Spring of freedom

The European Union is distancing from Iran’s regime  Warsaw will be hosting an international conference in the middle of February and the Iranian regime is already expressing deep concerns in this regard. The state-run “Iranian Diplomacy” website writes about a wave of different blows inflicted upon Tehran’s mullahs, especially their policy of warmongering and terrorism across the region. “The expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Tirana (capital of Albania); the anti-[Iranian regime] conference in Warsaw scheduled for February 13-14 parallel to the recent Iranophobia in Denmark and the Netherlands; Vienna refusing to host the ‘special purpose vehicle’ office, the recent sanctions imposed by the Green Continent against Iran; and the European Union’s simultaneous efforts to pursue activities aimed at launching the SPV, all render complicated circumstances and even contradicting behavior by the Europeans vis-à-vis Iran.” Jahan-e Sanat,  another state-run newspaper in I...

Europe’s “special purpose vehicle” After the current U.S. administration pulled out of the flawed Iran nuclear deal, the European Union promised to the ruling theocracy in Iran to create a Special Purpose Vehicle to circumvent U.S. sanctions and allow the Iranian regime to continue selling its oil without repercussions. But while the end-2018 deadline for setting up the clearinghouse-like mechanism, has already passed, no European initiative has appeared on the horizon. Meanwhile, some European officials did their best to express their commitment to the Iran deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In her personal blog, EU’s high representative for foreign relations and security policy Federica Mogherini published  an article  titled “Twelve things to bring with us in 2019” and described her efforts to rescue the deal by creating “a mechanism to let our [European] firms continue their legitimate business with Iran.” While the staunch su...

At a  conference  of Iranian communities on December 15, speakers connected via a multiplex. The attendees were in more than 40 cities located throughout Europe, North America, and Australia. One of the key speakers was  Maryam Rajavi,  the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the author of a 10-point plan for the democratic future of a free Iran. She called for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) to be blacklisted as terrorist organizations. “Tehran’s recourse to terrorism is not a transient or tactical reaction, but a strategic outlet for it to confront the uprisings and its overthrow. Today, the regime uses  terrorism  to confront the Iranian people’s uprisings,” said Rajavi. Despite their efforts to distract the Iranian people, ongoing protests that began in December 2017 have shown those efforts have failed. She stressed that the inter...

It has become quite embarrassing to witness European policymakers be so utterly determined to literally fund the clerics  THE distance Europe is going, aiming to preserve the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, can be described as shameless. While disturbing to admit, it is a stark reminder of how British prime minister Neville Chamberlain fell to Hitler’s knees in the late 1930s, only to pave the path for World War II. One would think the Green Continent would have learned its lesson, especially after the death of over 60 million people. Unfortunately, Europe’s policy vis-à-vis the Iranian regime is mirroring the shame witnessed 80 years ago. Appeasement and short-term economic interests are blinding Europe to the extent that senior officials are neglecting the very dangerous security terrorist threats posed by Iran’s regime, being the number one state sponsor of terrorism. Denying reality While the United States re-imposed crippling oil/banking/shipping sanctions against Ira...

Sid Ahmed Ghozali, former Prime Minister of Algeria and Chairman of the Arab Islamic Solidarity Committee Iran has become involved in North African regions like Algeria and has created problems they were never before experienced in North African history, such as the Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict. Iran introduced these conflicts and is now seeking to uproot North Africa from its Arab roots. North Africa is close to the Europeans geographically. Historically and culturally, the North Africans are closely related to Europe, as well. North Africans are well suited to warn European parliaments, organizations, and media outlets about the dangers Iran poses. Prior to his visit to France, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said, “The biggest enemy in the region is the Iranian regime and not the Shiite sect.” He explained that Islam is different from the extremism that Iran attempts to promote and that before the Islamic Revolution, the Sunni majority had no problems with ...

.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Britains Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson attend a press conference in London, January 22, 2018  The United States plans to send a diplomatic team to Europe to discuss the Iran nuclear deal and countering Iranian activities in the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Monday according to a U.S. pool reporter.  “We have a team traveling - actually, they’re coming to Europe,” Tillerson said according to the U.S. reporter traveling with him. The team would explore “how we can address these flaws in the nuclear agreement ... but also how can we cooperate more on countering Iran’s activities that are not related to their nuclear program. Our concerns about their arms exports to Yemen and elsewhere,” Tillerson said.

Social and Economical protests have turned political  As protests recently began to consume Iran, European capitals were at a seeming loss for words. After several days of silence, Europe’s leaders issued curt statements of sympathy for the protestors — but with a notable tinge of moral equivocation. A  European Union  statement and Britain’s foreign secretary separately called on “all concerned to refrain from violence.” Germany’s foreign minister urged “all sides” to abstain from bloodshed. What accounts for Europe’s apparent conflation of victim and oppressor? Previously, European leaders have expressed their determination to raise difficult issues with Iran, including human rights. After concluding the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), European leaders hailed the beginning of a new era in EU-Iran relations. A 2016 resolution passed by the European Parliament voiced the hope that a “substantial improvemen...

Hezbollah Moving Tons of Cocaine from Latin America to Europe to Europe Terror Operations  Long ago I wrote explaining how Congress is taking the lead on Iran policy. Recently, major developments involving the United States, Iran, and the entire Middle East have placed the powerful US legislative body before obligations in the face of arguably the world’s most dangerous regime. At a time when Iran’s foreign meddling and ballistic missile drive continues to raise eyebrows out of deep concern, an important spotlight is being focused on a shadowy aspect of Tehran’s notorious schemes. Politico released what has been described as a bombshell, exposing how Iran literally demanded the Obama administration facilitate a major drug trafficking/money-laundering campaign across four continents. While senior Obama administration officials must be held accountable for their ties with the terrorist Lebanese Hezbollah, the main issue at hand is how to tackle the root: Iran. B...