New Iran sanctions succeed where the nuclear deal failed

by Amir Basiri | Jul 31, 2017, 12:58 PM 

The unprecedented sanctions passed by House lawmakers last Tuesday and the Senate last Thursday are a milestone achievement in countering the Iranian regime's belligerence and fixing some of the key flaws contained in the nuclear deal hammered between Iran and world powers in 2015.

Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear pact is formally known, Iran was effectively given a free pass on all its non-nuclear activities as long as it committed to limiting, not dismantling, its nuclear program. The JCPOA was the nucleus of the Obama administration's Iran policy.

In contrast, Trump has called it "the worst deal ever negotiated" and has assigned a White House team to find a credible case for declining Iran's compliance with the accord.

In the two years since the signing of the agreement, Iran has exploited the JCPOA's loopholes and economic incentives to speed up its ballistic missile program, expand its terrorist activities in neighboring countries, and ramp up its domestic human rights violations without fear of retribution from the international community. Fearing Iran would walk away from the deal, Obama refrained from dealing any of those activities in earnest.

Although sanctions had been previously imposed against Iran's terrorist activities and human rights violations, the new measure is significant because it directly targets the entirety of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), the military body that runs Iran's foreign terrorism portfolio, its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons program, and is largely responsible for the crackdown on dissidents and violation of the Iranian people's most basic rights.

According to the "Countering Adversarial Nations Through Sanctions Act," as the new bill is called, the IRGC is designated as a terrorist entity under Executive Order 13224.

The designation will freeze all assets linked to IRGC and its members. It also prohibits American individuals or entities from establishing financial, business, services or other affiliations with any individuals directly or indirectly associated to the IRGC.

As the IRGC has encroached over Iran's economy over the past years, this will put severe strains on Iran's funding of terrorism and weapons development.

The Iranian regime has a history of circumventing sanctions, but this time, it will prove much more difficult, if not impossible, because of the severity and comprehensiveness of the sanctions. Accordingly, Iranian regime officials have described the new round of sanctions as a "black hole," "mother of all sanctions," and "nuclear JCPOA."

In a statement, the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) welcomed the measure as an essential step in rectifying the damaging policy of appeasement that previously dominated the policy toward Iran.

"The IRGC serves as the guarantee to preserve the entirety of the religious fascism ruling Iran," the statement reads. "In the past 28 years, the Iranian regime's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has placed a vast portion of the wealth and resources of the Iranian people under IRGC's control, enabling it to plunder a large portion of Iran's economy."

The NCRI underlined that the sanctions need to be complemented with "the eviction of the IRGC and its affiliated militia particularly from Syria and Iraq as well as the recognition of the Iranian people's right to overthrow the clerical regime."

Democratic regime change in Iran, a goal that the NCRI has supported for years, is now getting traction across the world. Last month, at an NCRI gathering in Paris, prominent dignitaries and politicians from the U.S. and other countries called for regime change in Iran. The Trump administration is considering support for regime change as part of its policy toward Iran, which is currently under review.

Paralyzing the IRGC and assuming a tougher stance against Iran's nefarious activities can ensure that regime change happens without the need for foreign military invasion and another violent conflict in the region.

Amir Basiri (@amir_bas) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is an Iranian human rights activist.

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MARYAM RAJAVI'S MESSAGE ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1988 MASSACRE

Created: 31 July 2017

On the 29th anniversary of one of the most hideous crimes against humanity since the Second World War, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) sent a message urging the UN High Commissioner on human rights to immediately set up an independent committee to investigate the 1988 massacre and subsequently put those in charge before justice,the following is the full text of the message:

Justice seeking movement has shaken up the regime relying on massacre- Maryam Rajavi’s message on the anniversary of the 1988 massacre

 Fellow compatriots, 29 years ago on these days, Khomeini, the century’s most ruthless murderer, launched the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners affiliated with the PMOI and other dissident groups.

He sought to uproot the resistance movement in a bid to preserve his own rule. He wanted to do something that no one would ever again think of change and of freedom. He found his answer in the hasty annihilation of the PMOI and all those who persisted on the ideal of freedom.

In the face of such unprecedented brutality, the PMOI prisoners took pride in going to the gallows in the thousands. They registered themselves in the historical conscience of their nation as symbols of dedication and loyalty to the cause of freedom. And the history of Iran was blessed with the light and hope of their unwavering resistance.

Throughout the years, their blood has continued to run in the veins of society, provoking the spirit of rebellion and protest in the struggle against the tyrannical clerical regime.

Our endless salutes to all the prisoners massacred in 1988 who persisted on their positions against the Velayat-e Faqih under interrogation and stood up for freedom. Their struggle and resistance has been battering the regime since then until now.

Khomeini concealed their names, but they are the most famous men and women of Iran’s modern history. The regime hid their graves, but they have remained the most spirited and obvious members of the nation fighting in the field. Long years pass since they kissed the gallows, but they continue to sing the crimson anthem of freedom.

My fellow compatriots and courageous youths,

Last year, on July 28, 2016, the families of martyrs and political prisoners issued a statement announcing a campaign commemorating the victims of the 1988 massacre. The movement demanding justice for the victims of the massacre is now one-year-old. During this period, the campaign energized by the victims’ sacrifice and our nation’s will to achieve freedom has time and again shaken up the clerical regime that relies on massacre.

It has brought about broad-based knowledge in Iranian society particularly among the youth about the dreadful crimes committed by the Velayat-e Faqih regime. It shattered the mullahs’ conspiracy of silence to cover up the 1988 massacre and compelled the ruling clerics to confess to their involvement in this crime against humanity.

The justice seeking movement dealt a heavy setback to Khamenei who had nominated a death-commission member for presidency. It defeated the regime in its totality in the elections sham, as the nation embraced the movement’s slogan of “no to the executioner, no to the charlatan.” The campaign also resuscitated this case internationally while it had been silenced by the western governments’ policy of appeasement.

These efforts led to the point where the UN Secretary General noted the 1988 massacre in his annual report this year.

This year-long campaign proved that the Velayat-e Faqih regime is extremely vulnerable with regards to the slaughter on which the pillars of its rule rest. As a result, every effort by the mullahs to incriminate the PMOI immerses them even further in a quagmire of disgrace.

Since the outset, when the news of this massacre began to leak out of prisons, the Iranian Resistance has endeavored to expose this crime on the international level. In a letter to the UN Secretary General at the time, Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian Resistance, wrote, “The international community must compel the regime to answer questions about the identities of all those executed, the date, place and manner of executions and their place of burial. It must introduce those in charge and those who carried out this major crime.”

In the past year, too, supporters of the Iranian Resistance risked their own lives to collect the previously unannounced names of victims of the massacre and addresses of their graves, as well as information about members of the death commissions in the provinces.

I thank all of them and everyone who joined the justice seeking movement over the past year. I thank all the youths and students who voiced their demand for justice for victims of the 1988 massacre at any opportunity, and the prisoners who supported the movement under the most difficult circumstances.

Nevertheless, everything done so far has been only the first step. The Iranian people and Resistance will not relent until those in charge of the massacre of political prisoners, namely those who hold the highest positions of authority in this regime, face justice.

In the start of the second year of the movement calling for justice, I urge everyone to help further expand the movement. This is part and parcel with the Iranian people’s quest for freedom and the overthrow of the regime in its entirety. Accordingly,

1. I call on all the courageous youths of this land to stage protests to compel the regime’s leaders to publish a complete list of names of those massacred, addresses of their graves, and names of those in charge of the slaughter.
2. I call on the families of martyrs and political prisoners to gather at the gravesites of their martyrs and in this way force the clerical regime to recognize their trampled right to hold memorial ceremonies for their heroic children.
3. I call on my fellow compatriots to actively participate in the national campaign to collect the information of the martyrs, find their tombs and expose the mullahs and murderers involved in this crime.
4. I call on young seminary students and the clergy who have distanced themselves from the ominous regime of the velayat-e faqih to openly condemn the massacre and distance themselves from Khomeini and the inhuman and anti-Islamic velayat-e faqih regime.
5. I call on parliaments, political parties, human rights organizations, religious leaders, political and social personalities in various countries to strongly condemn the massacre of political prisoners in Iran in an act of solidarity with the Iranian people. They should urge their governments to make their continued political and commercial relations with the mullahs’ religious dictatorship contingent on end to executions and torture in Iran.
6. I urge the UN High Commissioner on human rights to immediately set up an independent committee to investigate the 1988 massacre and subsequently put those in charge before justice. I urge the UN Security Council to make the arrangements for prosecution of the regime’s leaders for committing crime against humanity.

All the major cases of carnage and repression in the past quarter of a century in Iran are linked to the person of Khamenei and his corrupt offices. He earned succession to Khomeini by actively participating in the 1988 massacre, and must be prosecuted for crimes against humanity before all the other leaders of the regime.

Dear compatriots, the main target of the massacre in 1988 was the PMOI. Khomeini taught his successors that to preserve power, they must annihilate the group that persists on its positions. In the past three decades, Khamenei and his accomplice, have put this lesson into practice.

In contrast, the PMOI and the National Council of Resistance of Iran, as the democratic alternative to the regime, are the force of victory and freedom. They will realize their glorious goal by relying on the people of Iran. On that day, the victims of the 1988 massacre and all the 120,000 martyrs fallen for Iran’s freedom will live in the determination of Iran’s youths, in 1000 bastions of rebellion, 1000 Ashrafs, and in the army of freedom. They will thus start a blessed era of freedom, democracy and equality.

Endless salutes to the shining stars of the Iranian Resistance, the proud martyrs of 1988.

And hail to the pioneers who have risen to call for justice for the victims and continue their path and cause on a higher level for Iran’s freedom.

Evin Prison: The Iranian regime’s notorious torture factory

Tony Duheaume

Sunday, 30 July 2017

The Iranian regime lives in constant fear of an uprising to overthrow it. Such is its paranoia where opposition groups are concerned it has spent the whole period of its existence, eliminating dissenters.

The approach to any form of opposition shows how insecure this regime has become. But as far as extreme brutality is concerned, it could not be more prevalent than that of the regime’s treatment of dissidents at Evin Prison, where guards use torture to humiliate their captives before executing them.

Through the despicable acts taking place here, the lack of humanity shown by the prison authorities toward all those who speak out against the regime, mirrors the insecurities of the entire state.

Located at the foot of the Alborz mountains in northern Tehran, Evin Prison was originally constructed in 1972, under the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It was then operated by his infamous security and intelligence service (SAVAK).

Opponents of the Shah

Thousands of political prisoners were incarcerated there during that period, including many supporters of the Peoples Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK), fierce opponents of the Shah, and it was from this point on, its reputation of hell on earth had begun.

With Evin Prison being one of the most notorious prisons in the world, just the mention of its name conjures up emotions of fear and foreboding in the hearts of ordinary Iranian citizens, as it has become synonymous with political repression, mass hangings and torture.

This infamous place is where those entering find themselves at the mercy of brutal prison guards, who at this point in time, operate under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Secret Service (VAVAK).

No legal representation

Teachers, writers, journalists, students, lawyers and academics, in fact anyone who speaks out against the regime, can find themselves thrown into Evin Prison. After trials without legal representation, the accused are found guilty of vague crimes on erroneous evidence, and are either condemned to serve long prison sentences.

Although the Iranian regime has continuously denied it, Evin Prison is known to be a virtual torture factory, where countless numbers of inmates have met their fate. Due to the number of intellectuals imprisoned within its walls, the prison has been nicknamed Evin University.

With Evin being a prison that is extremely overcrowded, hygiene is poor and in Iran’s sweltering hot summers, the heat can reach up to 45 degrees Celsius. There is no form of air conditioning, and the air within cells becomes rank with sweat and human waste. Water quality is bad and food comes in meagre portions and is barely edible. Medical facilities are virtually non-existent.

Breaking resolve

This whole process is designed to break the resolve of political prisoners, where the pressure for a confession is kept up until the captive breaks his silence. Then designed to add to this anguish, all contact with the outside world is cut off, family visits and telephone calls are forbidden, and even the guards are ordered to be silent.

Countless numbers have been driven insane by this treatment, many smashing their heads against the wall of their cell in anguish, while others have attempted suicide, but such is the security at Evin, no prisoner has been known to have escaped.

Inside Evin’s fetid dungeons, there are vents on the wall opposite the window, where a sturdy metal door stands, and at the bottom of the door is fitted a flap, for the prison guard to slide food through to the prisoner, while at the top of the door there is a flap used for communication.

One group of prisoners that has suffered the most at Evin Prison is the PMOI/MEK, thousands of its members have been held there over the years since the revolution.

The 1988 massacre

With countless numbers having been incarcerated at the time of the now infamous 1988 massacre, thousands of their number can be added to the 30,000 dissidents that were murdered across Iran. This was done under the orders of the then Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini to execute all those who opposed his regime.

After the execution, corpses would be transported in the dead of night to one of the numerous mass graves, which came in the form of deeply dug channels, secretly excavated in various isolated locations across the country, areas dubbed by their executioners as Lanat-Abad (The Place of the Damned).

But to this very day, nothing has changed at Evin. Untold abuses still take place, while the words of human rights activists fall on deaf ears. Rather than denouncing the regime with the harsh condemnation it rightly deserves, the world has virtually ignored the abuses carried out in its prisons and on its streets, offering the leadership more in the way of lucrative transactions like the Iran Deal, rather than that of hard-hitting sanctions that cut deep.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Al Arabiya English's point-of-view.

Last Update: Sunday, 30 July 2017 KSA 16:09 - GMT 13:09

Iran, MEK and Regime Change Policy

29 July 2017

by Pooya Stone

Since the major gathering of the Iranian opposition, MEK in Paris on July 1, the issue of necessity of regime change in Iran has gained traction.

“The only solution to free the people of Iran and establish peace and tranquility in the region, is the overthrow of the Iranian regime,” declared Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, in the major gathering of Iranians in Paris on July 1. She reiterated, “The regime’s overthrow is possible and within reach, and a democratic alternative and organized resistance MEK exists that can topple it.”

Maryam Rajavi’s call for regime change in Iran was widely echoed and supported by other prominent U.S. and European speakers. Among the speakers were former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. All supported MEK ’s call for regime change in Iran.

Referring to the MEK , Bolton, said: “There is a viable opposition to the rule of the ayatollahs, and that opposition is centered in this room today. I had said for over 10 years since coming to these events, that the declared policy of the United States of America should be … to change the regime itself. And that’s why, before 2019, we here will celebrate in Tehran!”

After the MEK and Iranian resistance’s July 1 rally in Paris, Fox News reported, “The Trump administration is potentially considering seeking a strategy to try to topple the regime.” The resistance, however, only needs American political and perhaps economic support to effect “regime change from within.”

As the Iranian regime change notion has gained momentum by the MEK rally, the Iranian regime is regarding the issue very serious. Fouad Izadi, an Iranian international expert in an interview with the state television, admitted to the scope of the new sanctions and terrorist designation of the Revolutionary Guards in the US Congress.

In response to the question that what exactly the Americans are after, Fouad Izadi said, “It doesn’t need any analysis...Mr. Tillerson said about a month ago in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, and a couple of weeks ago Mr. Mattis in a press conference he had, said, … we want to change the regime.”
The new bill in the U.S. Congress has added to already shaky regime’s fears. Janati, the head of the Guardian Council announced on Thursday that the main issue which has preoccupied the Supreme leader is his concern over regime change.

Iran Lobby attacks against MEK

At the same time the regime’s apologists and satellite writers in the Western media started their barrage of fake news and attacks against MEK to foil the regime policy.

The Iranian regime and its lobbies have consistently worked to paint the MEK as terrorists – with no evidence to support it – and discredit them in the eyes of the international community.

For instance, Mehdi Hasan an advocate of the Iranian extremist regime in the Britain and an Al-Jazeera English anchorman, could not hide his blind hatred towards MEK. In an article in Intercept, he levied numerous unfounded and threadbare allegations against MEK with many of them rebuked in several court of law during past decade. He also slandered the top politicians for supporting MEK as a viable force and wrote: “Could it be because of the old, if amoral, adage that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”? Perhaps. Could it be the result of ignorance, of senior U.S. figures failing to do due diligence? Maybe.”

The prominent Washington Free Beacon introduced Mehdi Hasan as, “a controversial British media figure whom insiders have billed as a mouthpiece for the Iranian regime. ...praised Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and publicly branded all non-believers as mentally ill "animals".

Ali Fallahian, regime’s former intelligence minister, made shocking remarks in an interview with Aparat Internet TV, In relation to the massacre of 30,000 MEK prisoners in 1988 he said, “the verdict is death sentence ... Mr. Mousavi (Tabrizi) who was the Revolution general prosecutor used to say that there is no need for trial at all ... it makes no sense that we try MEK ... Imam repeatedly insisted that you should be careful not to let MEK go... Imam always emphasized that you should always be cautious of this side ... MEK ruling is always execution. This was his (Khomeini’s) verdict as a supreme leader, either before this issue of 1988 or afterwards.” Fallahian said,”Many journalists are the intelligence agents ... A journalist is not paid well, so he should work with an intelligence service.” It is hard to believe that Mehdi Hasan is mouthpiece for the Iranian regime for free, as it is hard to believe that he moderates NIAC leadership conference or inviting NIAC president Trita Parsi to Al-Jazeera for free. NIAC of Trita Parsi is widely known as an Iranian regime’s lobby entity kicked off help of Javad Zarif, when he was Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations. Trita Parsi, another MEK blind foe, unsuccessfully campaigned on behalf of the Iranian regime to keep MEK in the U.S. list of FTO. Mehdi Hasan and Trita Parsi are two typical Iran lobbyist stereotyping MEK as cultish and undemocratic. Obviously, by attacking the MEK and their supporters, they are trying to induce that the regime has no viable alternative and to kill any hope or chance for regime change in Iran, which should happen with the MEK at its core.

Iranian lobby is working hard to show that regime change policy for Iran is equivalent to war and they have been successful with some quarters. The New York editorial board on July 20 writes, “Prominent Trump supporters like John Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations; Newt Gingrich, former House speaker; and Rudolph Giuliani, former New York mayor, are pressing Mr. Trump to abandon the deal and are speaking out on behalf of the Mujahedeen Khalq, [MEK] exiled Iranian dissidents who back regime change.” The editorial concludes, “Trump would make a grave mistake if instead of trying to work with those moderate forces he led the nation closer to war.”

What is MEK Demand?

What does MEK stands for and is asking the West to do for the regime change in Iran. Is MEK demanding a war against Iran? No!

MEK supports Mrs. Rajavi call during the July 1, gathering when she said, “Our demands reflect the demands of Sattar Khan, revered leader of the 1906 Constitutional Revolution, and Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq, leader of Iran’s Nationalist Movement in 1950s. As I have reiterated, repeatedly, we want neither money, nor arms. …we say that the struggle of the people of Iran for regime change is legitimate, righteous and imperative. We urge you to recognize this “resistance against oppression.”

Link with Iranian people through MEK

During the July 1 gathering, Judge Mukasy, the 81st Attorney General of the United States in order to get rid of Mullahs, said, “The best way for both Iranians and non-Iranians to do that is to align with the Iranian resistance [MEK ] so as to make it clear to the oppressed citizens of Iran that the world's quarrel is not with Iran but with the mullahs who have subjugated Iran.” He said MEK members within Iran “have provided both an example and a tool with their daring publicity campaign within Iran urging regime change and posting photos of Mrs Rajavi and slogans opposing the clerical regime. They've been writing slogans on walls to support this gathering.

For five decades, the MEK has put themselves at great risks because of their ideals of democracy, freedom and equality. The Iranian regime has killed 120,000 of dissidents, including 30,000 political prisoners, during the 1988 massacre, the vast majority of whom were MEK supporters.

Indeed, regime lobbyists will be out in force this month but the MEK has the Iranian people and those who champion for human rights on their side.

Why Iran Apologists Demonize the MEK?

28 July 2017

By Jubin Katiraie

The U.S. Senate voted almost unanimously on Thursday to pass new sanctions on Russia, North Korea and Iran.

The officials of Iranian regime are already afraid of the consequences of the new sanctions. In addition to economic implications of the sanctions, what worries them the most is the actions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. Designating and imposing sanctions on the IRGC was long overdue because the IRGC serves as the guarantee to preserve the entirety of the regime ruling Iran and is the main entity responsible for domestic suppression, the export of terrorism and extremism, and obtaining weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

The new bill has added to already shaky regime’s fears. Janati, the head of the Guardian Council announced on Thursday that the main issue which has preoccupied the Supreme leader is his concern over regime change.

Regime change was the main topic of the July 1, 2017 annual gathering of Iranian resistance (The Mujahedin-e-Khalq or MEK) in Paris. Many speakers talked about the regime change and their support for the MEK.

“I’m happiest to be here because I can say, can probably say this with a good deal of authority, that the government of the United States supports you” Rudy Giuliani former mayor of New York City said referring to MEK supporters in the gathering.

“we’re behind you, we agree with your values. The government of the United States understands the danger of Iran. The government of the United States will not allow Iran to become an empire in the Middle East.” Added Giuliani addressing the MEK supporters in the meeting.

“I have come to bring you a simple message. Iran must be free. The only practical goal is to support a movement that could free Iran, and that's you.” Former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich addressing MEK supporters in the gathering.

“The presence of 3000 MEK in Albania is a decisive defeat for dictatorship in Tehran. the name of your president will stand the same as George Washington and Lafayette in the United States” Added Gingrich addressing the MEK supporters.

“The outcome of the president’s policy review should be to determine that the Ayatollah Khomeini’s 1979 revolution will not last until its 40th birthday.” Former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton said addressing the MEK supporters in the meeting.

It is over thirty years since Iranian people and their just resistance (MEK) have been seeking for a regime change, but the brutal internal suppression, and international and especially US policy of appeasement towards Iran have been the main obstacles to reach this goal.

Now the time has come for a regime change, and Iranian regime understands this more than anyone else, and that is why their lobbies and apologists are spreading this fake news that regime change in Iran means another war in the Middle East and the war in Iraq will be repeated in Iran and US will get stuck in another war.

Iran lobbies also have started a widespread campaign against the MEK to demonize the MEK. Their goal from demonizing the MEK is to say that this regime does not have any alternative so for any possible change, the solution is within the regime and the West must try to find “moderates” inside the regime, and they should not support the MEK.

Contrary to many countries including Iraq, in Iran a democratic and organized opposition exists. The Mujahedin-e-Khalq or the MEK has been fighting with this regime for over thirty-eight years.

Since June 20, 1981 Iranian regime has executed over 120,000, mostly members and supporters of the MEK. Only in summer of 1988 over 30,000 political prisoners, majority of them from the MEK, were massacred.

In addition to the massacre of MEK members and supports, Iranian regime created an atmosphere of fear and terror in the society. The terror atmosphere was such that whoever had any connection of any kind with the MEK they would be arrested and tortured. Even using the name of MEK was prohibited. Any call or communication with MEK members in camps Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq by their family members was considered a crime and many MEK family members were arrested and tortured just because they called to talk to their loved ones.

Despite all the carnage, pressures, suppression, and demonizing campaigns the MEK continued its fight against the regime. After transfer of MEK members to Albania, they focused on activities inside Iran. In the past nine months, the MEK supports have staged a campaign regarding the 1988 massacre in Iran, revealing many atrocities of the regime. The campaign has been so wide spread and extensive that the supreme leader of the regime, Ali Khamenei, was forced to react against the MEK, by defending the massacre of MEK members and supporters in the prisons.

The adoption of the bill by the US House of Representatives, imposing new sanctions on the regime for violating human rights and pursuing ballistic missiles, and designating the IRGC as a terrorist entity is an essential step in rectifying the damaging policy of appeasement that needs to be completed by other measures including the eviction of the IRGC and its affiliated militia particularly from Syria and Iraq as well as the recognition of the Iranian people’s right to overthrow the clerical regime.

 *******

More about MEK

A Long Conflict between the Clerical Regime and the MEK

The origins of the MEK date back to before the 1979 Iranian Revolution., the MEK helped to overthrow the dictatorship of Shah Reza Pahlavi, but it quickly became a bitter enemy of the emerging the religious fascism under the pretext of Islamic Republic. To this day, the MEK and NCRI describe Ruhollah Khomenei and his associates as having co-opted a popular revolution in order to empower themselves while imposing a fundamentalist view of Islam onto the people of Iran.

Under the Islamic Republic, the MEK was quickly marginalized and affiliation with it was criminalized. Much of the organization’s leadership went to neighboring Iraq and built an exile community called Camp Ashraf, from which the MEK organized activities aimed at ousting the clerical regime and bringing the Iranian Revolution back in line with its pro-democratic origins. But the persistence of these efforts also prompted the struggling regime to crack down with extreme violence on the MEK and other opponents of theocratic rule.

The crackdowns culminated in the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, as the Iran-Iraq War was coming to a close. Thousands of political prisoners were held in Iranian jails at that time, many of them having already served out their assigned prison sentences. And with the MEK already serving as the main voice of opposition to the regime at that time, its members and supporters naturally made up the vast majority of the population of such prisoners.

As the result of a fatwa handed down by Khomeini, the regime convened what came to be known as the Death Commission, assigning three judges the task of briefly interviewing prisoners to determine whether they retained any sympathy for the MEK or harbored any resentment toward the existing government. Those who were deemed to have shown any sign of continued opposition were sentenced to be hanged. After a period of about three months, an estimated 30,000 people had been put to death. Many other killings of MEK members preceded and followed that incident, so that today the Free Iran rally includes an annual memorial for approximately 120,000 martyrs from the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.

The obvious motive behind the 1988 massacre and other such killings was the destruction of the MEK. And yet it has not only survived but thrived, gaining allies to form the NCRI and acquiring the widespread support that is put on display at each year’s Free Iran rally. In the previous events, the keynote speech was delivered by Maryam Rajavi, who has been known to receive several minutes of applause from the massive crowd as she takes the stage. Her speeches provide concrete examples of the vulnerability of the clerical regime and emphasize the ever-improving prospects for the MEK to lead the way in bringing about regime change.

The recipients of that message are diverse and they include more than just the assembled crowd of MEK members and supporters. The expectation is that the international dignitaries at each year’s event will carry the message of the MEK back to their own governments and help to encourage more policymakers to recognize the role of the Iranian Resistance in the potential creation of a free and democratic Iranian nation. It is also expected that the event will inspire millions of Iranians to plan for the eventual removal of the clerical regime. And indeed, the MEK broadcasts the event via its own satellite television network, to millions of Iranian households with illegal hookups.

MEK’s Domestic Activism and Intelligence Network

What’s more, the MEK retains a solid base of activists inside its Iranian homeland. In the run-up to this year’s Free Iran rally the role of those activists was particularly evident, since the event comes just a month and a half after the latest Iranian presidential elections, in which heavily stage-managed elections resulted in the supposedly moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani securing reelection. His initial election in 2013 was embraced by some Western policymakers as a possible sign of progress inside the Islamic Republic, but aside from the 2015 nuclear agreement with six world powers, none of his progressive-sounding campaign promises have seen the light of day.

Rouhani’s poor record has provided additional fertile ground for the message of the MEK and Maryam Rajavi. The Iranian Resistance has long argued that change from within the regime is impossible, and this was strongly reiterated against the backdrop of the presidential elections, when MEK activists used graffiti, banners, and other communications to describe the sitting president as an “imposter.” Many of those same communications decried Rouhani’s leading challenger, Ebrahim Raisi, as a “murderer,” owing to his leading role in the massacre of MEK supporters in 1988.

That fact helped to underscore the domestic support for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, insofar as many people who participated in the election said they recognized Raisi as the worst the regime had to offer, and that they were eager to prevent him from taking office. But this is not to say that voters saw Rouhani in a positive light, especially where the MEK is concerned. Under the Rouhani administration, the Justice Minister is headed by Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who also served on the Death Commission and declared as recently as last year that he was proud of himself for having carried out what he described as God’s command of death for MEK supporters.

With this and other aspects of the Islamic Republic’s record, the MEK’s pre-election activism was mainly focused on encouraging Iranians to boycott the polls. The publicly displayed banners and posters urged a “vote for regime change,” and many of them included the likeness of Maryam Rajavi, suggesting that her return to Iran from France would signify a meaningful alternative to the hardline servants of the clerical regime who are currently the only option in any Iranian national election.

Naturally, this direct impact on Iranian politics is the ultimate goal of MEK activism. But it performs other recognizable roles from its position in exile, not just limited to the motivational and organization role of the Free Iran rally and other, smaller gatherings. In fact, the MEK rose to particular international prominence in 2005 when it released information that had been kept secret by the Iranian regime about its nuclear program. These revelations included the locations of two secret nuclear sites: a uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and a heavy water plant at Arak, capable of producing enriched plutonium.

As well as having a substantial impact on the status of international policy regarding the Iranian nuclear program, the revelations also highlighted the MEK’s popular support and strong network inside Iran. Although Maryam Rajavi and the rest of the leadership of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran reside outside of the country, MEK affiliates are scattered throughout Iranian society with some even holding positions within hardline government and military institutions, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Drawing upon the resources of that intelligence network, the MEK has continued to share crucial information with Western governments in recent years, some of it related to the nuclear program and some of it related to other matters including terrorist training, military development, and the misappropriation of financial resources. The MEK has variously pointed out that the Revolutionary Guard controls well over half of Iran’s gross domestic product, both directly and through a series of front companies and close affiliates in all manner of Iranian industries.

In February of this year, the Washington, D.C. office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran held press conferences to detail MEK intelligence regarding the expansion of terrorist training programs being carried out across Iran by the Revolutionary Guards. The growth of these programs reportedly followed upon direct orders from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and coincided with increased recruitment of foreign nationals to fight on Tehran’s behalf in regional conflicts including the Syrian and Yemeni civil wars.

In the weeks following that press conference, the MEK’s parent organization also prepared documents and held other talks explaining the source of some of the Revolutionary Guards’ power and wealth. Notably, this series of revelations reflected upon trends in American policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. And other revelations continue to do so, even now.

MEK Intelligence Bolstering US Policy Shifts

Soon after taking office, and around the time the MEK identified a series of Revolutionary Guard training camps, US President Donald Trump directed the State Department to review the possibility of designating Iran’s hardline paramilitary as a foreign terrorist organization. Doing so would open the Revolutionary Guards up to dramatically increased sanctions – a strategy that the MEK prominently supports as a means of weakening the barriers to regime change within Iran.

The recent revelations of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran have gone a long way toward illustrating both the reasons for giving this designation to the Revolutionary Guards and the potential impact of doing so. Since then, the MEK has also used its intelligence gathering to highlight the ways in which further sanctioning the Guards could result in improved regional security, regardless of the specific impact on terrorist financing.

For example, in June the NCRI’s Washington, D.C. office held yet another press conference wherein it explained that MEK operatives had become aware of another order for escalation that had been given by Supreme Leader Khamenei, this one related to the Iranian ballistic missile program. This had also been a longstanding point of contention for the Trump administration and the rest of the US government, in light of several ballistic missile launches that have been carried out since the conclusion of nuclear negotiations, including an actual strike on eastern Syria.

That strike was widely viewed as a threatening gesture toward the US. And the MEK has helped to clarify the extent of the threat by identifying 42 separate missile sites scattered throughout Iran, including one that was working closely with the Iranian institution that had previously been tasked with weaponizing aspects of the Iranian nuclear program.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) led by Maryam Rajavi is thus going to great lengths to encourage the current trend in US policy, which is pointing to more assertiveness and possibly even to the ultimate goal of regime change. The MEK is also striving to move Europe in a similar direction, and the July 1 gathering is likely to show further progress toward that goal. This is because hundreds of American and European politicians and scholars have already declared support for the NCRI and MEK and the platform of Maryam Rajavi. The number grows every year, while the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran continues to collect intelligence that promises to clarify the need for regime change and the practicality of their strategy for achieving it.

Two Years after Nuclear Deal, Iran Seeking Regional Dominance

July 28, 2017 , 2:23 pm

By Keyvan Salami

New York – July marks the second anniversary of the controversial nuclear deal between Iran and P5+1, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).A deal which not only did not stop Iran’s nuclear program, but it only delayed it and at the same time provided billions of dollars to the regime to pursue its destructive policies in the region.

The Obama Administration and other advocates of the appeasement policy claimed that this agreement would bring serious changes to Iran’s behavior, including its actions in the Middle East. Two years on, it is increasingly evident that these claims, hollow and baseless on some levels, have fallen short.

The deal and the misguided policy that it influenced have emboldened Iran in many areas, especially its malign regional activities. The agreement not only failed to improve the Iranian people’s economic status, but it actually granted the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) billions of dollars to pursue its destructive policies in the region.

After spending the billions in windfall from the nuclear deal, Iran has begun meddling with its neighboring countries. Superficially, Iran has become a regional power, but what is the reality? Is Iran truly a regional powerhouse, and is there an ulterior motive behind the involvement in other countries’ affairs?

A quick look at Iran’s modern history suggests that its current actions in the region might actually signal that it possesses less power than is thought. Since the start of their rule, the mullahs based their regime on two pillars: crushing any domestic opposition and creating crises abroad. The adoption of such polices embodies the very nature of this regime. The mullahs’ regime is a backward-minded regime belonging to the Middle Ages which opposes social liberties and developments.

The system is based on Velayat-e Faqih (custodianship of the clergy) and it places all religious and legal authority in the hands of the Supreme Leader. What this means, in both theory and in practice, is that the Ali Khamenei (like Ruhollah Khomeini before him) plays a direct role in all the country’s affairs; and no individual, group, or committee in the country has the right to question or hold him accountable.

By contrast, Iranian society is a sizable demographic of young, highly educated citizens seeking increased development and more social liberties. This regime cannot match the contemporary society’s needs and considers force and suppression to be the only methods of maintaining their grip on power.

To perpetuate the systematic and widespread suppression inside the country, the mullahs rely on external crises to divert public attention. As a result, the “export of revolution”—more precisely the “export of terrorism”—and “creating crises outside of Iran” became Tehran’s official policy. There are numerous examples of the consequences of this policy.

The Iran-Iraq war, for example, lasted eight years, leaving millions on both sides  either dead or injured, and many more displaced. Hundreds of cities and villages were destroyed, and damages were estimated at $1 trillion for Iran alone. It also contributed to the establishment of Hezbollah and general interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs, the rise of Houthis in Yemen, the ascendancy of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and the subsequent Syrian Civil War.

Former regime Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini described the war as “God’s blessing.” During the war, Tehran brutally crushed its opposition through mass executions; in the summer of 1988 alone, 30,000 political prisoners were massacred across the country. The victims were mainly members and supporters of the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI-MEK).

Other international crises have served the regime in the same way. Tehran has brought carnage and suffering to thousands of innocent people in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and other Arab countries with their attempts to maintain their power.

Senior Iranian officials argue, “One reason we have been in Syria… and  Iraq, and carried out these measures, is that instead of fighting the enemy in the streets of Tehran, Kermanshah, Arak, Qum, Sanandaj and Tabriz, we have taken the fight to Deir ez-Zur, Raqqa, Aleppo, Homs and Mosul….”

Iran’s tactics and daliances in other countries affairs are not due to the nation’s inherent strength. supporting regime change is the only real policy to stand against their export of terrorism.

Change to: Iran is not a regional power and its meddling in other countries affairs is not a sign of their dominance, but on the contrary it’s a smoke screen to hide their internal instability and weakness. As a result, the only real policy to stop Iran’s export of terrorism is a change in the government and regime in Iran.

The annual Iranian Resistance gathering on July 1 clearly demonstrated how regime change is within reach. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, was the keynote speaker of the conference. She emphasized that the only way to liberate the Iranian people from religious tyranny and to establish peace and tranquility in the region is to overthrow the Velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule).

The overthrow of this regime is necessary, feasible and within reach, and that a democratic alternative and an organized resistance exists to topple it, she underscored.

The parties behind the democratic alternative are working to establish freedom and democracy in Iran. Their plans will bring harmony to various ethnic groups, end discord and divide between Shiites and Sunnis, and eliminate tensions between Iran and its neighbors, Mrs. Rajavi concluded.