Iran's
'moderation' myth is coming to an end
By
Heshmat Alavi - 01/03/17 05:40 PM EST 28
©
Getty
It
has been proven time and again that evil prevails if the good remain quiet. We
have witnessed this so atrociously in the brutality of Aleppo. But the first
step in bringing stability to Syria, is to bring justice to Iran.
Iran
is an evil regime. There is no freedom of the press. There is no freedom of
religion. Human rights violations are extraordinary.
This
regime rules with an iron fist and is highly active in destabilizing the
region. And all the while, enjoying significant Western support amongst those
who actually believe in change and “moderation” from within this regime.
This
camp continues to revisit the notion of a potentially “moderate” regime
changing its behavior and being more welcome in the broader global community.
Advocates of such a mentality are wishfully thinking this regime will alter its
conduct towards its citizens, neighbors and frankly the rest of the world.
We
know this hasn’t happened. If Tehran truly bore the intent to not only embrace
the nuclear agreement but the spirit of the
accord with the West, they would not have test-fired missiles in March or October
of this year.
If
the Mullahs are actually sensitive about the Human rights of ordinary Iranian
citizens, then this regime would not have executed over 3,000 people in the
past four years alone, and nearly 1,000 in 2015.
This
regime, if actually sensitive about its “moderate” image, would not be
executing women and minors, and would not be sending OPPOSITION supporters to
the gallows. This certainly doesn’t sound anything similar to “moderate”
behavior, at least not in the democratic world.
Iran
is also deeply involved in destabilizing the region and the neighborhood. The
single, most significant destabilizing factor throughout the Middle East was,
is and will be in the foreseeable future none other than the regime ruling
Iran, its President Hassan Rouhani, the Mullahs and so forth.
Every
one of us now unfortunately has a very depict image in their minds of the horrific
genocide taking place in Syria. The little boy facing down on the shores of
Turkey continues to haunt us today, add to that the small child in the back of
an ambulance, for the first time seeing his own blood. They were all attempting
to escape the oppression, the violence, the agony and the pain in Syria.
We
have before us a massive refugee crisis with nearly half
a million killed in the country, more than half the country’s population
displaced, and millions involved in one of the largest exoduses in the history
of mankind.
And
again, what is the primary destabilizing force supporting the ruthless regime
of Bashar Assad in Syria? Iran. They have troops
and foot soldiers across the Levant and the entire region, parallel to
their vast arms provision and funding for such proxies. Ironically, these
efforts have all been boosted by the very
money released thanks to U.S. President Barack
Obama’s nuclear deal with Tehran.
This
is alongside their measures in respect to Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and other parts
of the region, leading to Tehran’s designation as the number one terrorist
state in the world.
Continued
Human rights violations at unprecedented levels; massive destabilization in the
region not only contrary to the interests of the region’s neighboring countries
but to Western values and United States interests; and continued ballistic
missile testing all prove there is nothing to be found “moderate” in Iranian
regime.
There
is, however, every reason to believe that President-elect Donald Trump and his foreign policy team bring a
new set of eyes, a new attitude and a new approach toward this “moderate”
theocracy.
While
the West continues to weigh the various options available before Washington
vis-à-vis Tehran, one practical opportunity lies in supporting the sole Iranian
democratic OPPOSITION movement found in the National
Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a political and truly moderate
umbrella group seeking peaceful regime change in Iran.
The
NCRI, led by Maryam Rajavi, herself a Muslim
women despising the Iranian regime’s fundamentalist nature, enjoys strong
bipartisan and apolitical support across the globe, as personified by numerous
senior U.S. and
European politicians.
A
relentless commitment and faith to a certain cause is the epicenter needed to
bring about the very necessary changes in Iran. This is most definitely a
worthy cause set to render a domino effect across the region. With Iran’s
Mullahs out of the picture, rest assured the very root of all extremism,
radicalism, terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East will be
exterminated.
The
status quo in our world demands good people and countries committed to Human
rights, freedom and democracy, do all we can to effectively spark change.
As
the pro-appeasement drive to portray the Iranian regime as moderate has failed
miserably, Iran represents the most important stage where a new pro-Human
rights initiative must launch.
Heshmat
Alavi is a political and rights activist. His writing focuses on Iran, ranging
from Human rights violations, social crackdown, the regime's support for
terrorism and meddling in foreign countries, and the controversial nuclear program.
He tweets at @HeshmatAlavi & blogs at IranCommentary. He has been published
by the Gatestone Institute, a non-partisan,
not-for-profit international policy council and think tank chaired by John
Bolton.
The
views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/312581-irans-moderation-myth-is-coming-to-an-end
