Iranian filmmaker calls for toppling supreme leader amid Iran-Israel conflict

Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi, who won the top prize at the Cannes film festival this year for his drama It was Just an Accident, not only denounced the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel but also directed pointed criticism at Iran’s leadership, appearing to call for the removal of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In a post on Instagram, translated into English from Farsi by the platform, Panahi urged the United Nations and global community to "immediately and decisively, and without consideration or deal, to force the two regimes to halt military attacks and end the killing of civilians".

He said that attacks on Iran were in no way acceptable and that Israel had violated his home country., adding that Israel should be tried in an international war trial as an aggressor.

“This position does not mean in any way ignoring four decades of mismanagement, corruption, oppression, tyranny and incompetence of the Islamic Republic. This government has neither the power, will, nor legitimacy required to run the country or manage crises,” the director said.

He warned that remaining under the current system would only prolong Iran’s decline:

“Staying in this regime means the continued fall, the continuation of the repression, and the continuation of the flock! The only way to escape is the immediate dissolution of this system and [to] initiate a people’s, responsive and democratic government.”