For Iranian activists and defenders of human rights, the recent developments in Iran and positions taken by the US administration have been very alarming. While the US seems to be making more concessions and sending all kinds of “goodwill” gestures to the ruling clerics In Iran, not surprisingly, Tehran demands more and takes more hardline positions in the stalled Vienna negotiations. It has become more aggressive in the region and more suppressive at home.
When the US took Iran backed Houthi rebels in Yemen off the Terror list, Iran lost no time arming them with more drones to carry out attacks against Saudi airports. (https://www.newsweek.com/houthis-attack-saudi-airport-days-after-joe-biden-removes-group-terror-list-1568201).
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How Strong Is Saudi Arabia’s Military?
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said the attack set a passenger jet on fire and constituted a “war crime.” |
As soon as US forces were evacuated from their Bagram base in Afghanistan, Iran hosted a meeting with Taliban leaders and Afghan forces to further establish new footholds in Afghanistan. ( https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tehran-talks-iran-offers-help-resolve-afghan-crisis-2021-07-07/ ).
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In Tehran talks, Iran offers help to resolve Afghan crisis | Reuters
Iran on Wednesday told Taliban and Afghan government representatives it stood ready to help end the crisis in Afghanistan, urging the country’s people and politicians to make “difficult decisions … |
As the administration, in the hopes of reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran, removed a number of American anti-missile batteries in the allied countries and pulled more forces from Iraq, Iran’s armed proxy groups, in a video, claimed to carry out 150 attacks in 2021 against US troops in Iraq and having doubled their attacks between April and July. (https://freebeacon.com/national-security/iranian-terrorists-claim-150-attacks-against-u-s-troops-this-year/ ).
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Iranian Terrorists Claim 150 Attacks Against U.S. Troops This Year
Iranian-backed militant groups claim to have launched at least 150 attacks against American forces in the region in 2021 alone. A video posted on the social media site Telegram by the Kawthariyoun … |
In June, with nuclear talks still in limbo, it was announced that the US lifted sanctions against a couple of Iran energy sector companies and some of Iran officials. Iran asked for more sanctions to be lifted, enriched uranium at higher grades, and restricted IAEA inspectors’ access to its enrichment facilities.
In mid-July, it was revealed that the US has allowed Iran to use its frozen funds to pay debts to Japan and South Korea (https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210714-us-lets-iran-use-frozen-funds-to-pay-back-japan-s-korea), two significant news on the Iranian regime’s illicit activities came out. In the first one, Facebook announced that it “has disrupted a group of hackers in Iran behind ‘espionage operations’ targeting mostly US military personnel and companies in the defense and aerospace industries.” ( https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2021/07/15/facebook-iranian-fakes-hack-us-military/?sh=5d4525a65217).
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Facebook Warning: U.S. Military Targeted By Iranian Hackers Posing As Attractive Women
Hackers spent months developing relationships with American military personnel. Some of their malware is linked to an Iranian government contractor, Facebook claims. |
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US lets Iran use frozen funds to pay back Japan, S.Korea – France 24
The United States said Wednesday it was allowing Iran to use frozen funds to settle debts in South Korea and Japan, as talks drag on over reviving a nuclear deal that could see sanctions relief … |
The second revelation was that Iranian operatives in the US plotted to kidnap Masih Alinejad, a prominent Iranian American journalist and activist, and take her back to Iran. Probably to face torture and execution as Rouhullah Zam, another Iranian journalist, did several months earlier.
One would have expected a strong reaction by the administration to this blatant aggression against the United States and its citizens on US soil. Alas, in the case of cyber spying, there was hardly any official reaction from the administration. In the case of Masih Alinejad’s kidnapping, the official response was very weak and careful not to offend the Iranian regime. White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said on July 14 that “We categorically condemn Iran’s dangerous and despicable reported plot to kidnap a US citizen on US soil,” but immediately adds about Vienna talks that “we will continue to pursue those talks, pursue the diplomatic path forward, which we think is in our interests and continues to be constructive.” (https://www.arabnews.com/node/1894126/middle-east). This is the reaction of the leader of the free world and an administration that had campaigned to defend human rights to a blatant terrorist plot on its soil.
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White House ‘categorically’ condemns alleged Iranian kidnap plot against journalist | Arab News
LONDON: The United States will continue nuclear talks with Iran, the White House said on Wednesday, after an Iranian plot to kidnap a US-based journalist was made public. A US Justice Department … |
The pattern in the above examples is clear. More concession from the US is answered with more aggression from Iran. The more Iranian regime senses desperation from the administration to rejoin the JCPOA, the more demands it makes. It has shown the same pattern in the last 40 years. Whenever it has retreated, it was because of pressure. Even agreeing to the JCPOA in 2015 was itself the result of international sanctions against the regime.
Yet, there is another significant opportunity to correct the course on Iran. To adopt a policy that benefits the Iranian people helps stability in the region and peace in the world. On July 15, due to water shortages, protests started in several cities in Khuzestan province. These demonstrations lasted for several days before spreading to other parts of the country, including Tehran. The demands quickly escalated from demands for water and electricity to regime change. The regime, as usual, responded by force. Several people to date are reported killed by the security forces.
More than a week into the protests in Khuzestan, in a briefing, Jalina Porter, State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, responded to a question about the water protests as follows: “The Iranian people have a right to freely voice their frustrations and hold their government accountable. And plainly, we support the rights of Iranians. We support their rights to peacefully assemble, as well as their rights to express themselves freely. And they should be able to do so without fear of violence or arbitrary detention by security forces.”
(https://www.state.gov/briefings/department-press-briefing-july-23-2021/) No clear course of action on how the US plans to support the Iranian people’s rights was mentioned.
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Department Press Briefing – July 23, 2021 – United States Department of State
2:05 p.m. EDT MS PORTER: Hello and Happy Friday, everyone. Thank you so much for joining today’s department press briefing. I have three updates at the top before I start taking your questions. To start, Deputy Secretary Sherman continued her travel to Asia today with a second day in Seoul, meeting with Republic of Korea […] |
Parallel to Iran protests, we had protests in Cuba, with one protestor reported killed by security forces. On July 12, immediately after protests breakout, President Biden released a statement supporting the Cuban protestors and their rights. (We are yet to hear anything from the President on Iran protests.) Then on July 22, President Biden announced sanctions on the head of Cuban armed forces and went on to say, “This is just the beginning — the United States will continue to sanction individuals responsible for the oppression of the Cuban people.” According to Politico, “Biden’s response to Cuba — which also includes measures to bring increased internet access to the island and calls for more international pressure on the totalitarian government — was outlined Wednesday night in a call with Democratic Cuban-American activists in Miami who had been calling for more action ever since the July 11 uprisings on the island”. (https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/22/biden-sanctions-cuba-500534).
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Biden sanctions Cuban regime after crackdown on protesters – POLITICO
foreign policy. Biden sanctions Cuban regime after crackdown on protesters. The administration’s move comes amid criticism for slow-walking Cuba policy after widespread anti-government protests on … |
The fact is when it comes to mismanagement and corruption, human rights abuses, meddling in other countries, and terrorism, there is no comparison between the Iranian regime and the Cuban government. Yet, the clerical regime is faced with a much milder reaction by the administration. True that the administration is now finally talking about putting more restrictions on Iran oil exports and sanctions on its missile and drone programs. But since it has the negotiations and returns to JCPOA as the only option on the table, these threats do not go very far. The Iranian regime knows this and reads it as a sign of weakness and therefore continues to demand more.
The domestic, regional, and international behavior of the Iranian regime need to be looked at as a whole and in connection to its nature. This is not a modern state that abides by accepted norms. It is a corrupt system with a back warded ideology that is incapable of running a country. It has brought a developing country to near-total destruction, where its citizens are not only denied fundamental human rights but basic survival needs.
Pursuit of nuclear weapons and missile programs, expansionist policies in the region, supporting terrorism and terrorist groups, suppression of Iranian people, and gross violations of human rights are all integrated means for the regime to prolong its grip on power. Not seeing this would result in unsuccessful policies toward Iran. A good example of this is the 2015 JCPOA. All kinds of concessions were made to sign a deal with Iran that would delay its nuclear capabilities, hoping that this deal would eventually normalize Iran’s behavior and bring it back to the international community. But the result of this policy was the suppression of the “Green Movement” in Iran and increased aggression in the region by the Iranian regime. Tens of millions in Iran, Iraq, and Syria paid and are still paying a high price for this policy. The nuclear issue cannot be resolved in isolation and for short-term gains without considering the regime’s other aspects of illicit behavior.
Now that the Iranian people have demonstrated in the recent “elections” that they see no solution to their problems from within the regime factions and are crying for regime change in the streets, it is the best opportunity for the US to rethink its policy toward Iran and stand with Iranian people, not just in words, but in deeds. A democratic change in Iran is the only long-term solution for peace and stability in the region. Supporting the aspirations and rights of the Iranian people is not just a moral obligation; it also benefits the international community. It is the best chance to avoid another disastrous war in the region since the theocratic regime has shown for the past 40 years that it cannot and will not change for the better. The United States needs to take the lead in the free world to support Iranian people and their rights in every possible peaceful way.