Iranian dissidents rally in France for the overthrow of Iran’s theocracy

By The Washington Times - - Monday, July 17, 2017

VILLEPINTE, France — Thousands of supporters of an Iranian dissident group rallied here Saturday for the overthrow of Tehran’s theocratic regime at an event that featured speeches by several Trump administration allies — including Newt Gingrich and Rudolph W. Giuliani — as well as the former head of Saudi intelligence.

The boisterous event, held annually in this town just north of Paris, was organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a France-based group of Iranian exiles that brings dozens of current and former U.S., European and Middle Eastern officials together to speak out in support of regime change in Tehran.

While the Trump administration’s posture on the issue is elusive, Mr. Giuliani drew loud cheers by asserting that the new U.S. president’s view is far different from that of his predecessor, who led world powers to ease sanctions on the Islamic republic with the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord.

Mr. Trump is “laser-focused on the danger of Iran to the freedom of the world,” said Mr. Giuliani, who was perceived by many at the rally to be an emissary for Mr. Trump despite holding no formal Cabinet position in the administration.

Unlike the Obama administration, Mr. Trump “is not in a state of denial” on Iran, the former New York City mayor said.

“Iran must be free,” said Mr. Gingrich, a former House speaker who rallied the crowd by condemning Tehran’s record of human rights abuses.

The two, who were advisers to Mr. Trump’s election campaign, headed a U.S. delegation that included several former Democratic lawmakers as well as three active Republican congressmen — Reps. Ted Poe of Texas, Thomas A. Garrett Jr. of Virginia and Robert Pittenger of North Carolina.

But it was an appearance by Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, the former longtime Saudi intelligence chief, that may have been the most significant part of the rally.

“I salute you,” said the prince, who was in attendance for the second year in a row. His presence suggested that Saudi Arabia’s Sunni Muslim monarchy openly supports regime change in Iran — the Middle East’s Shiite powerhouse and Riyadh’s main rival.

Prince Turki bin Faisal’s appearance prompted speculation that the Saudis may even have helped finance the rally, although organizers flatly denied that, asserting instead that funding for the National Council of Resistance of Irancomes entirely in the form of donations from Iranians who are disgusted with the government in Tehran…

The rally was a marathon of speeches and musical performances… In attendance were more than a dozen current and former officials from EU nations, including former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner….

The most aggressive speech came from Maryam Rajavi, leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, who condemned the “religious dictatorship” of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and asserted that the regime is run by “executioners” who have imprisoned or killed tens of thousands of opposition figures since coming to power in 1979….

“Overthrow is possible and within reach,” she said. “Iranian society is simmering with discontent, and the international community is finally getting closer to the reality that appeasing the ruling theocracy is misguided.

“The only solution is regime change,” said Mrs. Rajavi, who has led the National Council of Resistance of Iran since its founder — her husband, Massoud Rajavi — went into hiding in 2003.

In an email interview with The Washington Times last year, she said the organization “represent[s] the voice of millions of Iranians who are being oppressed in their country and who seek regime change and the establishment of a democratic, pluralist and non-nuclear government based on the separation of religion and state.”

Supporters of the council say it is the most influential organization on the Iranian opposition landscape.

No one in the Iranian opposition “stands out the way the NCRI stands out” in terms of their “day to day engagement with the Iranian public,” said Ramesh Sepehrrad, a longtime Iranian-American women’s rights activist who works with George Mason University’s School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

Ms. Sepehrrad told a panel ahead of the rally that it is difficult to measure the council’s popularity inside Iran because the “regime has made the price very, very high for the Iranian people to express their support” for the movement.

“Thousands of their supporters and their family members have been executed and imprisoned by the regime,” she said.

Shahin Gobadi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s foreign affairs committee, said the group has become more active inside Iran over the past year. “People are realizing more and more, especially young people, that regime change is the only answer,” Mr. Gobadi told The Times.

• This excerpt is from a Washington Times staff-written news article that first published on July 1, 2017.

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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.