Iran Focus
London, 19 Jul – A British politician has written an op-ed for Al Arabiya to explain why the Iranian Regime should have no part in the rebuilding of Mosul after the expulsion of ISIS.
Struan Stevenson, president of the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA), advised that although Western governments will be wary of sending foreign aid into a country with a weak and corrupt government, they should know that without Western help the government may only help the Shia community and leave the Sunnis to rot.
He wrote: “The seeds are being sown once again for the kind of insurgency that kick-started the whole conflict in the first place and the only ultimate winner is Iran.”
Stevenson, a former president of the EU Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, warned that the Iranian Regime will seek once again to dominate Iraq and may send in their personal terror squad the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to get the job done.
He wrote: “[The IRGC] and the body responsible for extra-territorial operations – the terrorist-listed Quds Force, are the main vehicles for Iran’s aggressive expansionism in the Middle East. The IRGC has for decades been carrying out terrorist attacks across the zone, including in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. Iran cannot be part of the solution to the conflicts raging in these countries. It is part of the problem. Iran exports terror and one of its key strategic objectives is to dominate Iraq.”
He even quotes General Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, and President Hassan Rouhani who have bragged about helping to destabilise Iraq.
Stevenson, a former chairman of Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup in the EU, noted that the Iranian Regime along with their puppets in the Iraqi government has been trying to usher American troops out of the country after ISIS had been repelled.
He wrote: “[This is] so that no obstacles remain in the way of Iran’s total domination. Such a situation would without doubt lead to the re-emergence of ISIS in the future.”
Instead of withdrawing the troops, Stevenson advised Donald Trump to remain in Iraq to ensure that the Iranian Regime is not allowed to take over.
He wrote: “The US must remain in Iraq as a fair arbiter and not repeat the mistake made by Obama in 2011 when he ordered the complete withdrawal of US military forces, laying the groundwork for a sectarian civil war.”
He continued: “Trump should blacklist the IRGC and its affiliated militias in Iraq. He must also compel the Iraqi government to disband all Iraqi Shiite militia groups who are exploiting the government’s budget, military equipment and weapons and demand the creation of an inclusive Iraqi army that does not discriminate against Sunnis and other minorities. Only after these measures have been successfully concluded should foreign aid be generated for the comprehensive rebuilding of Iraq’s ruined cities.”
