Iran Focus
London, 1 Aug – A member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), wrote an op-ed for The Gatestone Institute in which he criticised the US’s decision to certify the Iranian Regime as compliant with the nuclear deal despite clear evidence to the contrary.
He did, however, praise the White House for its warnings to the Regime that this certification was “reluctant” and would be backed up by further sanctions against the Regime’s non-nuclear crimes like ballistic missile development and support for terrorism, and for quickly following through with those sanctions.
It is a clear display to the Regime, that their behaviour is unacceptable and the US is not turning a blind eye.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, said: “The United States remains deeply concerned about Iran’s malign activities across the Middle East which undermine regional stability, security and prosperity… [As well as] Iran’s support for US-designated terrorist groups, militias and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as domestic human rights concerns.”
This has been underlined by many US officials including US Defense Secretary James Mattis, Commander of the U.S. Central Command Army Gen. Joseph Votel, and even Donald Trump himself.
Shafiee wrote: “US policy on Iran requires a major overhaul. The Obama Administration’s ostensible vain hope was that after the nuclear deal was struck with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the summer of 2015, the mullah’s regime would suddenly transform and turn into a responsible first-class world player. Two years into the deal with the Iranian regime, as foretold, the world is not a better place.”
Shafiee argues that regime change is the only real solution to the problems facing Iran; the mullahs have had nearly 40 years to reform but have not.
In a speech before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also appeared to call for regime change, throwing his support behind “elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of that government”,
Shafiee wrote: “The Iranian people have been keen on getting rid of Iran’s oppressive regime since June 20, 1981, the day that the IRGC embarked on a bloody crackdown on a half-million peaceful demonstrators in Iran calling for a free and open society.”
Every year, the Resistance holds a rally for a Free Iran in Paris and this year over 100,000 people turned up, including politicians, dignitaries, and activists.
At the 2017 rally, Maryam Rajavi, President of the NCRI, said: “The overthrow of this regime is indispensable, feasible, and within reach, and that a democratic alternative and an organized resistance exists to topple it.”
