Toppling the Ayatollah... from within

Rebel fighters 'armed and ready to rise up' in Iran. West is urged to stand aside & let regime fall

- BY CHRIS HUGHES Defence and Security Editor

Protesters in London call for an end to executions in Iran

A REBEL movement is growing in Iran, ready to oust the brutal Ayatollah regime - and the West must step away to allow it to happen, experts warn.

It is feared as many as five people are executed every day by the bloodthirsty leadership, which has ruled with an iron fist since 1979.

However, senior Iranian dissidents believe a rebel movement is growing, ready to topple the Islamic Republic of Iran and its shadowy unit of enforcers, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - possibly within months.

As many as 100,000 members are already grouped into 20,000 covert cells, it is understood.

They have the ability to arm themselves, if needed, it is claimed.

Each cell is separate, sworn to secrecy, and does not know the identity of the others.

Dissidents who have joined the MEK, the People’s Muhajideen Organisation of Iran, face public execution if caught - but increasingly they are taking to the streets to protest against the Ayatollah regime.

According to Iranian-born Dr Majid Sadeghpour, political director of the US-based Organization of Iranian-American Communities, the leadership recognises the threat.

He says: "As the regime faces near-total political and military collapse, it's ramping up pressure on the Iranian people, from a sharp rise in executions - about 150 executions per month - and arrests to siphoning cash from the poor and middle class.