Iran Nuclear Deal Feeds The Roots Of Regional Terrorism

Iran and six major world powers reached a nuclear deal today, capping more than a decade of on-off negotiations with an agreement that could potentially transform the Middle East. (CARLOS BARRIA/AFP/Getty Images)

Maryam Rajavi

Against the backdrop of daily reports of atrocities at the hands of terror groups in Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, the world now has word of a nuclear agreement between the P5+1 and the Iranian regime, which–even in the most optimistic reading–not only fails to block Tehran’s pathways to a nuclear bomb, but will provide it with tens of billions of dollars to add to its war chest.

Some may view the concessions to Tehran as an attempt by the Obama administration to secure Iran’s cooperation to counter and defeat the insidious danger of Islamic fundamentalism. This would misread the regime’s history and stated intentions.  Tehran’s nuclear program is explicitly tied to its revolutionary, imperialist impulse. As former President and current head of the Expediency Council Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani once boasted, if the regime acquires nuclear weapons, who could prevent the export of the “revolution”?

The agreement comes as the increasingly fragile regime is reeling from a multitude of crises. Under such circumstances, the P5+1 could have easily compelled the regime to abandon its nuclear projects had it adopted a decisive policy. In reality, the international community has lost an exceptional opportunity to stop the regime from acquiring the bomb.

Regime in Tehran has acted as the driving force of the modern Islamic caliphate

Similarly, when the United States fights terrorism it opts for costly and ultimately counterproductive efforts to pick at dandelions. A drone strike here, token training and small arms shipments there. Lest the garden of civilization–from the Fertile Crescent to the Nile River Valley–be overrun, we must eliminate this ominous phenomenon at its source. To do so we must gain a better grasp of its roots: Tehran. Indeed, the nuclear deal will legitimize and empower the most potent source of radical Islamic fundamentalism in the world.

It is true that both Shia and Sunni extremists, although disparate in tactics and sects, seek to impose an Islamic caliphate–a state based on repressive, regressive and false interpretations of Islam. But the modern vision of an Islamic caliphate in fact emerged four decades ago, in 1979, when Khomeini’s religious dictatorship–based on the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, or absolute rule of the clergy–came to power in Iran. Since then, the regime in Tehran has acted as the driving force and epicenter of this menacing threat both in the region and worldwide.

The ultimate, stated goal of this brand of fundamentalist extremism, as codified in the Iranian regime’s Constitution, is to establish a caliphate and impose Sharia law by force. It recognizes no sovereign borders in its quest for establishing an Islamic Empire and is primarily characterized by the subjugation of women, complete intolerance for ethnic or religious minorities, and predilections for brutality and violence. Sound familiar? This repressive, expansionist agenda, first institutionalized in Iran, is likewise the primary objective of fellow Islamic extremists including ISIS.

The mullahs will not be part of the solution to Islamic fundamentalism

Tehran has continually sought to export its reactionary ideology abroad in order to destabilize other regional powers and acquire or develop nuclear weapons as a guarantee of its own survival. According to the Constitution, the mandate of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is to protect and extend Iran’s “Islamic revolution,” and the IRGC in turn formed the Quds Force, a special unit that has played a central role in perpetrating terrorism around the world. The Quds Force has played a particularly destructive function in Iraq and Syria over the past several years, sowing the sectarian violence that facilitated the vicious backlash of ISIS terrorists.

There is little nuance in the upper echelons of the regime. So-called “moderates” in Tehran, such as President Hassan Rouhani, share the views of other factions regarding the regime’s goals, including the totalitarian rule of the Supreme Leader and policies pertaining to terrorism and fundamentalism. These figureheads are not a force for change, but rather partners promoting the velayat-e faqih regime, which in turn stands as a major inspiration, model and active funder and backer of terrorist groups and cells all over the world. The mullahs will not be part of the solution to Islamic fundamentalism and extremism–they are at the very heart of the problem.

The Iranian people yearn for a democratic, tolerant and pluralist state

Islamic fundamentalism nevertheless can and must be defeated. But it must be torn out at its root: Tehran. This includes expelling the Quds Force and defanging the Shiite militias and other Iranian proxies in Iraq while enabling the genuine participation of Sunnis in governance. The U.S. should empower Sunni tribes by arming and backing them to provide security for their own communities. This is the only way to defeat ISIS. We must drain the swamp of their grievances and their new recruits.

In Syria, Iran’s patronage of President Bashar al-Assad must cease, which entails providing assistance to the moderate opposition’s efforts to overthrow Assad’s tyrannical rule and to establish democracy in that country.

These measures will be significantly diminished, however, if the regime in Tehran is able to preserve or expand its nuclear programs. All pathways toward the attainment of nuclear weapons by this regime must be blocked, something which the nuclear agreement does not do.

In the end, so long as the mullahs remain in power in Iran, Islamic fundamentalism will persist, mutate and spread. Regime change in Iran–through the courage and resolve of the Iranian people and the organized opposition–yanks at the root of the problem. As evidenced in the popular uprisings of 2009, the Iranian people yearn for a democratic, tolerant and pluralist state to grow in place of the velayat-e faqih system that chokes them.

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Maryam Rajavi’s statement on Iran nuclear deal

Maryam Rajavi: Circumventing six UN Security Council resolutions, an unsigned agreement will not close the mullahs' path to deception and access to nuclear bomb, but the ‘chalice of nuclear poison’ and Khamenei's retreat from his red lines will shatter his hegemony and undermine the entire regime

NCRI - Despite many shortcomings and unwarranted concessions to the mullahs, the nuclear deal struck between P5+1 and the Iranian regime represents a reluctant retreat by Khamenei and a violation of red lines upon which he had repeatedly insisted over the past 12 years, including in recent weeks, said the Iranian Resistance's President-elect Maryam Rajavi.

Mrs. Rajavi reiterated that circumventing the six UN Security Council resolutions and an unsigned agreement, which lacks the requirements of an official international treaty, would neither block the mullahs' pathways to deception nor their access to a nuclear bomb. Nevertheless, as the Iranian Resistance had pointed out, such a retreat will shatter Khamenei's hegemony (within the regime) and weaken and undermine the ruling religious fascism in its entirety, she added.

Mrs. Rajavi said: The retreat, which regime officials have described as a ‘chalice of nuclear poison’, will inevitably aggravate the power struggle at the top, upset the internal balance of power to the detriment of Khamenei and permeate the entire regime hierarchy. As such, in a nutshell, one can describe this nuclear agreement as a lose-lose outcome as far as its substance and structure are concerned, she stressed.

Recalling that the Iranian Resistance was first to expose the clerical regime's clandestine nuclear projects and facilities during the past three decades, Mrs. Rajavi added: Khamenei and his regime capitulated to this agreement out of concern over Iranian society’s explosive state, the debilitating impact of the sanctions, their impasse in the region and the prospects for a toughening in the terms of the agreement by the U.S. Congress.

Pointing to the regime’s extremely fragile and vulnerable state, Mrs. Rajavi stressed: Had the P5+1 been more decisive, the Iranian regime would have had no choice but to fully retreat from and permanently abandon its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. Specifically, it would have been compelled to halt all uranium enrichment and completely shut down its bomb-making projects.

Mrs. Rajavi added: The P5+1 should now insist on evicting the regime from the Middle East and prevent its regional meddling. This is a fundamental principle that needs to be included in any agreement; otherwise every country in this war-torn and volatile region will have the right to demand all the concessions given to the clerical regime, which would only result in a catastrophic escalation of the nuclear arms race in that part of the world.

Another important point, Mrs. Rajavi noted, is that the money poured into the regime’s coffers must be placed under strict United Nations monitoring to ensure that it addresses the Iranian people's urgent needs, especially the unpaid meager salaries of workers, teachers, and nurses, and is used to provide food and medicine to citizens. Otherwise, Khamenei will use these funds to further the regime’s policy of export of terrorism and fundamentalism in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon as well as to fill the coffers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

It is the Iranian people's right to know what they will get out of this agreement, upon which the mullahs' president claimed their water, bread and environment depended, Mrs. Rajavi said. She added: Any agreement that disregards and fails to underscore the Iranian people's human rights will only embolden the regime in its suppression and relentless executions, abuse of the rights of the Iranian people, and violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Charter.

Addressing the Iranian people, who have been the prime victims of the ruling religious dictatorship and a majority of whom live below the poverty line while the regime spends billions of dollars of the nation’s wealth on its ominous nuclear program to maintain its grip on power, Mrs. Rajavi said: The time has come to hold the anti-Iranian regime accountable and to rise up to overthrow the mullahs' illegitimate regime and establish a free, democratic and non-nuclear Iran.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
July 14, 2015

Cristina Fernandez Thinks that "Iran was Involved" in 1994 AMIA Attack

BUENOS AIRES - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez thinks that "Iran was involved" in the 1994 attack against the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, or AMIA, building in Buenos Aires, according to an interview that was released on Sunday.

Fernandez published the entire transcription of her interview in March with the U.S. magazine 'The New Yorker', on her official website on Sunday.

In the interview with journalist Dexter Filkins, Fernandez stressed that after 21 years of the attack against AMIA -that left 85 dead and perpetrators of which still remain unknown- only her government has made progress by signing the memorandum of understanding with Iran in 2013.

"If it hadn't been adjudged unconstitutional by the Judiciary of Argentina, we would be in a condition to demand at the UN that Iran perform under their agreement, to perform under the agreement by the Truth Committee, which comprises 7 internationally renowned legal experts, for the Argentinean judge to go to Teheran," she highlighted.

"Once the depositions of the Iranians are taken in Teheran, the proceedings may continue, people may be processed, evidence can be taken. Now we are in the same position we were 21 years ago, without anyone convicted, anyone in prison," she added.

When asked about Iran's involvement in the attack she confirmed that "according to the statements of the Argentinean Judiciary, I have to say yes."

"Obviously I think that Iran was actually involved. Or else, how could I ask for people to be extradited? I have to abide by the orders of the judge that directs that someone be extradited, being an Iranian citizen, obviously. Or else, it would almost be absurd," she said.

The president also rejected allegations made by Alberto Nisman, late prosecutor investigating the attack on AMIA, who had filed a complaint against her for allegedly covering up Iran's involvement in the attack, four days before his death in inexplicable circumstances.

In the lawsuit, which was dismissed by the Argentine judiciary, Nisman said that the memorandum of understanding was a tool to exonerate suspects of the attack in exchange for strengthening trade relations with Iran.

For Fernandez, the lawsuit and the death of Nisman was "a big political operation against the government, with nation-wide implications and also a global impact on the current situation in the Middle East, in the United States and elsewhere."

The president also discussed other controversial topics, like the Argentine foreign policy which in 12 years has grown closer to Venezuela, Russia and China while distancing itself with United States.

"We are not distancing ourselves from the United States to approach Russia or China, there's simply an acknowledgement of a multi-polar world."

Two Police Academy Officials, Federal Police Officer Shot in Mexico

CANCUN, Mexico – Two police academy officials from western Mexico and a Federal Police officer were shot several times in the hotel zone in the Caribbean resort city of Cancun in an apparent fight, state prosecutors said.

The shooting occurred around 3:00 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Teatro de Cancun, the Quintana Roo state Attorney General’s Office said.

A red alert was issued for all security forces, including the army.

Two of the wounded men are officials of the Western Regional Public Safety Academy in Morelia, the capital of Michoacan state, said the Federal Police coordinator in Quintana Roo, Hector Gonzalez Valdepeña.

The police academy’s director, Gerardo Enrique Escarcega Hernandez, 57, deputy director, Aaron Ramirez Vargas, 40, and Federal Police officer Enrique Escarcega Mata, no age given, were wounded in the incident.

Escarcega Hernandez is the father of the Federal Police officer.

“A person who said he was a soldier attacked them with a firearm apparently because the son was urinating in the street. That’s what eyewitnesses stated,” Gonzalez Valdepeña said.

Escarcega Hernandez and Ramirez Vargas are listed in stable condition, while the Federal Police officer, who underwent surgery, is in serious condition, Gonzalez Valdepeña said.

Investigators found six bullet casings at the shooting scene, Quintana Roo Deputy Attorney General Carlos Arturo Alvarez Escalera said.

“We’ve questioned the wounded, they said it was a fight,” the deputy state AG said. “The eyewitnesses said a woman was with the assailant.”

4 men lashed in public in Iran for smoking water pipe

NCRI – Four young men were flogged in public earlier this week in the town of Torqabeh, north-eastern Iran.

The four men each received 74 lashes for smoking a traditional Iranian ghelyoon, or water pipe, in public during the daytime fasting hours in the holy month of Ramadan.

The brutal and degrading sentence was carried out in public Thursday afternoon in a garden, the state-run daily Khorasan wrote on Saturday.

The mullahs’ regime has stepped up the use of degrading punishments such as public floggings during Ramadan. Its main intention is to increase suppression of dissent and spread fear at a time when the regime is negotiating with world powers to curb its nuclear program in return for an end to international sanctions.

Anyone in Iran caught eating, drinking or smoking in public during daytime in Ramadan may receive 74 lashes in addition to a jail term of up to two months, judiciary officials of the regime have threatened. Special patrols are stationed at streets and public parks to deal with those who drink, eat or smoke in public.

At least 500 people have been arrested and the majority sentenced to flogging in Shiraz, southern Iran, for failing to observe a fast during daytime in Ramadan, the regime's deputy prosecutor general in the city has said.

Last year, a Christian man in Iran had his lips burnt with a cigarette for eating during the day in Ramadan. The savage punishment was carried out in public in the city of Kermanshah.

The number of floggings across Iran is much higher than officially announced.

Trump Predicts He’ll Win Hispanic Vote Despite Controversial Remarks

WASHINGTON – Real-estate magnate and TV personality Donald Trump promises he will win the Hispanic vote to become the Republican candidate and then the elected president of the United States, despite his controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants.

Trump made that prediction at a press conference in Los Angeles, where he again defended his opinion about the harm undocumented immigrants are doing to the United States, the daily Los Angeles Times reported.

“When it’s all said and done, I will win the Hispanic vote. I will win the Hispanic vote because I’m going to create jobs. I’m going to take them away from China,” Trump said.

The Republican hopeful has been widely censured for his comments last June 16 when he announced his run for the presidency and at the same time harshly criticized Mexican immigrants and proposed building a “great wall on our southern border.”

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best... They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems to us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people!” the magnate said as he launched his campaign.

On Saturday, the billionaire businessman backed his stand by surrounded himself with supporters who said they had lost loved ones in crimes and traffic accidents involving undocumented immigrants.

“People came into the country illegally and killed their children. The illegals come in and the illegals kill their children,” Trump told the press conference.

The magnate added that other countries like Mexico are “sending criminals to us and we’re putting those criminals in jails, often times after they’ve hurt somebody or killed somebody.”

About 150 protesters gathered outside the building where Trump was speaking to blast his remarks, while a smaller group of his sympathizers were also on hand holding up posters that said “Trump tells the truth,” according to the Angeleno daily.

Trump’s statements have lost him several contracts, including those with TV networks Univision, ESPN and NBC, the Macy’s department store chain, Spanish chef Jose Andres and car-race organizer NASCAR.

Republican hopefuls for the U.S. presidency who have distanced themselves from Trump’s comments include Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Rick Perry.