Iranian first lady Jamileh Alamolhoda arrived in Beirut on Friday in an official visit to Lebanon.
She was welcomed by Minister of Culture Mohammad Wissam El-Mortada, Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mujtaba Amani and women delegates representing Lebanese and Palestinian political parties including Hezbollah, Amal Movement and the Islamic Jihad.
“I came to Lebanon, the land of intellectuality, to convey to you the greetings of the Iranian president and my greetings to this people,” Alamolhoda, wife of President Ebrahim Raisi, said at Beirut International Airport.
“We hope that Allah protect the Lebanese youth who are backing the Palestinian resistance,” the first Iranian lady said.
She stressed that her visit is aimed at underlining solidarity with Palestinian and Lebanese resistance against the Israeli occupation.
“The Iranian youth today is learning lessons from the Palestinian and Iranian people,” she said in remarks carried by Al-Manar.
Alamolhoda then took part in a meeting held in Beirut’s southern suburb (Dahiyeh) by female delegates representing the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance, including families of Martyrs All the Way to Al-Quds, as well as different political parties in Lebanon.
“Palestine has been for long years occupied by the Zionists. (Late founder of Islamic Revlution) Imam Khomeini called for confronting hegemony since the start of the Islamic Revolution,” she addressed the meeting in Risalat.
The first Iranian lady also visited Rawdat al-Shahidain Cemetery, which holds the bodies of resistance martyrs.
On the 42nd anniversary of its victory, and at a time when the Islamic Revolution in Iran boasted of its distinct and multi-heading achievements, including strategic, political, scientific, economic, and military, etc., it faces important challenges that are not the issue of the economic war waged against it or the blockade and sanctions related to the Iranian nuclear file and the international agreement around it, at least.
Iran has chosen, since the success of its revolution and its orientation to build a truly independent state, the state enjoying its sovereign rights and investing its wealth outside the major blocs, protected by self and allied power.
On the other hand, the West viewed the Iranian independence approach as a departure from the “international order” imposed on the world after the Second World War, which is based on the idea of ”ruling the victors’ club in that war” controlling the fate and course of the world and preventing new members from entering this club except through one of the two powers.
The contrast between Iran, and the colonial system system stems from a fundamental idea, namely, Iran’s quest for a strong independent state to exercise its sovereign rights, and the rejection of the club of victors in the second war and because. Iran rejected dependency and maintained its independence and rights and extended the hand to those who were able to help who were abused in the region and the world, Iran was also attacked by a destructive war for 8 years, followed and is still by escalating and brutal manner economic war and a continuous blockade to the extent that it affects the people in most of their rights up to Food and medicine.
The economic war “sanctions” is not the result of Iran’s entry into the nuclear field and its success in making an advanced centrifugal system or enriching uranium by 20% or its ability to enrich with higher rates. All these titles and details are pretexts begged to justify the Western aggression against Iran. The real reason for the Western aggression against Iran lies in Iran’s endeavour to build a strong and independent self and its readiness to support the oppressed, especially the Palestinian people whose homeland was robbed by the Zionist entity, and therefore the policy of the West in the face of Iran is to deprive Iran of its power and resources, which can later undermine its independence and prevent it from helping those who want to return to their homeland in Palestine.
Iran has realised from the start the reality of the West’s stances towards it, its goals and strategies adopted against it, and decided to defend itself, its principles and its people and move forward to achieve its goals: independence, the exercise of all rights, building the protecting power, and adopted a defensive strategy of “long breath”, “strategic patience”, “courage in the situation” without provocation or an un-calculated challenge, but a kind of “constructive ambiguity” that does not provide the adversary with an excuse or attack.
In this environment, Iran entered the nuclear field and passed the threshold of possession of technology, announcing its attempt to use this technology for peaceful civilian and humanitarian purposes, but the West found in the subject a door and a new pretext to do more blockade measures and economic war and impose what he calls “sanctions” to tame Iran, while waving military action to destroy Iranian infrastructure not only in the nuclear field but in every area can be destroyed to prevent Iran from developing and advancing.
But Iran, in its reality and alliances, has surprised the adversary and the enemy, as it has with characteristic intelligence that it has the military power to be able to defend itself as reliably and to respond punitively and retaliatory to the aggressor, whose bases, positions and strategic positions are at the reach of Iran and under the influence of the missile system are legitimate targets for the defensive response. Iran had succeeded in preparing itself and announcing it even before it revealed its level of nuclear status.
This reality prevented the enemy Iran from committing any stupidity Israel did on the day its planes destroyed the Iraqi Tammuz reactor, and the matter passed as if it had not happened.
The agreement that led to the 5+1 negotiations with Iran on its nuclear file, which was approved by the Security Council and converted into a legitimate UN document, was not the fruit of the morals and humanity of the 5 + 1 group and its desire to solve the issue peacefully, but rather the inability of that group to resort to military force to prevent Iran from pursuing its nuclear project. That’s why the agreement on the nuclear file was a way out for all. Iran has reserved its right to follow the nuclear path within restrictions that affirm its peaceful and civilian nature and dismantle a package of sanctions imposed on it in an malicious and criminal form, and the other side affirms “a right that it claims and sees as a right Acquired »by preventing anyone else from entering the military nuclear club.
But America, working to prevent Iran from independence, strength, and supporting the oppressed, turned against the agreement and carried out the strangest behaviour that anyone could imagine. America disavows everything it has committed the sanctions remained and even tightened, Iran smartly responded, by gradually retreating from its commitments, accompanied by the demonstration of its defensive military power capable of self-defence, presence and interests.
And it appeared that regardless of who lives in the White House, Trump or Biden, the policy of the Iranian and American parties has become clear, Iran wants to exercise a right, and America wants to blackmail and prevent Iran from exercising its rights, regardless of the titles of those rights, Who will be the predominant?
Mr. Ali Khamenei answered very clearly to this question, showing that the world has entered the “post-American phase” and the rational person must explain and realise that the pioneer of persuasive patience in the world is not ready to retreat and concede to a force that has entered a phase of decline. The American empire, as we said in a previous article, is preparing for its demise and someone who strengthens and tightens his grip on the sources of power wins, and if it takes some pain while awaiting the greatest victory. Biden must know that Iran believes and trusts that it is ultimately the victor, and he should not waste time returning to the nuclear agreement because delaying will not be in his interest, and he knows that there is no solution except through this agreement. Will the media debates today be a show of strength and preparation for negotiations for America’s return to a file that Biden claims is his priority?
في الذكرى الـ 42 لانتصارها وفي الوقت الذي تفاخر فيه الثورة الإسلامية في إيران بإنجازاتها المميّزة والمتعدّدة العناوين من استراتيجية وسياسية وعلمية واقتصادية وعسكرية إلخ… فإنها تواجه تحديات هامة ليست مسألة الحرب الاقتصادية التي تشنّ عليها أو الحصار والعقوبات المرتبطة بالملف النووي الإيراني والاتفاق الدولي حولها أقلها.
لقد اختارت إيران منذ نجاح ثورتها وتوجّهها الى بناء الدولة المستقلة فعلياً، الدولة المتمتعة بحقوقها السياديّة واستثمار ثرواتها، اختارت العمل في بناء الذات وحشد الطاقات وعقد التحالفات التي تمكّنها من بناء القوة التي تمكنها من ممارسة استقلالها الحقيقيّ العمليّ بعيداً عن الاستقلال الشكليّ النظريّ الذي تعيشه معظم دول العالم خارج التكتلات الكبرى، وبالتالي كانت استراتيجيّة إيران قائمة بشكل رئيسيّ على فكرة الاستقلال الذي تحميه القوة الذاتية والتحالفية وتتمتع بالثروة وممارسة الحقوق السيادية.
وفي المقابل نظر الغرب الى النهج الاستقلالي الإيراني بأنه خروج عن «النظام الدولي» المفروض على العالم بعد الحرب العالمية الثانية والذي يقوم على فكرة «تحكم نادي المنتصرين في تلك الحرب» تحكّمه بمصير ومسار العالم ومنع دخول أعضاء جدد الى هذا النادي إلا من باب إحدى القوّتين العظميين وبعد أن تؤدّى مراسم الطاعة وتعتنق التبعية عقيدة في السلوك.
فالتباين بين إيران الثورة – الدولة المستقلة ومنظومة الغرب الاستعماري ناشئ من فكرة أساسية، هي سعي إيران لإقامة الدولة المستقلة القوية الممارسة حقوقها السيادية، ورفض نادي المنتصرين في الحرب الثانية لفكرة وجود قوة في العالم خارج سيطرته بعيداً عن قراره، ولهذا… ولأنّ إيران رفضت التبعية وتمسّكت باستقلالها وبحقوقها ومدّت اليد لمن استطاعت ان تساعده من المظلومين المعتدى عليهم في المنطقة والعالم، لأنها كذلك فقد اعتُدي عليها بحرب تدميرية لمدة 8 سنوات، ثم أتبعت ولا تزال عرضة لحرب اقتصادية وحصار مستمرّ يمارس بشكل تصاعدي وحشي الى حدّ أنه يطال الشعب في معظم حقوقه وصولاً الى الغذاء والدواء.
إنّ الحرب والحصار الاقتصادي المنفذ بما تسمّيه أميركا «عقوبات»، ليس وليد الساعة وليس نتيجة دخول إيران المجال النوويّ ونجاحها في صنع منظومة الطرد المركزي المتقدّمة او تخصيب اليورانيوم بنسبة 20% او قدرتها على التخصيب بنسب أعلى، انّ كلّ هذه العناوين والتفاصيل هي ذرائع تتوسّلها القوى الاستعارية لتبرّر حربها وحصارها لإيران، اما السبب الحقيقي للعدوان الغربي على إيران – الثورة الإسلامية فإنه يكمن في سعي إيران الى بناء الذات القوية المستقلة واستعدادها او سلوكها في نصرة المظلومين وعلى رأسهم الشعب الفلسطيني الذي سُلب وطنه على يد الكيان الصهيوني، ولذلك فإنّ سياسة الغرب تقوم في مواجهة إيران على حرمانها من القوة ومصادرها، ما يمكن لاحقاً من نسف استقلالها وإعادتها الى ربقة التبعية للغرب الاستعماري كما يحول بينها وبين مساعدة من يريد العودة الى وطنه في فلسطين.
لقد أدركت إيران منذ البدء حقيقة مواقف الغرب حيالها وأهدافه واستراتيجياته المعتمدة ضدّها، وقرّرت الدفاع عن نفسها وعن مبادئها وعن شعبها والسير قدُماً لتحقيق الأهداف التي رمت اليها الثورة الإسلامية: الاستقلال، ممارسة الحقوق كافة، بناء القوة التي تمكن من حماية ذلك، واعتمدت استراتيجية دفاعية تحكمها قواعد «النفس الطويل» و«الصبر الاستراتيجي» و«الشجاعة في الموقف» من غير استفزاز أو تحدّ غير محسوب لا بل يقترب الى نوع من «الغموض البناء» الذي لا يوفر للخصم فرصة أو ذريعة للاعتداء.
في ظلّ هذه البيئة دخلت إيران المجال النوويّ واجتازت عتبة امتلاك التقنية معلنة سعيها لاستخدام هذه التقنية للأغراض المدنية والإنسانية السلمية، لكن الغرب وجد في الموضوع باباً وذريعة جديدة للقيام بمزيد من إجراءات الحصار والحرب الاقتصادية وفرض ما يسمّيه «العقوبات» لترويض إيران، مع التلويح بالعمل العسكري لتدمير البنى التحتية الإيرانية ليس في المجال النووي فحسب بل وفي كلّ مجال يمكن تدميره لمنع إيران من التطوّر والتقدّم.
لكن إيران في واقعها وتحالفاتها فاجأت الخصم والعدو، حيث إنها وبذكاء مميّز أفهمت الآخر أنها تملك من القوة العسكرية ما يمكنها من الدفاع عن النفس بالقدر الموثوق كما ويمكنها من الردّ العقابي والثأري على المعتدي الذي تشكل قواعده ومراكزه ومواقعه الاستراتيجية التي هي في متناول اليد النارية لإيران وتحت تأثير المنظومة الصاروخية تشكل أهدافاً مشروعة للردّ الدفاعي. وكانت إيران قد نجحت في تحضير نفسها للأمر وفي الإعلان عن ذلك حتى قبل أن تكشف عن المستوى الذي وصلت إليه في المجال النووي.
هذا الواقع منع الخصم والعدو لإيران من ارتكاب أيّ حماقة تذكر بما قامت به «إسرائيل» يوم دمّرت طائراتها مفاعل تموز العراقي ومرّ الأمر وكأنه لم يحصل، لكن إيران فرضت على الجميع معادلة ردع تحميها وتمنع من الاعتداء عليها وفرضت على الآخر الذهاب الى المفاوضات لبحث الموضوع.
إنّ الاتفاق الذي أفضت اليه مفاوضات 5+1 مع إيران حول ملفها النووي، والذي صادق عليه مجلس الأمن وحوّله وثيقة أممية شرعية، لم يكن ثمرة أخلاق وإنسانية مجموعة 5+1 ورغبتها بحلّ المسألة سلمياً، بل كان نتيجة عجز تلك المجموعة عن اللجوء الى القوة لعسكرية لمنع إيران من متابعة مشروعها النووي، ولهذا شكل الاتفاق حول الملف النووي مخرجاً للجميع، إيران احتفظت بحقها في السير في المسار النووي ضمن قيود تؤكد على طبيعته السلمية المدنية وتفكّ حزمة من عقوبات فرضت عليها بشكل كيدي إجرامي، والطرف الآخر يؤكد على «حق يدّعيه ويراه حقاً مكتسباً» بمنع أحد من دخول النادي النووي العسكري سواه.
لكن أميركا التي تعمل بسياسة منع إيران من الاستقلال والقوة ونصرة المظلوم، انقلبت على الاتفاق وقامت بأغرب سلوك يمكن ان يتصوّره أحد، سلوك مضمونه ان تستمرّ إيران بالوفاء بالتزاماتها في الاتفاق وأن تتنصل أميركا من كلّ ما التزمت به وان تبقي العقوبات لا بل تتشدّد فيها، وكان الردّ الإيراني الذكي بالتراجع المتدرج عن تلك الالتزامات، تراجع ترافق مع إظهار القوة العسكرية الدفاعية والقادرة على الدفاع عن النفس وجوداً ومصالح.
وظهر أنه وبصرف النظر عمن يسكن البيت الأبيض ترامب الخارج على الاتفاق ام بايدن الذي يوحي بأنه يريد العودة إليه بشروط، ان سياسة الطرفين الإيراني والأميركي باتت واضحة، إيران تريد ممارسة حق، وأميركا تريد الابتزاز ومنع إيران من ممارسة حقوقها وبصرف النظر عن عناوين تلك الحقوق، فلمن تكون الغالبة؟
لقد أجاب السيد علي الخامنئي بوضوح كلي على السؤال هذا، مظهراً انّ العالم دخل «مرحلة ما بعد أميركا» وعلى العاقل أن يفسّر وان يدرك أنّ رائد الصبر الاستدراجي في العالم غير مستعدّ للتراجع والتنازل أمام قوة دخلت مرحلة الأفول، فالإمبراطورية الأميركية كما قلنا في مقالة سابقة تتأهّب للزوال ويفوز من يشدّ ويُحكم قبضته على مصادر قوته وانْ تطلب الأمر تحمّل بعض الألم وهو ينتظر النصر الأكبر، وعلى بايدن أن يعرف انّ إيران تعتقد وتثق بأنها في نهاية المطاف هي المنتصرة وعليه ان لا يضيّع وقتاً في العودة للاتفاق النووي لأنّ التأخير لن يكون في مصلحته، وهو يعلم ان لا سبيل للحلّ إلا بالاتفاق هذا وليس متاحاً اليوم شيء سواه . فهل تكون السجالات الإعلامية اليوم عرضاً للقوة وتحضيراً للتفاوض لعودة أميركا الى ملف يدّعي بايدن بأنه يشكل أولوية لديه؟ ام النزعة الاستعمارية والتمسك بالعنجهية الأميركية والعداء ضدّ إيران سيطيح هذه الأولوية؟ إنها أسابيع قليلة ويأتي الجواب؟
This is Part 3 of the series “Follow the Trail of Blood and Oil”.
Part 1 is a historical overview of Iran’s long struggle with Britain’s control over Iranian oil and the SIS-CIA overthrow of Iran’s Nationalist leader Mosaddegh in 1953.
Part 2 covers the period of the Shah’s battle with the Seven Sisters, the 1979 Revolution and the Carter Administration’s reaction, which was to have immense economic consequences internationally, as a response to the hostage crisis.
In this article it will be discussed why, contrary to what we are being told, Iran’s fight for the right to develop nuclear energy will create stability and prosperity in the Middle East rather than an “arc of crisis” scenario.
From Arc of Crisis to Corridors of Development
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani became President of Iran on August 16th 1989 and served two terms (1989-1997). Rafsanjani, who is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the Islamic Republic, began the effort to rebuild the country’s basic infrastructure, after the ravages of the Iran-Iraq War and launched a series of infrastructure projects not only domestically but in cooperation with neighbouring countries. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Rafsanjani moved to establish diplomatic relations with the newly independent Central Asian Republics, forging economic cooperation agreements based on building transportation infrastructure.
The major breakthrough in establishing this network came in May 1996 (after a 4 year construction) with the opening of the Mashhad-Sarakhs-Tajan railway, which provided the missing link in a network connecting landlocked Central Asian Republics to world markets, through Iran’s Persian Gulf ports.
At the historical launching of the railway, Rafsanjani was quoted as saying the expansion of communications, roads and railway networks, and hence access to world markets can “enhance amity, confidence and trust among governments and lead to mutual understanding and greater solidarity…The recent global developments demonstrate the world is moving toward greater regional cooperation, and regionally coordinated economic growth and development will consolidate peace and stability and pave the way for enhancement of international relations.”
In addition, at the end of Dec 1997, a 125 mile pipeline between Turkmenistan and northeast Iran was opened, gaining access to one of the largest untapped energy reserves in the world, the Caspian Sea Basin, designed to carry 12 billion cubic feet of natural gas a year.
Rafsanjani was fully aware of the Arc of Crisis prophecy that the U.S. was trying to convince the international community of, that basically, the Middle East was full of savages and would become a hot-bed for Soviet terrorism if left alone. It was also understood that Iran’s geographic location was the linchpin in determining not only Middle East geopolitics, but Eurasian relations.
To counteract this “prophecy”, which was in fact a “vision” for the Middle East, Rafsanjani understood that economic development and cooperation with Iran’s neighbours was key to avoiding such chaos.
In 1996, Rafsanjani founded the Executives of Construction of Iran Party, along with 16 members of cabinet, dedicated to Iran’s increasing participation in world markets and industrialization with emphasis on progress and development. The party’s view is that economic freedom is linked to cultural and political freedom.
Rafsanjani publicly supported Khatami as the next president- a highly influential and significant move.
Khatami’s Call for a “Dialogue Amongst Civilizations”
Mohammad Khatami became President of Iran on the 3rd August 1997 and served two terms (1997-2005). He was elected by an overwhelming majority (69% in 1997 and 77.9% in 2001) with a record voter turnout and was extremely popular amongst women and young voters. There was much optimism that Khatami’s presidency would not only bring further economic advances for Iran, but also that Iran’s international relations could begin to mend with the West and end Iran’s economic isolation.
It was Khatami who would first propose the beautiful concept “Dialogue Amongst Civilizations” and delivered this proposal at the UN General Assembly in September 1998 with the challenge that the first year of the millennium be dedicated to this great theme. It was endorsed by the UN.
You may be inclined to think such a concept fanciful, but Khatami was actually proposing a policy that was in direct opposition to the “crisis of Islam” and “clash of civilizations” geopolitical theories of Bernard Lewis and Samuel P. Huntington. Khatemi understood that to counteract the attempt to destabilise relations between nations, one would have to focus on the common principles among different civilizations, i.e. to identify a nation’s greatest historical and cultural achievements and build upon these shared heritages.
This is the backbone to what China has adopted as their diplomatic philosophy, which they call win-win cooperation and which has led to the creation of the BRI infrastructure projects, which are based on the recognition that only through economic development can nations attain sustainable peace. Italy would be the first in Europe to sign onto the BRI.
In 1999 Khatami would be the first Iranian president, since the 1979 Revolution, to make an official visit to Europe. Italy was the first stop, where Khatami had a long meeting with Pope John Paul II and gave an inspiringly optimistic address to students at the University of Florence.
Khatami stated his reason for choosing to visit Italy first was that they shared in common renaissance heritages (the Italian and Islamic Renaissances). Since the two nations had made significant contributions to contemporary civilization, an immense potential existed for a strategic relationship. It was also significant that Italy had never had a colonial presence in the Middle East. During his visit, Khatami had suggested that Italy could function as the “bridge between Islam and Christianity”.
Khatami further elaborated on the concept of a “bridge between Islam and Christianity” in an interview published by La Republica:
“To delve into past history without looking at the future can only be an academic diversion. To help human societies and improve the condition of the world, it is necessary to consider the present state of relations between Asian, in particular Muslim, countries, and Europe…Why do we say, in particular, Muslim? Because Islam is Europe’s next door neighbor; unlike individuals, nations are not free to choose or change neighbors. Therefore, apart from moral, cultural, and human reasons, out of historical and geographical necessity, Islam and Europe have no choice but to gain a better and more accurate understanding of each other, and thus proceed to improve their political, economic, and cultural relations. Our future cannot be separated from each other, because it is impossible to separate our past.”
In June 2000, Khatami made a state visit to China with a 170 member delegation. In a lecture delivered at Beijing University Khatami stated:
“Even if one were to rely solely on historical documents we can still demonstrate the existence of uninterrupted historical links between China and Iran as early as the third century BC. [The historic Silk Road was the vehicle of cultural exchange where] we can observe a striking spectrum of cultural and spiritual interchanges involving religions, customs, thoughts, literature and ethics, which on the whole, added to the vitality and vivacity of eastern culture and thought…[and that] the Chinese outlook has been instrumental in opening up the way to the fruitful and constructive historical discourses throughout the ages, due to its emphasis on the intellectual over the political, in an attempt to epitomize wisdom, temperance and parsimony…Emphasis on our long standing close historical ties and dialogue among the great Asian civilizations, is a valuable instrument for the regenerating of thought, culture, language, and learning…in Asian civilizations, culture has always been the core of the economic and political process…[and] therefore, we are compelled to give a more serious thought to the revival of our cultures…”
Khatami concluded with “The future belongs to the cultured, wise, courageous and industrious nations.”
Dr. Strangelove and the “Islamic Bomb”
The U.S. was not always so antagonistic to Iran’s right to sovereignty. In 1943, President Roosevelt created the Iran Declaration which was signed by both Stalin and Churchill at the Tehran Conference, effectively ending Iran’s occupation by foreign powers.
In 1957, following Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” initiative, the U.S. and Iran signed the “Cooperation Concerning Civil Uses of Atoms” which led to the 1959 creation of the Tehran Nuclear Research Center. And in 1960, first generation Iranian scientists were trained at MIT. In 1967, the U.S. supplied Iran with a 5 megawatt research reactor and enriched uranium fuel!
The reason why the relationship went sour, as Washington incessantly repeats, is that Iran is no longer trustworthy after the hostage crisis debacle shortly after the 1979 Revolution. The U.S., confident on their high horse, has felt justified ever since to dictate to Iran how they should run their nation.
Funny that it is hardly ever mentioned in the same breath that the U.S. was directly involved in the illegal removal of Iran’s Prime Minister Mosaddegh in 1953 who had successfully nationalised Iran’s oil and purged the nation of its British imperialist infestation.
Iran had proceeded in accordance with international law and won the case for nationalising Iran’s oil at The Hague and UN Security Council, against the British who were claiming their company “rights” to Iran’s resources. When Britain humiliatingly lost both high profile cases, Britain and the U.S. proceeded to implement TPAJAX and illegally overthrew the constitutional government of Iran, removing Mosaddegh as Prime Minister and installing an abiding puppet in his place.
Despite this, the U.S. acts as if it were justified in its incredibly hostile 40 year foreign policy towards Iran, largely over a hostage crisis (to which all hostages were safely returned home), and which was likely purposefully provoked by the U.S. as a pretext to sabotaging the European Monetary System (see my paper on this).
If Iran can forgive what the U.S. did to throw their country into disarray and keep their beloved leader Mosaddegh locked away as a political prisoner for the rest of his life, who was even refused a proper burial (1), then the U.S. government is in no position to harbour such distrust and hatred over the distant past.
Although Iran is also incessantly accused of alleged terrorist activity, there is not one international court case to date that has actually provided evidence to follow through with such charges. What is standing in the way of this occurring if Iran’s crimes are apparently so immense and far reaching and are a matter of international security, as the U.S. government frequently protests?
These alleged terrorist accusations seem to be based in the same form of “reasoning” behind the incessant accusations that Iran is planning on building an “Islamic Bomb”. In 2007, under the fanatical neoconservative Dick Cheney (via operation Clean Break), the U.S. came very close to invading Iran on the pretext that Iran was actively working towards such a goal.
These threats occurred despite the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), ElBaradei, insisting that Iran was cooperating with the IAEA demands in accordance with NPT standards and that there was no evidence to support that Iran was working on nuclear weapons. In fact, ElBaradei was so upset over Washington’s threats of war that he took to the press daily to emphasise that Iran was cooperating fully and there was no evidence to justify an invasion.
However, it wouldn’t be until the release of the National Intelligence Estimate on Dec 3, 2007 that Cheney’s fantasy was finally dashed against the rocks. Within the NIE report, which was produced by American intelligence agencies, it was made crystal clear that Iran in fact had no military nuclear program since at least 2003 but possibly even further back. It was also no secret that the only reason why the report was made public was because members of the American intelligence community made it known that they were willing to go to the press about it, even if it meant ending up in prison.
Incredibly, Bush’s response to the press over this news was “Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous, and Iran will continue to be dangerous…”
Looking past the absurdity of Bush’s statement that Iran is dangerous, only 5 years after the illegal invasion of Iraq, justified by cooked British Intelligence, and the very real attempt to invade Iran in turn over fabricated accusations, the issue is in fact nothing to do with what Washington is claiming is their problem with Iran.
Atoms for Peace or Nuclear Apartheid?
The real “problem” with Iran is that it has become a great thorn in the “arc of crisis” game-plan. Despite Iran once being flooded with MI6, CIA and Israeli Mossad operatives, the Iranians have been largely successful in purging their nation of this infestation. Iran is thus refusing to be the west’s geopolitical linchpin. The more autonomous and prosperous Iran becomes, the greater the thorn.
The assassination of Gen. Maj. Soleimani in Jan 2020, was meant to be nothing less than a blatant provocation, as Bolton giddily tweeted, to cause Iran to take a misstep that would have justified a U.S. invasion and allowed for a reboot of the “arc of crisis”, flooding the country with actual terrorist groups, following the Iraq and Libyan models.
The real “threat” of Iran was expressed clearly when then President Bush Jr. visited the Middle East in Jan 2008 in an attempt to organise Arab states to offer their territory for U.S. military aggression against Iran. What he received as a response whether in Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE or Saudi Arabia was a resounding no.
The Al-Riyadh newspaper, which represents the views of the Saudi government, went so far as to state “We refuse to be used to launch wars or tensions with Iran…If the president [of the U.S.] wants to obtain the solidarity of all the Arabs…he must focus, rationally, on the most important issue which is the question of peace.”
Overlapping Bush’s visit, the Foreign Minister of Iraq joined with the Iranian Foreign Minister at a Tehran press conference to announce: “My country knows who is our friend and who is our enemy, and Iran is our friend.”
It is clear that despite the attempts to bring these nations to each other’s throats, the jig is up, and the tyrannical presence of the U.S. military in the Middle East is only going to unite these countries further. There will be no T.E. Lawrence organising of a Bedouin tribe this time around.
It is understood that if Iran were permitted to enter the world markets unhindered and to develop nuclear energy to sufficiently provide for its people, then Iran would become one of the top countries in the world. And as their Arab neighbours recognise, this would bring not only wealth and prosperity to their nations in turn, but the very much desired peace and security.
Iran as an economic powerhouse would also certainly align itself with Russia and China, as it has already begun, due to their common philosophy oriented in a multipolar governance frame emphasised by a win-win idea of economic cooperation. This alliance would naturally draw India, Japan and notably western Europe into its economic framework like the gravitational pull of a sun, and would result in the termination of the NATO-U.S. military industrial complex by ending the divide between east and west politics.
The fight for nuclear energy has always been about the fight for the right to develop one’s nation. And economic development of regions, such as the Middle East, is key to achieving sustainable peace. The reason why most countries are not “granted” this right to use nuclear power is because they are meant to remain as “serf” countries under a unipolar world order. Additionally, amongst the “privileged” countries who have been given the green light to possess uranium enrichment facilities, they are being told that they now need to shut down these nuclear capabilities under a Green New Deal.
This unipolar outlook was made evident by the Bush Administration’s attempt to assert guidelines that no country should be allowed to enrich uranium even to the low levels required for fuel for nuclear electric power plants, unless it is already in the U.S. dominated “Nuclear Suppliers Group”. All other nations would only be permitted to purchase power plant fuel from these “supplier” countries…with political conditions of course.
Everyone knows that oil revenues are not reliable for financing economic growth and Venezuela is a stark example of this. By limiting countries in the Middle East to oil as the main revenue, an incredibly volatile economic situation for the entire region is created, in addition to a complete subservience to “oil geopolitics”. Every nation has the right to defend itself against economic warfare by diversifying and stabilising its economy, and nuclear energy is absolutely key.
In British-based financial oligarchism, which is what runs the City of London (the financial center of the world for over 400 years to this day), the essential policy outlook which lurks behind the international oil cartels, is that who controls the oil, gas, strategic minerals, and food production will ultimately control the world, after the mass of paper values of a dying financial system have been swept away.
When facing mortal danger, its people unite, harden themselves and get ready to face invaders, no matter how threatening they might be.
Iran is home to one of the oldest and deepest cultures in the world, and it’s precisely this culture that helps Iranian people to survive the most frightening moments.
And one such moment is sadly, right now.
US battleships are sailing right next to the Iranian territorial waters. One mistake, one false move, and war could erupt, engulfing the entire region in flames. Iran is a proud nation, and it takes its independence extremely seriously.
Right now, the country is facing one of the most unjust embargos in human history. It is being punished for nothing; or more precisely, for sticking to all the points of the agreement called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) also known as The Iran Nuclear Deal, which it signed in 2015 with China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany, and which the United States abandoned, without providing any logical explanation. While not particularly happy about the U.S. withdrawal; Germany, France and U.K. are doing all they can not to anger their senior partner, and its leaders in Washington.
Add COVID-19, and inability of the country, due to sanctions, to buy medical equipment, at least in the West, and you have the perfect scenario for a national calamity and even for imminent collapse.
Or more precisely, anywhere else this would be the case, but not in Iran!
After receiving terrible blows from the West, one after another, Iran has never fallen to its knees. It has never abandoned its internationalist and socialist course (socialist, with Iranian characteristics), and it has preserved its dignity.
What it has managed to achieve is amazing, nothing short of heroic, given the circumstances.
If you look at the latest, 2019 HDI (Human Development Index, compiled and published by the UNDP), Iran is in the High Human Development bracket, and only 3 steps from the Highest Human Development group of countries. Which is thoroughly amazing, given the above-mentioned sanctions, embargos and constant military intimidations.
Whenever I visit Iran, I am astonished by its public spaces, cultural institutions, public transportation, fountains, comfortable trains… The country is functioning well, showing incredible grace under pressure. Its television channel – PressTV – is one of the most important anti-imperialist news outlets in the world. I don’t see extreme misery, or homelessness, there. Iranians are polite, well-educated and proud. They have to deal with complex exchange rates, which I do not understand. Whenever I pay in a café or taxi, I simply extend my hand full of local currency, and I never get cheated. Things are solid and reassuring there; I feel it and really appreciate it.
Iran is an internationalist country. Not unlike Cuba or Venezuela, who are its long-term allies. Even when injured, itself, it helps others, those who need solidarity even more. This can never be forgotten, particularly in places like Latin America, or Syria.
Hezbollah, Iran’s close ally in the Middle East, is fighting the most dangerous terrorist groups in Syria; those groups that have been injected there by the West, but also by Washington’s allies, such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey. But Hezbollah is also essentially the only social net for the poor in Syria’s neighbor – Lebanon. And not only for the Shi’a Muslims, but also for the disadvantaged Sunni citizens, for the Christians, and non-believers. Whoever is destitute in Lebanon, comes to Hezbollah, for assistance. I was based in Beirut for five years, and I know what I am talking about. All this, while the Lebanese elites are burning money in Paris, in Nice, in the nightclubs of Beirut, driving their lavish cars through the slums. And the more Iran and Hezbollah help the region, the more frustrated, outraged and aggressive the West gets.
Look at Palestine. When it comes to the liberation of the Palestinian people from the long and brutal Israeli occupation, the Gulf countries just talk and talk. In the end, some of them side with the West and Israel. The closest, the most determined allies of the long-suffering Palestinian people in the region, are, without doubt, Iran and Syria. That, everybody in the Middle East, knows, and it is only “a secret” to Westerners.
In Afghanistan, particularly in Herat, I witnessed long lines of Afghan people in front of the Iranian consulate. Devastated by the NATO occupation, Afghanistan is in despair, rated as a country with the shortest life expectancy in Asia, and the lowest Human Development Index (HDI) on the Asian continent. Tens of thousands of Afghan people have been traveling to Iran in search of jobs. Without Iran, Herat would most likely starve to death. And now, Iran is searching for ways, (together with China and Russia), how to help Afghanistan to find a political solution, and send the NATO forces packing.
For years, all the Socialist countries of Latin America, could always rely on Iran. Be it Bolivia, before the legitimate government of Evo Morales was overthrown, or Cuba and especially Venezuela. Iran has been building social housing, it was helping with oil technology, and with many other social essentials.
Iraq and Iran, two great nations, in the past brutally pitched against each other by Washington, are once again cooperating, working together. The Western occupation has already thoroughly ruined Iraq (as it has ruined Afghanistan), historically one of the richest countries in the region. However, more positively Iran gets involved in neighboring Iraq, the more aggressively the West behaves. It now habitually crosses all the lines of acceptable behavior. In January 2020, a U.S. drone strike murdered Iran’s national hero, General Quasem Soleimani, while he was traveling right near the Baghdad International Airport.
For years now, Iran has been standing shoulder to shoulder with Russia, China, Syria, Venezuela and Cuba; the nations which are openly and bravely deterring the aggression and brutality of Western imperialism.
It seems that no matter what the West tries to do, Iran cannot be broken. Despite the embargos and sanctions, it demonstrates that it is capable of producing and shooting satellites into space, or of producing its own medical equipment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. While the nation creates its great scientific and technological achievements, Iranian filmmakers keep producing their cinematic masterpieces. What a nation!
Unfortunately, all this is hidden from the eyes and ears of the public, both in the West, and in the client states. There, Iran is portrayed as a “threat”.
Look at this irony. On April 30, 2020, Reuters released a report about the German move to ban Hezbollah:
“Last December, Germany’s parliament approved a motion urging Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to ban all activities by Hezbollah on German soil, citing its “terrorist activities” especially in Syria.
On a trip to Berlin last year, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped Germany would follow Britain in banning Hezbollah. Britain introduced legislation in February of last year that classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.”
When the West says “Terrorist activities, especially in Syria”, what it really means is “fighting the terrorism injected by the West and its allies, into Syria”. Everything is twisted, perverted and turned upside-down by the propaganda outlets operating out of the United States, Europe, Israel and the Gulf.
“Terrorist activities” outside Syria, also means supporting the Palestinian struggle for independence, as well as at least moral support for Syria, in its attempts to regain the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, an occupation which has never been recognized, even by the United Nations. It also means helping Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Latin American countries, which are brutalized (or should we say ‘terrorized’), relentlessly, by Washington and its allies.
This is precisely the logic and lexicon which was used by German propagandists during WWII, to describe resistance forces in its colonies. Freedom fighters and partisans were labeled as terrorists, in France, Yugoslavia, Ukraine.
Even the otherwise mainstream newspaper – The Independent – published on May 1, 2020 a report critical of the bizarre US scheming against Iran:
“The United States is pushing ahead with a scheme to extend a United Nations arms embargo on Iran that is due to be lifted in October as part of the nuclear deal that Washington abandoned two years ago.
To force the extension, Washington will attempt to lobby the Security Council to continue the arms embargo, which bars weapons sales to or from Iran.
But it also is making what legal experts and diplomats describe as a convoluted argument that it is still part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action it left, and hence able to use one of its provisions to “snapback” the embargo.”
This weird political somersault has been, according to The Independent, criticized even by one of Washington’s allies, the French President Emmanuel Macron:
“China and Russia have already vowed to use any means to block the US plan. France’s Emmanuel Macron has been working behind the scenes to sabotage the Trump scheme because of what it sees as an attempt by the White House to destroy international legal norms, said a well-placed European diplomat.”
France, the UK, Germany and other EU countries are not necessarily happy with Washington’s foreign policy towards Iran, but their outrage is far from being moral indignation. Iran is big and it is far from being poor. European companies are losing billions of euros in trade, because of the sanctions. For instance, in the recent past, two Iranian airlines were ready to purchase large numbers of brand-new Airbus aircraft, in order to compete with Qatar Airways and the Emirates. Such plans collapsed, because of the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, and the almost immediate imposition of new, senseless but brutal sanctions against Teheran. Now even Mahan Air, a civilian airline, is facing sanctions, allegedly because of its flights to Venezuela, and to several Middle Eastern destinations.
Now, many are perhaps wondering, what triggered, in the West, such hate towards Iran?
There is a well-hidden (again, in the West) secret regarding Iran: “It is a Socialist country. Socialist with Iranian characteristics.”
In his latest and by all means ground-breaking book about Iran (“Socialism’s Ignored Success: Iranian Islamic Socialism”), which our publishing house Badak Merah will be publishing later in May 2020, an Iranian author and the PressTV Paris chief correspondent, Ramin Mazaheri, passionately defends the Iranian socialist concept:
“I think that if open-minded leftists would simply become aware of the facts and… modern socialist interpretations of Iran’s policies – many of which I’m sure are being presented in English for the first time – I’m sure that they would not be waiting breathlessly for the collapse of the Middle East’s greatest bulwark against imperialism and capitalism.
It is urgent that Western leftists understand that the reversal of Iran’s popular, democratic revolution would have incredibly negative ramifications for the anti-imperialist movement in the Middle East, and thus the global anti-imperialist movement, and it certainly would be the cruelest loss for Islamic Socialism, which is taken quite seriously in the Muslim world even if atheistic Trotskyism cannot even discuss the concept without resorting to insults.
And, of course, a counter-revolution in Iran would be a major blow for global democracy, as there is no doubt that the Iranian People support their revolution, constitution and unique system in a democratic majority.”
Like Russia and China in Euro Asia and in Asia, like Venezuela, Cuba and before the coup, Bolivia, Iran is spreading hope and revolutionary optimism in its entire part of the world. And it is an extremely wounded part of the world, where hope is absent, but desperately needed.
Spreading hope – that is never forgiven by the Western empire, which, like some gigantic and sadistic prison warden, constantly demands submission, while spreading depression and fear.
In the entirety of modern history, Iran has never invaded, never attacked anyone. Iran is a peaceful nation. But at the same time, it is a powerful, brave and proud country.
The United States and its turbo-capitalist regime understand brutal force, only. They do not comprehend, do not appreciate cultural nuances, let alone depth. Pity! There is so much to learn from Iran and its culture.
Iran will not attack anyone, that is clear as is proven by history. But if physically confronted, it will defend itself, and its people. It will fight, well and bravely.
The West should know: if it triggers a war with Iran, the entire Middle East will be consumed by terrible fire.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei made a statement in which he stressed that “the American plot of the ‘Deal of the Century’ will die before US President Donald Trump dies.
Imam Khamenei made the statement as he received thousands of people from various groups at the Hussayniyeh of Imam Khomeini this morning, February 5th, 2020 ahead of the 41st anniversary of the victory of the Islamic revolution.
His Eminence stated that “The US arrogant powers unveiled a scheme dubbed ‘Deal of the Century’ and were wishing that is comes true by choosing a catchy name for it,” noting however that first of all it was a stupid step. Second, Imam Khamenei said: “It indicates betrayal; and third, this scheme will harm them in the first place.”
Imam Khamenei explained that this step is stupid because the scheme is doomed to failure, stressing that it will die before Trump does, adding that the calls to take part in unveiling it, making a noise about it and investing in a scheme that won’t be achieved is a stupid action.
Imam Khamenei went on to say that it is a sign on the Americans’ cunning because they made a deal with the Zionists in a matter that concerns the Palestinians.
Imam Khamenei addressed the Americans and Zionists by stressing that Palestine belongs to the Palestinians. He then asked them: Who are you to make decisions related to Palestine?
This step has turned against them since day one. Unlike the arrogant powers’ efforts to make Palestine forgotten, this step revived the Palestinian Cause in the entire world, Imam Khamenei said.
His Eminence further tressed that we shouldn’t care fro four traitor Arab presidents who have lost their qualification and position among their peoples.
During his speech, Imam Khamenei urged all those who care for Iran and its security to take part in the upcoming elections.
تتضاعف الأسباب التي تجعل من إيران جزءاً أساسياً من معادلة الدفاع عن الشرق الأوسط. وتؤكد على دورها المحوري والمركزي فيه.
هذا استنتاج واقعيّ بعد زمن عاصف تجتازه الجمهورية الإسلامية في إيران منذ انتصار ثورتها في 1979، متواصلاً حتى الآن على شكل صراع إيرانيّ مع كل من الأميركيين والإسرائيليين في سورية والعراق ولبنان، والخليج وسط حصار أميركي مضروب عليها، اقتصادياً وسياسياً، تنتابه اعتداءات عسكرية أميركية وإسرائيلية ومحاولات خنق باستعمال النفوذ الأميركي العالمي لمنع معظم الدول من إقامة علاقات اقتصادية معها، وكل أنواع العلاقات.
ابتدأ هذا الصراع الإيراني ـ الأميركي بعد نجاح الإمام الخميني بإسقاط شاه إيران رأس المعادلة الأميركية في الشرق الأوسط وشرطي الخليج في 1979 .
لقد كان واضحاً أن برنامج عمل هذه الثورة يستهدف النفوذ الأميركي في إيران على قاعدة إسلامية، وبما ان الإسلام دين أممي، فكان طبيعياً ان ينتقل صدى النجاح الإيراني الى الإقليم العربي المجاور وآسيا الوسطى..
وهذه معاقل أميركية اساسية خصوصاً في انحائها التركية والإسرائيلية والمصرية والسعودية ـ الخليجية، وهي كبرى المعاقل في المنطقة.
هناك نقطتان اضافيتان تجب الإشارة اليهما، وهما تزامن الثورة الإيرانية، مع استسلام السادات الرئيس المصري السابق لـ”إسرائيل” في اتفاقية كمب ـ دايفيد 1979، وما أدت إليه من انسحاب مصر من الصراع العربي ـ الإسرائيلي وتحوّلها حليفاً كاملاً لـ”إسرائيل” وآلية أميركية.
أما النقطة الثانية فهي تراجع أهمية الاتحاد السوفياتي بسبب خسارة حرب افغانستان وإصابته بإرهاق بنيوي في حروب الايديولوجيا والتسلح بمواجهة الأميركيين والأوروبيين، ما جعل إيران وحيدة في صراعها مع الأميركيين واعوانهم الشرق الأوسطيين، هؤلاء الذين استعملوا ضدها كل قواهم لإسقاط دولتها، من تحشيد طائفي ومذهبي الى تمويل وتدريب لبعض المجموعات الإيرانية الداخلية وصولاً إلى شنّ حرب عليها بلبوس عراقي من صدام حسين مدعوم أميركياً وخليجياً وأوروبياً وإسرائيلياً، كان المطلوب استئصال إيران الإسلامية للاستفراد بعملية تفتيت الشرق الأوسط على نحو يبقى فيه تحت النفوذ الأميركي ـ الغربي قروناً طويلة.
إن انهيار الاتحاد السوفياتي في 1989 وتفرّغ الصين لتطوير امبراطوريتها الاقتصادية جعلا الأميركيين يستعجلون في عملية الأطباق على الشرق الاوسط، مدمّرين العراق منذ تسعينيات القرن الماضي الى أن احتلوه في 2003 بعد سيطرتهم على افغانستان في 2001، فركبوا على عجل مشروع الشرق الأوسط الجديد الذي يهدف إلى إعادة تقسيم دوله إلى كانتونات مذهبية وعرقية تسحب حيويتها ومصادر قواها.
لتنفيذ الخطة، استعمل الأميركيون طريقة الاحتلال المباشر والتدخلات العسكرية ومئات آلاف الإرهابيين، مكلفين بإدارتهم وتأمين ما يحتاجون اليه من سلاح وتدريب واعمال لوجيستية، كلاً من قطر والسعودية وتركيا والإمارات باعتراف وزير قطر السابق حمد بن تميم.
هنا، كانت إيران بمفردها بالمرصاد وسط غياب روسي، وصل إلى حدود التواطؤ في مرحلة الرئيس الروسي السابق يلتسين، فعملت على رعاية حزب الله تسليحاً وتدريباً وتمويلاً وربما أكثر، حتى نجح في تحرير جنوب لبنان رادعاً “إسرائيل” في أكثر من مرحلة.
كما جابهت الثورة الإيرانية المشروع الأميركي في سورية والعراق بدعم مفتوح للدولة السورية والحشد الشعبي في العراق اللذين انتصرا على المنظمات الإرهابية المحشدة لمئات ألاف العناصر.
هؤلاء استعملوا الحدود التركية والأردنية لاحتلال ثلاثة أرباع سورية والعراق، ولولا التحالف الذي جمع حزب الله والحشد الشعبي العراقي والدولة السورية مع إيران، لكان معظم الشرق الاوسط تحت سيطرة داعش والنصرة. هناك ثلاث نقاط اضافية أسهمت بنيوياً في حماية الشرق الاوسط وأولها الدعم الإيراني للقضية الفلسطينية في الداخل المحتل وبين اللاجئين الفلسطينيين في الدول المحيطة.
ها هو قائد منظمة حماس إسماعيل هنية يعترف بأن دعم إيران لمنظمته في غزة أدّى إلى صمود القطاع ومنع انهيار القضية، خصوصاً بعد انهيار سلطة محمود عباس في الضفة الغربية المحتلة، وتخليها عن تحرير فلسطين مقابل كانتون صغير.
أما الثانية فهي اليمن الذي تسانده إيران تسليحاً وتدريباً وتمويلاً في وجه حرب مستمرّة تشنها عليه السعودية والإمارات والاخوان المسلمون بتأييد أميركي ـ غربي إسرائيلي تركي منذ خمس سنوات متواصلة ومستمرة.
هذا اليمن اليوم يسجل النصر تلو الآخر ساحقاً القوات المهاجمة المغطاة بمقاتلات أميركية وإسرائيلية، بما يؤكد هزيمة المشروع الأميركي في اليمن والعراق.
أما النقطة الثالثة فهي في آسيا الوسطى حيث حاول الأميركيون استخدامها للنيل من إيران، فعلى جبهة البلوتش تلك الأقلية الموجودة على الحدود الباكستانية الإيرانية، فقد تمكّن الإيرانيون من إجهاض الاستعمال الأميركي ـ الخليجي لأدوار تخريبية لها داخل إيران بالصدام المباشر معها أو بالتنسيق مع باكستان.
كما أجهضت إيران المشروع السعودي ـ الإماراتي بتحريض طالبان الأفغانية عليها، وتمكنت من بناء خطوط اتصال وتأثير على القيادة الأفغانية، حتى أصبح لطهران نفوذ في باكستان أقوى من الاحتلال الأميركي فيها.
وهو نفوذ يجمع بين علاقات مع قيادات في الدولة الأفغانية ومنظمة طالبان والهزارة الأفغان المقيمين غرب حدودها.
بذلك تكون إيران قد تمكنت من تأمين حدودها مع العراق وتركيا وباكستان وأفغانستان بشكل كامل، ونجحت في دعم الخط اللبناني السوري العراقي اليمني، ما أدّى إلى فشل المشروع الأميركي بشرق أوسط كبير يواليها لقرون مقبلة.
ألا تكفي هذه الأدوار لاعتبار إيران قوة شرق أوسطية أولى، مقابل تراجع وظائف “إسرائيل” ومصر وتركيا والسعودية؟
لذلك فإن تطور الدور الإيراني أنما يتأسس على حساب تراجع النفوذ الأميركي عبر انحسار ادوار وكلائها وحروبها المباشرة.
وهذا يفسر اسباب الجنون الأميركي الذي يريد تفجير الدولية الإيرانية بأي وسيلة ممكنة.
فهل هذا ممكن؟ لم تتمكن أميركا من تحقيق هذه الأمنية في ال41 سنة الماضية، ما يؤكد أن حلف المقاومة ذاهب نحو المزيد من محاصرة النفوذ الأميركي حتى تحرير كامل الشرق الأوسط لمصلحة شعوبه وتاريخه وحضاراته.
In number theory, 41 is a prime number meaning it is not divisible by any number except itself and one. Similarly, the Islamic Revolution in Iran so far has been unique in its success and indivisible unity of purpose, despite numerous attempts at sabotage by external and internal actors. At this prime age of 41, Iran is fully capable of charting an assertive leadership path to recapture the spirit and reaffirm the original goals of the Islamic Revolution of 1979, among which is the propagation of Islam to bring about social change for the welfare of all humanity.[2]
It is no minor accomplishment for the Islamic Republic of Iran to have maintained an independent geopolitical course for a period of forty one years in spite of the overwhelming diplomatic, economic and military pressure employed by the United States to force Tehran to cave in to the diktats of the Washington regime. Even before the erstwhile shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, had fled the country on January 17, 1979, U.S. air force general Robert E. “Dutch” Huyser had arrived on January 3rd on a mission to test the waters for a rerun of the August 1953 coup, which had originally placed the U.S.-backed dictator in power in the first place.[3]
With the victory of the Islamic Revolution on February 11, 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini (r) went on to found an Islamic Republic, whose constitution (Article 154) explicitly states that Iran “is concerned with the welfare of humanity as a whole and takes independence, liberty and sovereignty of justice and righteousness as the right of people in the world over.” Imam Khomeini was very clear in his view that “Islam is revealed for mankind,” and, therefore, the revolution must be exported.[4] This concept, which raised fears of popular uprisings toppling the U.S.-abetted tyrants in the region and beyond, put the nascent Islamic Republic on a collision course with the Washington regime. Among the despotic leaders shaken by Iran’s Islamic Revolution was the U.S.-supported Iraqi dictator, Saddam, who denounced Imam Khomeini and called upon Iranian Arabs to revolt.[5]
If external threats to the newly-established Islamic Republic weren’t enough, others arose internally. Massoumeh Ebtekar, who witnessed the revolution firsthand and is currently Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, recalled that “we were sure that foreign elements were actively involved in attempts to weaken and undermine the young republic.” To avert the suspected foreign plot to overthrow the Iranian government, a group of students, including now Vice President Ebtekar, decided to act, and on November 4, 1979 occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran and detained the staff.[6] U.S. president Jimmy Carter responded ten days later by freezing US $12 billion’s worth of Iran’s assets in the U.S., and later banned all trade with and travel to Iran.[7] Also affected were Iranian assets in U.S. banks in Britain, much of which were in Bank of America’s London branch.[8] The following year on April 7, the U.S. cut diplomatic relations with Iran, and has never reinstated them.[9] If Carter had not allowed the deposed shah entry to the U.S., the embassy takeover most likely would not have occurred.[10]
Another internal threat, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was openly unhappy over the constitution, which, according to them, did not address their demands. After a humiliating defeat in the March and May 1980 parliamentary elections (no MeK candidates were elected),[11] the MeK became increasingly belligerent over their lack of position in the new government, directing their frustration ever more violently towards members of the Islamic Republic Party (IRP), which had won a decisive victory in the elections. Despite the electoral defeat, the MeK openly backed Iran’s first president, Abolhassan Bani Sadr, however, following his removal from office for incompetency in June 1981, the MeK declared an armed struggle against the standing government. On June 28, 1981 and again on August 30, the MeK carried out terror bombing attacks against the IRP and government leaders. In 1986, the MeK moved its operations to Iraq and aligned itself with Saddam, who backed the terrorist group until being ousted by the U.S. invasion in 2003. To date, the Washington regime views the MeK as a viable means by which to overthrow the legitimate government of Iran.[12]
Following the student takeover of the U.S. embassy, which was later shown to be a nerve center for CIA espionage in the region,[13] U.S. president Carter ordered a desperate mission on April 24, 1980 to invade Iran and free the hostages despite negotiations for their release still being in progress.[14] The so-called hostage crisis and the U.S. president’s failed interventionist response provided a perpetual pretext for Washington’s vehemently vindictive view against reestablishing any level of diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The 444-day crisis, according to sworn testimony by Israeli intelligence agent Ari Ben-Menashe, was a joint effort by the CIA and Mossad to delay the release of the 52 hostages and thereby ensure an electoral victory for Ronald Reagan in the 1980 U.S. presidential race.[15]
In the midst of the post-revolutionary struggle to establish a fully functioning Islamic government, Iraqi dictator Saddam, with U.S. blessing, attacked the fledgling Islamic Republic on September 22, 1980, imposing a costly 8-year-long war that consumed some 60 to 70 percent of Iran’s national budget, not to mention the suffering of the Iranian people and their sacrifices in defense of Iran and Islam.[16] The economic impact of the war on Iran itself was enormous with estimated direct costs in the range of US $600 billion and total cost of US $1 trillion.[17] In the course of this U.S.-supported war, chemical agents were used extensively for the first time since the First World War, resulting in the deaths of some 4,700 Iranians in a single attack. The U.S. also provided Saddam with biological agents such as anthrax and E. coli.[18]
Howard Teicher, director of political-military affairs for the U.S. National Security Council from 1982 to 1987, in an affidavit stated, “CIA Director [William] Casey personally spearheaded the effort to ensure that Iraq had sufficient military weapons, ammunition and vehicles to avoid losing the Iran-Iraq war.” Teicher also testified that U.S. president Reagan had sent a secret message to Saddam advising him that “Iraq should step up its air war and bombing of Iran.” Teicher’s sworn testimony provides strong evidence that the U.S. intent was for Saddam to bomb Iranian cities, thereby unavoidably targeting civilians.[19]
Saddam followed Reagan’s advice to the letter by launching eleven SCUD B missiles at Tehran on February 29, 1988. Over the next two weeks, more than 100 of Saddam’s missiles rained down upon the cities of Tehran, Qom and Isfahan along with bombing raids conducted against a total of 37 Iranian cities. Earlier in October 1987 and again in April 1988, the U.S. as part of its overt but undeclared war against the Islamic Republic, attacked Iranian ships and oil platforms under expanded rules of engagement.[20] As a result of Washington’s designation of the Persian Gulf as essentially a free-fire zone for Iranian targets, the commander of the USS Vincennes, William C. Rogers, fired two missiles (after twenty-three failed attempts)[21] at what he claimed was a military target but in fact was Iran Air Flight 655 carrying 290 civilian passengers from Bandar Abbas to Dubai. For downing the civilian airliner and killing all on board, Rogers was awarded the Legion of Merit “for exceptionally meritorious service” for this appalling atrocity.[22]
Yet in spite of the near universal support given by the U.S. and its western minions to Saddam, the people of Iran rose up to defend their newly liberated land in what were termed “human wave attacks” in the western press. Giving their lives selflessly in the cause of defending Islam and Iran, these martyrs, whose numbers reached to half a million,[23] struck fear in the black heart of Saddam and presented a conundrum to the materialistic west. Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Rahbar explains that martyrdom, while clearly understood in the Islamic world, “is incomprehensible and even pointless in materialist and atheistic cultures.”[24]
The incomprehensibility to most westerners of the spiritual basis of Iran’s Islamic Revolution leads to some interesting “anti-explanations.” Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina Charles Kurzman wrote, “After the Iranian Revolution, those who had considered the upheaval unthinkable became preoccupied with understanding how they could have been so mistaken.” After pointing out the shortcomings of the various political, economic, cultural and other explanations, Kurzman notes, “The more I learned about the Iranian Revolution, the more theoretical anomalies I discovered.” Yet this author acknowledges that 55 percent of educated, middle-class Iranians and 71 percent of others he interviewed spoke of Islam as being involved in their decision to participate in the revolution.[25]
Apparently, for secular-leaning western scholars, Islam cannot be accepted as the basis for an explanation of a successful revolution. For example, even Iranian expatriate scholar Ervand Abrahamian blames the Islamic Revolution on “overwhelming pressures” in Iranian society due to the shah, who “was sitting on such a volcano, having alienated almost every sector of society.”[26] Downplaying the role of Islam in Iran’s revolution, Iranian expatriate scholar Asef Bayat insists that there was a “strong secular tendency,” which peaked in the 1970s. Bayat incredulously claims, “In Iran, an Islamic movement was in the making when it was interrupted by the Islamic revolution.”[27] Other scholars date the origin of the Islamic movement in Iran to the tobacco crisis of 1890-1891, while Farhang Rejaee, a professor at the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam in Ottawa, Canada, points to the assassination of Nasr al-Din Shah in 1896.[28]
The current Islamic movement in Iran had begun on the 15th of Khordad, 1342 (June 5, 1963), predating the Islamic Revolution by some 15 years. In a June 1979 speech marking the anniversary of the 15th of Khordad uprising, Imam Khomeini specifically referred to the Islamic movement and its creation in the mosque network. “Who are they that wish to divert our Islamic movement from Islam?” asked the Imam. “It was the mosques that created this revolution,” he emphasized, adding. “It was the mosques that brought this [Islamic] movement into being.”[29] Likewise refuting the theories of the western and westernized scholars, Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Rahbar explains, “The secret of success of the Islamic Revolution of Iran also is naught but this: valuing the high ideals of Islam and of the Islamic humanities.” As to the failure of other revolutions, he blames “want of a sufficient depth in its spiritual dimension.” Finally, he affirms, “The revolutionary experience of Iran should indeed become a model for others to emulate.”[30]
By basing economics and social change on the solid foundation of Islam, Iran has achieved greater progress in many areas, such as reducing poverty, improving health care, eliminating illiteracy, increasing access to education and expanding opportunities for women, than had been the case during the shah’s regime. As a result, despite the unending U.S. hostility against Iran through ruthless imposed wars, covert and overt aggressions, punitive economic sanctions and continuous diplomatic isolation, the Islamic Republic has managed to amass an impressive list of accomplishments. U.S. economic sanctions have had the effect of causing Iran to seek self-sufficiency in a number of areas, including weaponry and other military hardware, food production, steel, paper and paper products, cement, heavy industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications equipment. In particular, the domestic production of armaments has helped to ensure the country’s independence and security, as has the highly developed military strategy of the “fast boat swarm” for naval defense in the Persian Gulf.[31]
Moreover, in the field of health care, Iran has made laudable strides, increasing life expectancy from 56 years in the 1970s to over 70, and reducing the infant mortality rate from 104 per 1,000 births to 25.[32] The Islamic Republic has created, and continuously expanded, a system of hospitals and health clinics, concentrating on areas impacted by economic hardship. The results have been sufficiently impressive for some universities and NGOs in the U.S. state of Mississippi to introduce Iranian-style health care into the impoverished areas of the Mississippi Delta region.[33] Rural areas also benefitted from the revolution in other ways besides access to health care. By 2002, rural literacy had risen to 70 percent, each village had an average of two college graduates, and 99 percent of rural households had electricity. In 1976 only ten percent of the rural work force was employed in the industrial, construction and service sectors, whereas 51 percent was employed therein by 1996.[34] Land was redistributed among peasants, who formed numerous cooperatives, which assisted in raising prices for agricultural products. Even the poorest of Iranians were able to have at least some level of access to modern consumer goods.[35]
“The biggest advances in the educational, professional and social standing of women in Iran’s history have come since the revolution,” wrote scholars Hillary Mann and Flynt Leverett.[36] After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, female literacy rates skyrocketed from 36 percent in 1976 to 74 percent in 1996, with urban women toping 82 percent.[37] Women were provided with the same educational opportunities as men, and were employed in both the public and private sectors. Not only were women allowed to drive (unlike other “Islamic” countries), but also participated in political, commercial and civil activities, as well as in the security sector. Health care in the Islamic Republic included women’s clinics, where progressive family planning and other services were available.[38]
“This united gathering which took place in Iran, and this great change which happened, must be taken as an example to be followed and never forgotten,” said Imam Khomeini (r) on 7th of Esfand 1359 (26 February 1981). [39] Despite that to date, no other Muslim-majority nation has yet to emulate successfully the revolutionary path taken by the valiant people of Iran, the paradigm remains as does the potential for Iran’s leadership to bring about a united Islamic Ummah.
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 