7 Aban Front
The 7 Aban Front (Persian: جبهه هفت آبان Jebhe-ye Haft-e Ābān) is a political organization established in 2022 in opposition to the government of Islamic Republic of Iran.
Founding
The group was established in Brussels following the death of Mahsa Amini and during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. It brought together dozens of dissidents, including constitutional monarchists as well as republicans with patriotic and liberal-democratic leanings.[1] The 7 Aban Front is one of the main opposition groups to the Islamic Republic.[1][2][3]
Name and symbolism
The organization takes its name from 7 Aban in the Persian calendar (around 29 October of the Gregorian calendar) or Cyrus the Great Day. The date is associated with the entry of Cyrus the Great into Babylon, the liberation of Jewish captives, and the proclamation often described as the world's first charter of human rights known as the Cyrus Cylinder.[4][5] The organization was deliberately established on 7 Aban 2022 to highlight the symbolic weight of that date.[1]
Leadership and political activities
The chairman of the 7 Aban Front, Saeed Bashirtash, has consistently argued against the involvement of religion in government.[6][7]
On 14 June 2025, the 7 Aban Front organized a conference in Brussels. Uri Rosenthal, former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs (VVD) in the First Rutte cabinet, expressed support for the coalition of liberals and social democrats within the organization.[8] Belgian politician Theo Francken of the N-VA, serving as Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade in the De Wever government, also called for the removal of the ayatollahs' regime.[9] The Iranian state broadcaster and news agency Fars, which is closely aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), described the conference as a plot to overthrow the Islamic Republic and install a new government.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d ellian, afshin (2025-08-31). "Ayatollah Khamenei richt pijlen op Europese dissidenten". EWmagazine.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ^ "Israel's Ambassador to Belgium: Israel stands with the Iranian people in their fight for freedom". Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ^ "Iran's hidden empire: Khamenei's reach, jihad, and hope for democracy". The Jerusalem Post. 2024-11-10. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ^ "Hunara: Journal of Ancient Iranian Arts and History - Cyrus the Great Day". www.hunara.org. Archived from the original on 2025-04-01. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ^ "International Cyrus The Great Day: 29th October". The Yak. 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ^ سعید بشیرتاش: ما همگی به پشتوانه مردم ایران و فارغ از هر مرام سیاسی برای هدفی مهم گرد آمدهایم (in Persian). 2022-10-30. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via ir.voanews.com.
- ^ Saeed Behbahani (2023-04-16). نشست عمومی مهستان: جبهه هفت آبان و همبستگی ملی با حضور آقای سعید بشیرتاش. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Uri Rosenthal: The Islamic Republic Cannot Be Reformed — Unity Is the Key to Iran's Victory". Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ^ "Theo Francken: The ayatollahs must go – the world owes Iran's great civilization". Retrieved 2025-09-30.