Why Iran Needs to Fuel Middle East Turmoil
Aalgemeiner, By Heshmat Alavi
Friday, 23 June 2017
We have witnessed over the past four decades Iran’s desperate need to create turmoil inside its own borders and abroad to quell dissent, justifying all measures to achieve this.
Through such a perspective we can analyze the unseen truth behind the events of the June 7th twin ISIS attacks in Tehran. The surfacing of more facts and evidence have raised speculation that this entire turn of events was a scenario blueprinted by Tehran.
Both parties benefited, with Tehran finding pretexts to portray itself the victim of terrorism and to thus justify any and all following actions domestically and abroad. And for ISIS, suffering major setbacks in Iraq and Syria, staging such an attack in the heart of Tehran would be a necessary boost in morale amongst its dwindling rank and files.
Focusing on the needs of the Iranian regime, the aftermath of last month’s presidential election resulted in escalated factional disputes. A resulting domino effect allowed increasing voices of protests in cities across the country, making the ruling apparatus desperate for elevating the security clampdown.
The recent US Senate 98-2 vote levying significant sanctions on Iran have also sounded major alarm bells amongst the mullahs.
Turning the attention outside of Iran’s borders, this regime is seen plunging an already war-torn Middle East into further despair through warmongering. This is especially regarding Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani has been reported arriving at a location on the Syrian-Iraqi border, accompanied by Iran-associated Iraqi proxy militias, according to Al Arabiya,citing Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
As ISIS is losing ground in Syria, Iran is seeking to gain as much territory as possible, while testing the Trump administration’s will to take serious action against its conglomerate of proxy groups busy propping the Assad regime.
In Iraq, with ISIS on the verge of being defeated in Mosul, there should be no expectation of crises and turmoil decreasing in this country. There are already concerns of Shiite proxy groups established by Iran staging ethnic cleansing operations across Sunni areas throughout the country, including the strategic city of Mosul.
Further south, Baghdad witnessed a car bombing at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, leaving dozens killed and injured. More recently a blast on Friday, June 9th, shook the southern city of Karbala by leaving three killed and 15 injured, and already links are being established to Iran’s involvement, reports indicate.
“Analysts believe that the coinciding of the Karbala blast days after Tehran’s armed attacks on parliament and Khomeini’s shrine is not arbitrary. Observers have stressed the likelihood of these events being fabricated by the Iranian regime to show itself as a victim of terrorism,” the piece finalizes.
Iran is also going all-out to cause havoc for its regional archrival, Saudi Arabia, through its ongoing support for Houthi militias against the legitimate government of Yemen. Extensive reporting has shown the growing role of the IRGC and Lebanese Hezbollah in this regard.
War on the Rocks reports:
“The IRGC and Hizballah serve as key force multipliers for Houthi anti-ship operations. On January 14, the Yemeni military and Sunni tribal militias captured two Hizballah naval warfare experts in Taiz’s western coastal town of Dhubab. One of those advisers specialized in mine laying tactics while the other focused on asymmetric naval warfare. The IRGC has also provided unmanned aircraft and “explosive boat technology” for performing “kamikaze”attacks against Saudi coalition ships and air defenses. Two weeks later, three Houthi drone boats attacked a Saudi frigate near the coast of Hudaydah, killing two crewmembers and wounding three others. On March 22, Iranian sources confirmed that they were deploying Shi’a Arab specialists to provide military training and logistical support for the Houthis. One week later, Saudi coalition warships shelled a coastal area near the northwestern city of Hudaydah, which hosts Yemen’s second largest port. The bombardment killed an IRGC adviser as he assisted Houthi fighters in the rigging of bomb-laden boats destined for unmanned attacks against U.S. and Saudi coalition ships in the Red Sea.”
In conclusion, Iran is and will be capitalizing on the twin Tehran attacks to portray its presence in the region necessary and downgrade its role as the leading state sponsor of terrorism by claiming to be a victim of terrorism. The mullahs will be thumping their chests over the necessity to participate in wars to prevent attacks back home. Diverting focus and pressures coming from the Trump administration is also another very important objective in this regard.
Will Iran succeed? Only time will tell. However, undeniable is the necessity for the international community to increase essential pressure on Iran and bring an end to its deadly meddling across the Middle East. An Arab-Islamic-American has already been established against Iran’s presence in the region. Blacklisting the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization is the first compulsory step to completely cut off Iran’s reach in the region.
