On Thursday, Shirin Ebadi, Human Rights activist and the only Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, testified at the Canadian parliament  regarding Human Rights conditions in Iran. She asked the Canadian officials to postpone “any political or trade relations with the Islamic Republic until after improvement of Human Rights conditions in Iran.”

While referring to the structure of the Islamic Republic and its institutions such as the Guardian Council and the Judiciary, she pointed out that the appointed positions and especially the leader of the Islamic Republic, cannot be held responsible,, and continued: “The leader has a vast range of authorities according to the constitution, including the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, declaration of war and peace, pardon or reducing the sentences of prisoners, and most importantly, choosing the important policies of the Islamic Republic regime.”

She also mentioned the “rampant corruption” and the fact that the judiciary is “not independent”, which have “caused more unhappiness in the country.”

Ebadi also counted the “regime’s foreign policy” as one of the reasons for the unrests.

She also stated that the regime’s recent decision to bring its foreign militia, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Afghanistan’s Fatemiyun and Iraq’s Hashd Al-Shaabi, into the country under the guise of flood relief, is to help “the security and oppression forces inside the country”, and also “a warning to the United States that the regime of Iran has allies that will help it.”