellite is forbidden since it provides only sex-related films. For fifteen years, it was forbidden to use video machines, because the religious bodies feared that the youth would use them to view sex films. Thankfully, today the thirty million youths are less interested in the government's propaganda against the West," he said.

According to Khorshidi, the government is afraid of its youths' aspirations and desires because it is unable to meet their demands. He added that even the economic situation in Iran has an impact in undermining the present government: "Prices go up twice a day and inflation is higher than 50 percent. In the past we have seen despotic regimes that have been able to survive for extended periods, but there the financial situation was reasonable. Due to the impossible financial state of affairs in Iran, along with the youths' desires, the only thing that preserves the regime is the military - but how long can this situation continue?"

Germany Prefers Economics to Pressuring Iran
In separate comments, Khorshidi expressed sharp criticism of the European Union for not making use of its power to block the nuclear initiative and prevent a destructive war for Israel and the entire region. "Iran is dependent on Europe no less than Europe is dependent on Iran," he said.

As for the country which granted him political asylum when he fled Iran, Khorshidi said, "Germany prefers its economic interests in Iran and billion-dollar financial transactions over activating pressure demanding an end to the Iranian nuclear program." Until he left Germany in 2003, Khorshidi charged, the country increased its trade with Iran and ignored Iran's nuclear program and its attitude to human rights.

The Iranian's sharp words aroused immediate agitation in the hall. Germany's ambassador to Israel, Dr. Harald Kinderman, who was present at the conference, made an unplanned appearance on stage and clarified that Germany has changed its attitude toward Iran in recent years.