It seems that the Iranian regime is now staging a new play in Iraq. The Godfather of international terrorism is now acting as a mediator to bring peace and stability to its neighbor. Why does the world need Iran to broker a deal between the coalition forces and the insurgents? Iran has dispatched thousands of well trained and heavily armed agents and funneled millions of dollars into Iraq right after the fall of Saddam to wreak havoc in that country. Elsewhere in the Middle East, the former FBI director stated unequivocally that Tehran was behind the deadly bomb attack against the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. On another front, the clerics are in hot pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of the international community. It simply does not make any sense to “save the day” by asking Iran to be the arbiter.
 
In a recent press conference, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Richard Myers specifically complained of Iranian meddling in Iraq.  He also warned Iran of the consequences of its actions. Michael Rubin, a Coalition Provisional Authority governance adviser in Iraq for 16 months, also wrote about his first hand observation of Iran’s involvement in Iraq.
 
According to the intelligence gathered by the Iranian opposition, Tehran is trying to reach its goals in a calculated fashion. The First step was to establish a network of charity organizations for recruiting and organizing Shiite fanatics and insurgents. The second step was to mobilize the militia all over the country to conduct attacks against the coalition forces and civilians. The entire operation was coordinated in the new headquarters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard near the Iran-Iraq border in Ilam province.
 
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards sent thousands of its well-trained officers to Iraq with the prime goal of spreading terror among Iraqi people. Since then, women are being harassed for not wearing the veil. Movie theaters have been attacked for showing Western movies. These developments are strikingly similar to what happened in Iran immediately after the 1979 Revolution.
 
It is ironic that what happened in Iran 25 years ago is reoccurring in Iraq. I witnessed the events that brought the mullahs to power in Iran. They used the same tactics to grab power after the fall of the Shah’s regime. They used a network of mosques and charity organizations to mobilize their forces to fill the void of power. The Iranian people have been living under terror and fear since then. The mullahs have tortured and executed tens of thousands. They have wasted Iran’s natural resources to finance international terrorism and to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Now the mullahs are using 25 years of experience to erect another Islamic Republic in Iraq.
 
The cunning mullahs are known for using the victims of their terrorist actions as bargaining chips. The Iran hostage crisis in early 1980s and the US and French captives in Lebanon a few year later are case in point.
 
For their part, Europe and America chose to play into the hands of the mullahs instead of sticking to their stated policy of not negotiating with terrorists. The mullahs took that as a sign of weakness; we were the best tutors for our enemy. They are now making Iraq another testing ground.
 
We should not underestimate the mullahs in Iran, where the heart of fundamentalism and terrorism is beating. Unless the Tehran regime is dealt with first, the world and Iraq in particular would continue to suffer from instability and chaos.
 
The Iranian regime is responsible for more than 80 percent of all terrorist attacks around the world and has been condemned by United Nations for human rights abuses, without ever being held to account.
 
It would be a dangerous mistake to say we will not negotiate with terrorists but try to use the godfather of international terrorism as mediators. It would be as if one would ask the wolf to guard the sheep.  The road to democracy in Iraq passes through Iran and not the other way round. The mullahs in Iran are not the “cure.” They are the very “disease” that has to be terminated in order to bring peace and prosperity to Iraqi people and to the region. The U.S. could help its own cause by supporting the democratic opposition to Tehran and the call for a referendum in Iran.
  
Hedayat Mostowfi is the Executive Director for nationwide Committee in Support of Referendum in Iran.

Email Hedayat Mostowfi

Send this Article to a Friend