As P5+1 countries (US, UK, China, France and Russia) engage with the Iranian regime and attempt to chalk out a nuclear deal, it is very important for them to realize who sits before them. The Iranian regime does not represent the Iranian people or their aspirations and its objectives are not in line with their interests. It is ambitious, and aggressive, which is more than evident from its disastrous role in today’s world, particularly in the Middle East.
As P5+1 countries (US, UK, China, France and Russia) engage with the Iranian regime and attempt to chalk out a nuclear deal, it is very important for them to realize who sits before them. The Iranian regime does not represent the Iranian people or their aspirations and its objectives are not in line with their interests. It is ambitious, and aggressive, which is more than evident from its disastrous role in today’s world, particularly in the Middle East.
The dangerous concept of spreading Iranian influence and bringing the Muslim world under a unified rule is entrenched in the ideology that governs the Iranian regime.
Interestingly, most terrorist organizations, under the cover or Shiite and Sunni, claim to be fighting for the same cause. But when a state, through its foreign policy, attempts to implement its misguided agenda across the region, it ought to be a cause of greater concern than a terrorist group such as ISIS.
The Iranian regime exports terrorism by employing violent militant proxies against the people or state of other countries in order to spread its influence and extremist ideology.
The Iranian regime is heavily interfering in Syria to support the murderous regime of Bashar Al-Assad. The regime provides Assad with Shiite militias and IRGC, financial assistance and political support.
In Yemen, it is backing Houthi rebels, who recently took over the capital sparking protests from the local populace.
In Lebanon, it supports Hezbollah, which toes the political line favoured by the Supreme Leader Ali Khomeini. Its fighters are present in Syria. It is also involved in stirring up trouble in Bahrain.
In Iraq, the terrorist Quds Force operates Shiite militias that carry out rampant killings of Sunnis in certain provinces.
The regime’s interventionist policy and export of terrorism has lead to a rise in sectarian violence and radicalization in the Middle East.
It has prepared the ground for the spread of ISIS. Iran’s activities undermine the efforts of the international coalition and the Iraqi government aimed countering ISIS and establishing peace in the country. If a terrorist state is allowed to maintain presence in other countries, terrorism will not be defeated.
The regime’s character is also exposed from its stance in the wake of the attack on Charlie Hebdo, in Paris, France. Instead of sticking to an outright condemnation of the brutal attack, Tehran’s Foreign Ministry saw it fit to place blame on the publication itself and accused Charlie Hebdo and the likes of perpetrating “intellectual radicalism and misuse of free speech”.
Its stance on the incident doesn’t surprise considering its historical opposition to free speech and suppression of rights and liberties at home.
It was after all Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder, who issued a fatwa calling for the murder of British author Salman Rushdie.
The regime serves as a model of a fundamentalist so-called Islamic state and it religiously peddles the extremist ideology, which is a cause of much death and suffering in the world. Giving the mullahs a nuclear weapon would a grave error, which must be avoided for the preservation of the globe.
The international community would do well to recognize the opposition against the theocratic regime present within the Iranian populace and support it. The Iranian regime cannot be reformed, it can only be replaced.
