Iranians will be taking advantage of the May 19 presidential election to voice their apathy and respond to calls being made to boycott the so-called polls. They may also use the sham elections to spark an uprising against the regime.
The Iranian people have lost all hope in any form of real elections in Iran, knowing the theocratic regime vets all candidates based on their loyalty to the ruling establishment. This leaves no room for free and fair elections, and thus any expectation of changes inside Iran or in the regime’s foreign policy through elected officials is utterly naïve.
The United States has imposed sanctions on 30 foreign companies or individuals for transferring sensitive technology to Iran for its missile program or for violating export controls on Iran. The new sanctions imposed on entities and individuals who have assisted the Iranian regime’s missile program comprise a positive step to prevent the mullahs’ expanding missile program, which pursues no objective but warmongering and the spread of fundamentalism.
From the day after his death, members of the faction in Iran following the example set by former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani have expressed major concerns over their future.
Rafsanjani is gone and others in the same regime faction have lost their main figure in the Iranian regime’s establishment. What demands understanding, especially for those in the West, is that Iran is no democracy with two or more political parties. It is a dictatorship system similar to those dating back to the Middle Ages, with various factions seeking to further their influence and control under one ultimate leading figure.
As the new Trump administration in Washington continues to weigh how to confront Tehran’s hostilities carried out through its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), the Iranian opposition, National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) held a press conference in London on Tuesday shedding important light on methods used by the IRGC to cloak its export of terrorism and smuggling activities.
Iran’s destructive role across the Middle East has become common knowledge and crystal clear for all. During the past two decades, especially, the presence of this regime’s proxy militias and affiliated Shiite groups has been considered an overt secret. Yet the question is how has Iran been able to dispatch so many fighters, and on a constant basis, to various flashpoint scenes in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
There are serious discussions in the new U.S. administration weighing the designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist designation. This unprecedented and yet necessary step would be the signal Washington should have sent Tehran long ago.
The Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has also provided new information on the IRGC expanding its measures inside Iran to train new recruits for its proxy terrorist groups across the region and continue wreaking havoc in the already hostile Middle East flashpoint.
In a press conference on Tuesday NCRI U.S. Representative Office Deputy Director, Alireza Jafarzadeh provided new details on the IRGC’s notorious training activities. This new data was obtained by the social network of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the main NCRI coalition member, pinpointing and providing further details on IRGC bases used for such purposes.
“By means of its Revolutionary Guards Corps, the mullahs’ regime creates or at the very least expands and strengthens extremist forces, both Shia and Sunni,” he explained.
Two bills reintroduced lately in the Congress designated the (IRGC) as terrorist organizations. There is a definite necessity for the U.S. administration to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity, as peace and security across the Middle East are under the constant threat of IRGC-supported hostilities.
It is a known fact that Washington has a long of list of disputes and conflicts provoked by Tehran. The IRGC is a force of at least 120,000 armed men, and a known tactic used by IRGC generals is to repeatedly highlight the threat they pose for the west and regional states.
The highly flawed and unjustified appeasement policy vis-à-vis Iran was literally enriched by the Obama administration, allowing senior IRGC commanders describe the U.S. as a “paper tiger”.
Parallel to these alarming trends, IRGC intelligence currently holds in custody a number of American citizens specifically detained in Tehran prisons, normally held under vague charges.
The regime in Iran is also the founding father of an anti-democracy viewpoint and known to spread such a dangerous sectarian mentality amongst a conglomerate of different militia across the region trained in Iran, as explained in the recent NCRI revelations.
Through a vast apparatus of oppression, the IRGC is also known to devastate the Iranian people’s desire for freedom. This is quite vivid through the repressive measures carried out by the IRGC paramilitary Basij, particularly targeting Iranian women and youth.
And considering the IRGC’s growing and concerning grip over Iran’s economy, the blacklisting of this highly essential entity for the mullahs will curb Tehran’s ability to finance havoc-spreading measures across the Middle East.
To make it simple, in developing its Iran policy, the Trump White House should take into consideration the fact that the IRGC leadership’s words and actions are on par with that of those sitting on the throne in Tehran.
In the meantime, the Iranian regime has to this day successfully deceived the West, with the support of the pro-appeasement camp, in depicting an image of IRGC-backed hardliners against so-called moderates/reformists. This weakened any possible response by the international community and emboldened the IRGC to in fact escalate its belligerent measures.
And to those who claim the IRGC is of suicidal nature and will retaliate against U.S. administration action, they are completely out of the ballpark and most likely follow a specific lobbying effort. The IRGC fully safeguards the higher interests of the Iranian regime and a strong position adopted by Washington will most definitely result in a recalibration of their policies.
One such signal was seen when Tehran called off a second ballistic missile test scheduled for Feb. 3, involving the use of intercontinental ballistic missile components.
As Washington seeks measures to push back in the face of the Iranian regime spreading its IRGC-spearheaded chaos, the mullahs’ measures have left only the possibility of adopting an attitude based on strong and meaningful measures.
If gone unchallenged by the new U.S. administration, rest assured Tehran will continue its hellbent efforts to deepen the already disastrous situation in the Middle East and beyond, and in the process significantly threaten U.S. strategic interests.
To this end, designating the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization will most certainly deliver a major blow to the mullahs’ efforts, and place America shoulder to shoulder with the Iranian people in their plight to establish freedom, democracy, and a non-nuclear Iran through peaceful regime change.
Shahriar Kia is a political analyst and member of the Iranian opposition, the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, also known as the MEK). He graduated from North Texas University.
Senior U.S. officials are weighing the possibility of labeling Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization. Members of Congress are introducing calling for such a measure, hallmarking a significant overhaul of the U.S.-Iran policy.
Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart have proposed a new bill seeking a long overdue measure after too many people have been killed and injured through IRGC-sponsored terrorist activities. This entity, enjoying the utmost support of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, advocates an ideology of destruction against the West.
