An Iranian opposition group said on Monday it aimed to create a national council incorporating a wide range of groups inside Iran by March to offer a "credible alternative" to the current government. Set up in April 2010, the Iranian Green Democratic Congress (IGDC) says it has been working over the last year to bring together groups as varied as republicans and monarchists and ethnicities including Iranian Azeris, Baloch and Arabs.
"After the (anti-government unrest) of 2009, a lot of taboos were lifted and dialogue between different opposition members has become easier," said Reza Pirzadeh, president of the Paris-based IGDC, which supports a secular democracy. "There's movement on the ground, regionally and internationally, so we have to go quickly and hope to create a national council that is a credible and democratic alternative to the regime before the Iranian New Year by mid-March."
The West has imposed new sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme that are causing real pain to its economy. US President Barack Obama signed a law on New Year's Eve that, if fully implemented, would prevent most countries from buying Iranian oil. The European Union, which still buys about a fifth of Iran's oil, is poised to announce an embargo at the end of this month, and other countries may have to cut purchases of Iranian crude to receive waivers from the US sanctions.