Regime change in Iran is key to regional security

By Mona Salem al-Jabouri

Any scrutiny of the political situation in this region reveals the prominent role played by the Islamic Republic of Iran. One cannot contemplate ending or restricting this role without thinking about its consequences in Tehran.

Meddling in the affairs of other nations in the region is a pillar of Tehran’s strategy, and it uses it as a lever to extract concessions from these nations, as well as using it as a playing card in its negotiations with world powers.

To expect Tehran to change its strategy overnight or for the moderate faction to stop it is erroneous because this strategy is a pillar upon which the Islamic Republic has been built and its destiny is intertwined with it. This is an important point to keep in mind for us who aim at ending Iran’s interventions in Iraq and the whole region.

Such a conclusion places the region in a difficult situation with options each of which is more bitter than the other. This situation cannot end except by Tehran itself. Certainly, negotiating with Tehran means to kowtow to its demands and ambitions, and no one can guarantee that Tehran would be bound to cease its mischief in the region in any case. The conclusion is that the only ideal solution lies in a regime change which is a task for the Iranian people and their Resistance. On June 13, 2015, the world was witness to a grand gathering of the Iranian Resistance in Paris attended by over 120,000 in which Iranian dissidents called for change and the overthrow of this regime.

It is unclear how much longer countries in the region would keep themselves with the regime away from the reality of an expanding opposition by the Iranian people and for how long they would ignore the Iranian Resistance which is the vanguard in shaping political activity and mustering a campaign against Tehran. Is it not time for the countries in the region to extend their hands in support of the Iranian Resistance? This Resistance represents the wishes of the Iranian people. Is this not the prime time for responding to Tehran with redoubled force and to point to the reality that ‘the one sitting in a glasshouse should not throw stones at others’?

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian opposition, expressed her view of the conditions in the region by saying: “The solution lies in ridding the entire region from this regime and to overthrow the caliphate of fundamentalism and terrorism ruling Iran.” This is the direct consequence of the dubious strategy of this regime, because this strategy will not cease without a regime change through its overthrow.