Iran – the Final Countdown

By Struan Stevenson

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report highlights the huge significance of the uprising in Iran, which began on 28 December 2017. It shows how millions of ordinary Iranians bravely risked their lives to join mass public protests against the repressive theocratic regime that has held power in Iran for the past 39 years. The widespread nature of these demonstrations is without precedent. People have taken to the streets in some 140 cities across Iran.

Demonstrators chanting: “Death to Khamenei”, “Death to Rouhani”, “Reformists, hardliners, it is game over now,” “Death to the Islamic Republic” and “Shame on you, mullahs,” have shown that this is an uprising against the regime itself. Their chants of: “No Gaza, No Lebanon, My Life for Iran ‘Death to Hezbollah” and “Leave Syria alone, think about us instead” have shown that they are sick of their wealth being looted to fund proxy wars and terrorists throughout the Middle East.

As always, much of the western media has either failed to report the uprising at all, or initially reported that the mass demonstrations were simply based on Iran’s dire economic situation. The western media for, the large part, has adhered to the Obama/EU appeasement policy that has insisted on viewing the theocratic regime in Iran as an ally, making it difficult for them to comprehend why the 80 million beleaguered citizens of that country could possibly rise up and demand regime change.

The Obama/EU axis and its supporters in the media have consistently denied Iran’s role as the world’s principal sponsor of terror and its steady and lethal march towards regional hegemony in the Middle East, a phenomenon now openly recognised by the new US administration. The western media who cheered Obama’s disastrous nuclear deal as a great breakthrough, ignored the fact that the terms of the deal will still enable the Islamic Republic to become a fully armed nuclear power in 12 to 15 years’ time, able to carry out its oftrepeated threat to wipe out Israel.

The Obama/EU axis even ignored the windfall release of $150 billion under the terms of the nuclear deal, that has enabled the theocratic regime to re-double its financing of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal civil war in Syria, the genocidal campaign to wipe out the Sunnis in Iraq, the murderous Houthi rebels in Yemen and terrorist Hezbollah in Lebanon. But worst of all, the Obama/EU axis and its supporters have deserted and betrayed the long-suffering Iranian people, who have been subjected to decades of medieval cruelty.

This report unravels the extent of the mass demonstrations and reveals the deadly crackdown imposed by the regime, the torture and death of prisoners arrested during the protests and the role of social media and cyber-warfare during the uprising. The report shows how admissions by leading members of the regime have exposed its fear and vulnerability to regime change and their acknowledgement of the role and growing support for the main democratic opposition movement - the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

The report concludes with the clear view that the clerical regime is now on its last legs and that its demise is inevitable, charting the next necessary steps to restore peace, democracy, human rights and women’s rights to Iran, while bringing the perpetrators of crimes against humanity and international terror to face justice in the international courts.

The Iran nuclear deal is a ticking time bomb -- this radical change will fix it

by Amir Basirihttp://www.washingtonexaminer.com/the-iran-nuclear-deal-is-a-ticking-time-bomb-this-radical-change-will-fix-it/article/2632958 | Aug 30, 2017, 1:21 PM

Last week, Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi warned that the Islamic Republic can ramp up its uranium enrichment level to 20 percent in a matter of days, a short step away from weapons-grade material. Many will dismiss Salehi's comments as an attempt to up the ante a day before U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley met with International Atomic Energy Agency officials in Vienna to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

But for two distinct reasons, there's no definitive way to make sure Salehi is bluffing: First, Iran's history in hiding its illicit nuclear program, and second, the porous agreement that is supposed to prevent Iran from obtaining atomic weapons.

   00:03 / 00:45 Trump lashes out at James Clapper

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In 2015, the international community missed an exceptional opportunity to solve Iran's nuclear threat in a lasting manner. Instead, led by President Barack Obama, the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany achieved the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an accord that gave too many concessions to the Iranian regime, legitimized its uranium enrichment program, and only managed to extend its breakout time (the duration it would take for Tehran to produce a nuclear bomb) for a limited period.

Obama was under no illusion about JCPOA's effectiveness in curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions or other nefarious activities, including its terrorist ventures and gross human rights violations. In an interview with NPR, he acknowledged that by the time the accord expires, Iran's nuclear breakout time will have been significantly reduced. He also made it clear that he placed his bets on moderating Iran's behavior before the nuclear deal runs its course.

"I think that it's important for us to recognize that, if in fact they're engaged in international business, and there are foreign investors, and their economy becomes more integrated with the world economy, then in many ways it makes it harder for them to engage in behaviors that are contrary to international norms," Obama said in the interview.

To do good on his promise, Obama frontloaded the deal with economic concessions and facilitated foreign investment in Iran. By doing so, he also made sure that his European counterparts would have an enormous stake in preserving the deal as is.

Two years later, Tehran's expansionist ambitions in the region and its human rights abuses at home have grown worse. Moreover, the Iranian regime is exploiting the ambiguous text of the JCPOA to engage in provocative activities such as testing ballistic missiles.

Meanwhile, billions of dollars' worth of deals, preliminary agreements, and letters of intent have made European states loath to revisit the many flaws of the deal or to confront Iran for its evil deeds. In effect, the JCPOA, Obama's historic foreign policy achievement, has become the source of a worsening crisis. As the sand escapes the hourglass, the Middle East continues to spiral deeper into chaos and the Iranian regime inches toward becoming a nuclear-armed state.

Iran on the path of North Korea

By Keyvan Salami

Iran can enrich uranium within five days if the U.S. imposes more sanctions on Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's atomic agency head, warned this week. He claimed that Iran could achieve 20% enriched uranium in five days – a level at which it could then quickly be processed further into weapons-grade nuclear material.

Last week, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani announced that Iran could abandon its nuclear agreement with world powers "within hours" if the United States imposes any more new sanctions.

"If America wants to go back to the experience of imposing sanctions, Iran would certainly return in a short time – not a week or a month, but within hours - to conditions more advanced than before the start of negotiations," Rouhani told a session of parliament broadcast live on state television.

In response, U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley said Iran should not be allowed "to use the nuclear deal to hold the world hostage."

The Obama administration argued that there was no better alternative to its controversial nuclear agreement with Iran.  The argument was that the deal is good, as it potentially delays Iran's ambition to acquire nuclear weapons for at least ten years; it requires Tehran to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium by 98 percent, disables the Arak facility from producing weapons-grade plutonium, reduces the number of centrifuges by two thirds, converts the Fordow facility into a research center, and allows for unprecedented intrusive inspections.

In addition, the deal would lengthen, from a few months to a year, the time frame in which Iran could reach the breakout point, providing the U.S. more time to act, even militarily.  Finally, the Obama administration suggested that a more prosperous and secure Iran might give up its drive to obtain nuclear weapons and may even become a constructive player in the community of nations.

Two years after the deal, the question is, will those claims still hold?  Did the deal "potentially" delay Iran's ambition to acquire nuclear weapons for at least ten years?  And did it make Iran "more prosperous and secure to give up its drive to obtain nuclear weapons and may even become a constructive player in the community of nations"?

The reality is that the deal not only has not curbed Iran's ability to obtain nuclear weapons, but also granted billions of dollars to Iran's malicious activities.  Two years after the deal, it is Rouhani who is confessing to this fact and saying Iran is capable of reaching the same point and even "conditions more advanced than before the start of negotiations" in a matter of few days.

"In an hour and a day, Iran could return to a more advanced [nuclear] level than at the beginning of the negotiations," Rouhani told a parliamentary session.

At the same session, a new bill was passed, a testament to the hollow claims of Iran's change of behavior as "a constructive player in the community of nations." 

In retaliation to new U.S. sanctions, with lawmakers chanting "Death to America," the state's military budget will be increased by almost $500 million, and $260 million will be pumped into the missile program alone.

A further $300 million will be added to the Quds Force's budget.  The bill charges the government to confront "threats, malicious, hegemonic and divisive activities of America in the region."

One might argue that their action is in reaction to new U.S. sanctions.  This might be true, yet it doesn't change the fact that Iran has maintained its capability of advancing its nuclear program, as Rouhani acknowledged.

The Iran apologists' take from Rouhani's threat is more concessions and to stop placing pressure on Iran.  A realistic approach, however, would be to take Rouhani's words seriously and put more pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program once and for all.

Iran is following the same path as North Korea, and the nuclear deal with Iran must not fool us into imagining that the Iranians have stopped their ambition of becoming a nuclear power.

For the mullahs in Iran, the atomic bomb is the only guarantor of survival.  That is why they will never relinquish their ambition of becoming a nuclear power.

The only means to stop Iran is to support the Iranian people and their organized opposition for a regime change

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/08/iran_on_the_path_of_north_korea_.html#ixzz4qebQflxM
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MICHAEL REAGAN: THE FOLLIES OF APPEASEMENT

By Michael Reagan
  
Record Courier, Aug. 14, 2017 - Haven’t we learned yet that appeasement doesn’t work? I’m not talking about when the weak-kneed leaders of Britain and France went to Munich in 1938 and essentially gave Czechoslovakia to Hitler to buy a brief period of peace before Europe and the rest of the world went to war.
I’m talking about our more recent dealings with Russian, Iran and North Korea.

We’re in the trouble we’re in with North Korea today because of our continual policy of appeasing the thugs who rule that oppressed and starving Communist paradise.
Most people don’t remember, but we started appeasing North Korea’s dictators in the 1990s when Jimmy Carter was out office and still felt he needed to play global peacemaker.
Carter went to North Korea behind the back of the sitting president, Bill Clinton, and sat down to negotiate a deal to stop them from building nuclear weapons.
He promised North Korea leaders two nuclear reactors and $5 billion in aid if they’d agree to the no-nukes deal and Clinton, not wanting to embarrass a former Democrat president, approved the deal.
Of course it took North Korea about 24 hours to break their promises.
They’ve been working on their nukes ever since, and our presidents have been appeasing them ever since — when they’re not busy appeasing Iran’s religious thugs or Russia’s virtual dictator, Vladimir Putin.
Remember Iran and its nuclear program? Remember how President Obama and everyone on the left fell over each trying to appease the ayatollahs?
How’s that been working out?
Obama basically told the Iranians “We don’t want you to have nuclear weapons today, but it’ll be OK for you to have them 20 years from now — when I’m out of office and it’ll be some other sucker’s problem.”
Now we have Iran and North Korea helping each other perfect their nuclear weapons programs.
And let’s not forget how well our policy of appeasement worked with Russia.
In 2009, President Obama pleased Putin by scrapping the Bush administration’s proposed missile defense system in Poland. In 2014, the Russia army invaded Ukraine and Russia was becoming the regime in Syria’s best friend and military benefactor.
Now we’re at a boiling point with North Korea and it makes for a very, very, very scary world.
You hope and pray we have the right people in office to make the right decisions and not go off the rails.
People are always praising my father for winning the Cold War without firing a shot or blowing up the world.
But he was able to defeat the Evil Empire with diplomacy because when he was dealing the Soviets the word “appeasement” was never in his vocabulary.
His way of describing his negotiating policy vis-a-vis the USSR and its nuclear arsenal was — “We win, they lose.”
I’m fearful, as many people are, by what might happen if we learn that the North Koreans truly have developed miniaturized nuclear weapons that could ride on their primitive ICBMs.
But I’m also concerned that we’ll just appease them again and we’ll find ourselves in this same scary spot next week or next year.
What we need to do is follow my father’s example and get “appeasement” out of our vocabulary.
While we practice smart diplomacy, we need to start putting anti-missile defense systems in areas the Russians or Chinese don’t like, like in South Korea — and too bad if it makes them nervous or mad.
As for President Trump, he needs to get off building a border wall and start building a homeland missile defense system that will protect us from the rogue powers our appeasers have turned into world powers.

Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of “The New Reagan Revolution” (St. Martin’s Press).

ANALYSIS: Are sanctions on Iran a sign of shifting US policy?

F. Mahmoudi,

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Al Arabiya English's point-of-view.

The enactment of a comprehensive sanction bill and designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) by US lawmakers targeting Tehran’s military and terrorist arm, is a significant signal of shifting US policy in reaction to Iran’s destabilizing role in region. The regime is beginning to realize that the Obama era is over.

This alteration in US policy acts as a catalyst and facilitator of change inside of Iran. However, the main factor and grass roots of change are inside Iran.

This pivot point for a policy change has an accelerating role and is influenced by the ineradicable behavior of the Islamic Republic and on the other hand the will of people’s resistance to achieve in such policy.

Now, the question remains on the Iranian regime’s reaction and choice of direction to the new sanction bill. In such crises, the Iranian regime has a track record of buying time (delaying tactic) and taking one step forward and one step backward, as witnessed in previous nuclear negotiations.

If Obama’s policy of appeasement and concessions was decisive, Tehran would have been forced to step further back from their evil approach. But this did not happen, and the regime was constantly revived through newly provided funds and sanction relief. Instead, Tehran expanded its destabilizing role and terrorist activities in the region.

The adoption of new sanctions so far has put Iran in a shocking stage. If these sanctions are seriously applied and extensively implemented, Tehran will be pinned to make an ultimate decision.

Retreating or challenging

Iran faces widespread and profound social dissatisfaction, parallel to economic insolvency and serious crises. It understands the language of force and lacks the ability to challenge. The most likely option for Tehran is to kill time and continue delaying.

To prevent the regime’s highly cheating skills, the best policy is to enforce and maximize pressure. Tehran is a fundamentalist and rebellious regime without any legitimacy. It is incapable in changing its behavior. According to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, changing the regime’s behavior will ultimately bring the regime down.

Therefore, there will be no transformation or reform from such a regime. The Iranian people are keen towards overthrowing this regime and the comprehensive and extensive sanctions on IRGC is aligned and in support of their will for regime change.

The social conditions in Iran have come to a boiling point and the opposition movement has the potential and an upper hand. The path forward is social rebellions to overthrow this regime.

During the 2009 uprisings Iranians were chanting: “Obama, Obama are you with us or the mullahs?,” as they called in vain for international support.

The policy shift

The Iran policy shift has its effect inside the regime and they have been vocal about it. In this regard the “Resalat daily”, regime’s controlled paper, in its July 31, 2017 issue, pointing to the change in the international affairs towards the Iranian regime states: “Behind the sanctions belies a boycott campaign. There will be an overthrowing in a soft, sophisticated and silent way,” a recent piece in the state outlet Resalat daily reads.

Ahmad Jannati, Chairman of the Guardian Council, also raised deep concerns. “[Khamenei’s] most important concern is the fear of overthrow,” and “the enemy is seeking regime change from within,” he said.

Iran won’t have the same fate as Iraq and Syria since there is an organized democratic and powerful opposition. This alternative is the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a democratic platform which the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) is the main force. On July 1st the NCRI demonstrated its strength and abilities by gathering hundreds of thousand supporters in Paris, all seeking regime change in Iran.

The NCRI demands a boycott in international diplomatic and economic relations and expelling Iranian regime representatives from international assemblies. The IRGC and affiliated proxies must also be evicted from the region.

The appeasement policy

On a side-note, the Iranian regime feeds off its lobbies’ propaganda and advocates promoting yet again the appeasement policy, aimed at justifying and legitimizing beneficial relations with Iran. The regime’s lobby argues the international community should cooperate with Tehran as there is no alternative other than war. This absurd propaganda is promoted while the IRGC has been in war in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

In same regards, US Secretory of States Rex Tillerson recently insisted on cooperation with Russia to tackle terrorism and end the Syria war.

“Iran’s military influence, the direct presence of Iranian military forces inside of Syria, they must leave and go home, whether those are Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces or whether those are paid militias, foreign fighters that Iran has brought into Syria” he said.

All evidence shows the only path to peace and stability in Iran and the Middle East is to support the NCRI and pressure Tehran through extensive sanctions.

The NCRI issued a statement welcoming the new law imposing sanctions against Iran and the Revolutionary Guards, emphasizing its immediate implementation meticulously without exception.

Furthermore, NCRI President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi underscored these sanctions must be implemented immediately against all individuals and entities involved in executing and torturing the Iranian people, especially those directly involved in the 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners.

Rajavi also emphasized that the people’s right of resistance for regime change must be recognized. She also views these collective ultimately resulting in stability and peace in the region.

Opinion: Couple US sanctions with Middle East expulsion of Iran

By: Shahriar Kia *

2017-08-01 14:38:34

    The Iranian regime is attempting to secure a corridor through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, providing a supply route for its numerous terrorist proxies in the region.
Iran’s clandestine nuclear and ballistic missile drive, support for terrorism and domestic crackdown are all aimed at maintaining the Tehran’s fascist mullahs in power and pursue their regional policies.
This notorious objective, in direct conflict with those of the regional and global coalitions to fight terrorism and extremism, can be stopped. Eviction of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and all its proxy forces from the Middle East must complete the new US Congress sanctions. With President Donald Trump signaling his approval, this first and foremost step should be taken with hesitation following the sanctions.
The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to rally major new sanctions on Iran, parallel to measures on North Korea and Russia. To impose additional sanctions on Iran’s defense sector, the House voted 419-3. Coming after three weeks of negotiations, this bill “tightens the screws on our most dangerous adversaries,” explained House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), welcomed the adoption of a bill by both chambers of the US Congress which imposes new sanctions on the Iranian regime for violating human rights and pursuing ballistic missiles.
“Since several years ago, the Iranian Resistance had urged the terrorist designation of the IRGC, as it preserves the entirety of the clerical regime and acts as its main apparatus for domestic suppression and export of terrorism and fundamentalism,” she stressed. “However, the policy of appeasing the mullahs’ religious dictatorship paved the way for the IRGC and its proxies’ rampage in the entire region.”
A look back at the pivotal role Iran played in the rise and flourishing of ISIS, parallel to sectarian conflicts in the region, will help find the right tracks for security in the region.
In 2008, a joint campaign led by the U.S. military and Iraqi Sunnis rooted al-Qaeda in Iraq, the precursor to ISIS. However, the Obama administration’s decision to pull back and deliver the country to former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, a close ally of the Iranian regime, eventually led to the unraveling of all previous achievements.
Maliki dismantled the Iraqi “Awakening Council” and gave Iran free pass to exert its full influence on Iraq’s political and military apparatus.
In tandem, the destruction and crimes committed by the IRGC and Bashar al-Assad regime against the Syrian people provided the prefect breeding ground for sectarian strife and allowed ISIS to occupy a wide swath of land straddling both countries.
The Iranian regime became the main beneficiary of the rampage caused by ISIS and subsequently used it as an excuse to expand its clout by forming and later legalizing the IRGC-equivalent Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). This entity has become notoriously renowned for its crimes against humanity, no less horrendous than those committed by ISIS.
Iran’s highest officials have time and again acknowledged funding and supporting the criminal militia forces in Iraq and Syria, expressing their vested interest in occupying neighboring countries through whatever means.
The Obama administration’s hands-off approach vis-à-vis Iran’s regional ambitions provided Tehran a far better opportunity to pursue its nefarious agendas under the pretext of fighting ISIS. Speculations raised U.S. officials on possible cooperation with Iran in the fight against terrorism only made matters worse.
Now, as ISIS is losing influence and ground, Iran is attempting to fill the gap. Letting it have its way would be a recipe for disaster, as proven in the past eight years.
Despite the threats and taunts broadcasted regularly Iran’s state media, the regime is far from capable or inclined to enter open warfare with any other state in the region or across the globe.
Tehran’s proxies are only as good as the funding and supplies the regime provides. Without IRGC support Iran’s proxies will be hard-pressed to spread their mayhem in the region.
Sanctions alone, however, will not be enough. Tehran has found ways to continue causing mischief under the toughest sanctions regime.
The threats rendered by Tehran will only end with regime change in Iran. This will initially benefit the people of Iran, being the first victims of this regime’s criminal ideology, and categorically reject its destructive foreign policy, both inside the country and abroad.
One of the greatest manifestations of the Iranian people’s desire for change was expressed at the July 1st Free Iran gathering in paris. Tens of thousands of Iranian expats as well as politicians, activists and religious figures from across the world attended the rally to express their solidarity and support for the cause of freedom and democracy in Iran.
The event had a clear message: regime change in Iran is the only viable solution for both the people of Iran and the region’s nations. There’s no need for another foreign conflict. The people of Iran and their organized resistance have the will, power and means necessary to realize this change.
Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal also addressed the massive gathering.
“So, you have coming together now a mighty coalition of forces, joining with the Resistance, and that should give us hope that we can make that [regime] change,” he stressed.


=======


*Shahriar Kia is an Iranian dissident and a political analyst on Iran and the Middle East. He is a member of the Iranian opposition and a graduate of North Texas University.

A democratic alternative to the Iranian regime – 'Free Iran' rally highlights MEK's role in Iranian resistance

During the 'Free Iran' rally in Paris on July 1, the mood was festive and clearing upbeat, as speakers discussed the movement of MEK members from Iraq to Albania.

Still, the highlight of the event was the keynote address by Maryam Rajavi, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) President-elect. She noted that there was an alternative to the current regime and its extremism.

"Since last July, the Iranian Resistance has hoisted the banner of seeking justice for the victims of the massacre of political prisoners 29 years ago, turning it into the main focus of political discourse in Iran today," said Rajavi.

She noted that in the recent Iranian elections, which many speakers called a "sham", that the slogan of the resistance was "No to the executioner, no to the charlatan". It was a slogan that was widely embraced by the Iranian people, and referenced the attempt by Khamenei to elect Raisi, a member of the death commission in the 1988 massacre.

But many of the speakers and delegations also spoke of the real possibility of regime change in Iran, as they noted major changes on the international scene. Speaker after speaker from the United States pointed to the new policies of the Trump administration, while others acknowledged the Obama administration for its efforts to remove the MEK from the terrorist list.

Rajavi said there is alternative to the Iranian regime and it is the Iranian resistance.

"It is relying on political prisoners, who reaffirmed their support recently for this gathering from the depth of their cells and dungeons. It is relying on women, workers, teachers, professionals, and selfless youths. It is relying on their unsparing love and generous support, those who barrow money and sell their houses and properties to help keep this Resistance independent, strong, and solidified," said Rajavi.

She noted that the Resistance has continued to fight for freedom and stood by what it has said and promised.

"The Iranian nation is proud to have created a democratic alternative through resistance and great suffering and sacrifice. This decisive asset,…did not exist at the time of the Shah," said Rajavi. She acknowledged that this left a vacuum that allowed the regime to grow and take root.

As part of her discussion of the Resistance, she acknowledged the contributions of Massoud Rajavi, who has been a leader in the Resistance, but also active in encouraging those in Camp Liberty to keep fighting and maintain the struggle for freedom.

YEARS INTO NUCLEAR DEAL, US POLICY ON IRAN NEEDS MAJOR MAKEOVER

YEARS INTO NUCLEAR DEAL, US POLICY ON IRAN NEEDS MAJOR MAKEOVER

byAli safavi __July marks the second anniversary of the nuclear agreement between the Iranian regime and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany. Former U.S. President Barack Obama envisioned the agreement — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)— as a potential starting point for a broader rapprochement between the ruling theocracy and the West.

Obama had insisted that with Hassan Rouhani as the regime’s “moderate” president, Tehran would begin to exhibit a more positive behavior. Now, in his second term in office, the promise of moderation under Rouhani’s leadership has proven empty. That is because Rouhani neither wants nor is capable of reform. After all, it is not the president but the supreme leader who defines the contours of the regime’s short-term and long-term strategic direction.

That the possibility of moderation in the Iranian theocracy is a total delusion was reflected in Secretary of Defense James Mattis's recent interview with Washington state’s Mercer Island High School newspaper.

Secretary Mattis dismissed the May 19 Iranian presidential election as “not really an election” and highlighted the stark differences between the ideology of the Iranian regime and the character of the Iranian people.

Still more significant, Mattis endorsed the message that had been presented to the House Foreign Affairs Committee last month by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. At a hearing, Tillerson suggested that American foreign policy should be focused first upon confronting the regime over its regional destabilization and then ultimately upon facilitating transition to a democratic system of government, driven by existing voices of opposition. The Defense secretary, too, reiterated that the Iranian regime is the most destabilizing force in the entire region. 

After 38 years of the clerical rule in Iran, the world is beginning to understand that stability in the Middle East requires the removal of the Iranian regime, known for being the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism and the only full-fledged theocracy in the modern world.

While the U.S. administration has imposed new sanctions on individuals and organizations with ties to the Iranian ballistic missile program, it is now mulling the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization.  

By highlighting elections in Iran as a sham and also the fundamental divide between the regime and the Iranian people, Secretary Mattis did undercut much of the previous administration’s rationale for futile rapprochement with the Iranian regime.

Since the regime is both unwilling and incapable of reforming itself, democratic change at the hands of the Iranian people and their organized opposition should be recognized as the only viable option to deal with Tehran’s multi-faceted nefarious conduct. Until this situation changes, nothing else about Iran will change, not even its commitment to developing a nuclear weapon as part of its bid for regional hegemony and global influence.

This is the message that was delivered to a cheering crowd of tens of thousands of Iranians at the “Free Iran” rally in Paris on July 1 by the Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi and by other international supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Rajavi used the opportunity to urge the U.S. and its allies to formally recognize the right of the Iranian people and their organized opposition to oust the dictatorship. A democratic Iran, she added, is an imperative and is within reach. An alternative that can affect change exists.

The Free Iran rally went a long way toward showcasing the depth of Iranian people’s animosity toward the regime. Media outlets reported that the event was attended by some 100,000 people, mostly Iranian expatriates, and it featured messages from domestic dissidents and accounts of the more than 10,000 known acts of protest against the regime over the past year.

It also highlighted a flurry of activities by supporters of the NCRI and its key component, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), inside Iran who are campaigning for democracy.

Two years after the nuclear deal, it is time for a serious and comprehensive Iran policy makeover based on realities on the ground. This means designating the IRGC as a terrorist entity, expelling the Iranian regime and its proxies from the region, taking effective initiatives to permanently block the Iranian regime’s path to a nuclear bomb, and recognizing the Iranian people’s right to topple the regime and establish a democratic and peace-seeking representative government that would be the source of stability and peace in the region. 

originally published in the hill

Why IRGC is enemy of Islam and a major source of terrorism

Mahyar Harsini, Special to Al Arabiya EnglishSaturday, 15 July 2017

In 1979, after decades of oppression, people in Iran courageously stood up to the Shah dictatorship and demonstrated power of the people by toppling him. But their hopes of freedom were soon crushed when Khomeini was able to deceive them with false promises to establish a bloody reign of terror, based on a state principle called velayat-e-faqih.

We must not be deceived by media outlets, which try to compare Iran’s state principle to other countries in the region. Velayat-e-faqih means that the faqih, a so-called Islamic jurist, is the custodian of all Muslims until the missing 12th Imam Mahdi reappears. By nature, he must rule not only people in Iran but Muslims all over the world and has the divine duty to give global fatwas and intervene into other nations to “free” them.

This is manifested in the preamble of the Iranian constitution of 1979 when it says: “[T]he Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) […] will be responsible not only for guarding and preserving the frontiers of the country, but also for fulfilling the ideological mission of jihad in God’s way; that is, extending the sovereignty of God’s law throughout the world”.

We can see here that one main goal of IRGC is the export of “revolution” into other countries. There can never be peace as long as the whole world has been taken over by Iran’s fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. Therefore, we see that the IRGC is meddling in different countries in the region. No other country has a similar state form as Iran with the exception of ISIS.

By nature these two ideologies are similar with the difference that Iran claims to be “Shiite” while ISIS claiming to be “Sunni”. The Saudi Crown Prince therefore has every reason to say that dialogue with such a regime is impossible.

These interpretations counter the main principles of Islam which means submission and roots in the very Arabic word peace. When we take a look at the biography of Prophet Mohammad, he was always aiming to achieve peace treaties even if disadvantaging Muslims. It’s worth mentioning that Allah sent him an Ayah for victory (Quran 48:1) not after the winning of a fight but after making a peace treaty in Hudaibiyyah. These very principles are also found in the Quran which particularly aims to make people humble and loving.

Use of force

Similarly, also according to “Shiite” interpretations of Islam, Imam Ali called for the use of force only in situations of defense and only unless a necessity exists, forbidding even further violence when the enemy is injured and defenseless and from attacking innocent bystanders. This is manifested in important Shia sources such as Nahj al-Balagha.

Most “Shiite” scholars therefore reject Khomeini’s ideology and his state principle. We can therefore clearly see that the manifestation of the IRGC’s exportation of the ‘revolution’ through violence counters the very teachings of Islam. It is because of the exportation of terror through groups such as the IRGC, al-Qaeda and ISIS that many people have a wrong perception of Islam today.

These groups are therefore enemies of Islam. They misuse the banner of religion to teach anti-religious doctrines. According to the famous cleric Ayatollah Taleghani this is the most dangerous ideology possible, because here fundamentalism is justified through higher powers.

In recent years we have unfortunately seen numerous attempts to appease the Iranian regime. The Obama administration, for economic and geopolitical reasons, followed a policy of appeasement with Iran and gave them billions of dollars that were used for sectarian policies, terror and the export of its “revolution”. Even former US Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged in an interview that Iran will use money from sanction relief for terrorism.

Qatar also helps Iran when it stroke deals and held meetings with notorious IRGC Commander Qassem Suleimani as recently in Baghdad and by spreading a pro-Iranian narrative on Al Jazeera. Therefore among other reasons Qatar is rightfully targeted by its Gulf neighbors for its involvement in global terrorism.

Economy and IRGC

Moreover according to sources from the Iranian opposition, at least 40 percent of the economy is in the hands of the IRGC. Thence many economic deals with Iran will in the end have no other result than the strengthening of the IRGC and the export of terrorism. Iran’s involvement in terror, assassinations and cooperation with terror groups such as Al Qaeda is well documented and was even mentioned by US President Donald Trump.

These failed policies of appeasement have endangered the Middle East and were a main cause for the birth of so-called ISIS. When Iran’s sectarian forces started to massacre the ‘Sunni’ community in Iraq and Syria with help from their governments, many ‘Sunnis’ by nature became more extreme and wanted to retaliate.

According to former US Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey, the positions and policies adopted by former Iraqi PM Maliki against Iraq’s Sunni community paved the path for the rise and growth of ISIS. Moreover, in a Fox News interview in November 2014, John Kerry acknowledged how Assad facilitated the release of 1,500 extremist prisoners which parallel to the release of 1,000 prisoners by Maliki in Iraq led to the foundation of ISIS.

To stop fundamentalism and sectarianism in the region, it is important to target the ultimate cause of instability. That can only happen when the international community places the IRGC on its terror lists and starts to confront it.

Western governments must no longer listen to corporations and lobbyists who try to benefit from instability but must help the rising people in Iran to topple the anti-religious regime. This will be a huge step to replace the darkness of terror that has taken hostage the people of the Middle East with the bright light of a new dawn of peace, the ultimate aim of Islam.

 

A democratic alternative to the Iranian regime – 'Free Iran' rally highlights MEK's role in Iranian resistance

A democratic alternative to the Iranian regime – 'Free Iran' rally highlights MEK's role in Iranian resistance

During the 'Free Iran' rally in Paris on July 1, the mood was festive and clearing upbeat, as speakers discussed the movement of MEK members from Iraq to Albania.

But many of the speakers and delegations also spoke of the real possibility of regime change in Iran, as they noted major changes on the international scene. Speaker after speaker from the United States pointed to the new policies of the Trump administration, while others acknowledged the Obama administration for its efforts to remove the MEK from the terrorist list.

Still, the highlight of the event was the keynote address by Maryam Rajavi, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) President-elect. She noted that there was an alternative to the current regime and its extremism.

"Since last July, the Iranian Resistance has hoisted the banner of seeking justice for the victims of the massacre of political prisoners 29 years ago, turning it into the main focus of political discourse in Iran today," said Rajavi.

She noted that in the recent Iranian elections, which many speakers called a "sham", that the slogan of the resistance was "No to the executioner, no to the charlatan". It was a slogan that was widely embraced by the Iranian people, and referenced the attempt by Khamenei to elect Raisi, a member of the death commission in the 1988 massacre.

Rajavi said there is alternative to the Iranian regime and it is the Iranian resistance.

"It is relying on political prisoners, who reaffirmed their support recently for this gathering from the depth of their cells and dungeons. It is relying on women, workers, teachers, professionals, and selfless youths. It is relying on their unsparing love and generous support, those who barrow money and sell their houses and properties to help keep this Resistance independent, strong, and solidified," said Rajavi.

She noted that the Resistance has continued to fight for freedom and stood by what it has said and promised.

"The Iranian nation is proud to have created a democratic alternative through resistance and great suffering and sacrifice. This decisive asset,…did not exist at the time of the Shah," said Rajavi. She acknowledged that this left a vacuum that allowed the regime to grow and take root.

As part of her discussion of the Resistance, she acknowledged the contributions of Massoud Rajavi, who has been a leader in the Resistance, but also active in encouraging those in Camp Liberty to keep fighting and maintain the struggle for freedom.