Iran watch

Last month I wrote about the difficulty in finding news about Iran's domestic affairs—a subject of some importance, as the activities of the Iranian intelligence services, and the regime's not-so-secret support for all manner of Islamist terror groups, both have direct bearing on our current war. (More here, and see the several links at the end of this post as well.)

Since then, I've discovered that the Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran (SMCCDI) has a portion of its site devoted to gathering news on Iran from the world press. There is likely not a better newsfeed on the subject—free and in English—anywhere.

Here's a sampling from just April 14.

Via Reuters:

Iran has sent thousands of armed agents into neighbouring Iraq to back a Shi'ite Muslim uprising there and foment anti-U.S. sentiment, an exiled Iranian opposition group said on Wednesday.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), listed by the United States as a terrorist group, said Iranian agents had infiltrated the Iraqi police force and Iranian Shi'ite clerics were present in towns and villages throughout Iraq.

Tehran “has sent thousands of troops into Iraq and thousands of arms so as to be able to intervene there better,” Mohammad Mohaddessin, head of the NCRI's foreign affairs commission, told reporters in Paris, where it has an office. […]

NCRI pronouncements have been given some credence since it said in 2002 that Tehran was hiding an uranium enrichment plant forcing Iran to admit the existence of the plant and allow U.N.'s nuclear inspectors to view it. (Direct link)

More on the NCRI and the affiliated Mujahedeen-e Khalq—from two very different perspectives—here and here.

Note that this story does not provide direct evidence, but only reports on an announcement from a group with a clear agenda. Still, the fact that Reuters saw it as newsworthy is significant, especially in light of that news agency's clear Eurocentric worldview.

Next up: The UK's Telegraph.

British officials in Iraq have all but ignored President George Bush's plan to foster a new democracy in the country in favour of their own agenda, according to an American former official in Baghdad's interim government. […]

Michael Rubin, who resigned from the Pentagon 10 days ago after returning from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad, gave a stark account of fundamental divisions between British and American officials over how to run Iraq.

He suggested that British officials clearly had little interest in pursuing the White House vision of a democratic Iraq, a keystone of its foreign policy, and were too “soft” in confronting dissent.

He also said many US officials had been startled at their British counterparts' attempts to capitalise on their presence in southern Iraq for a “freelance” fostering of ties with Iran, one of Washington's most implacable enemies.

“That is a major policy decision for the White House,” Mr Rubin said. “It should not be made in Basra” - the centre of the British zone of influence. “We got a sense that Britons were using the CPA as an outreach to Iran, which was not the Americans' intention.”

Tony Blair has been the staunchest of allies since 9/11. Without British support, there might not have been a Coalition of the Willing. But the policy of the Labour government towards Iran is far closer to the EU position than that of the Bush administration—and in this regard, at least, US policy can almost be fairly called unilateralist.

Almost: but unilateralist is not by definition wrong, John Kerry's protestations notwithstanding. And assuming that Iraq can be finessed into a functional state with a representative government—no small feat, that—Iran will likely become the next big story, for at least three reasons. First, as already mentioned, is the regime's support for terrorist groups from Afghanistan to Iraq to Lebanon and Syria. If the Bush Doctrine is not to become farce, then the primary state sponsor of terrorism must be confronted. Second is the country's nuclear weapons program: it exists, it is extensive, and compared to the mullahs' knack for playing Western nations against one another, Saddam was a rank amateur. Unless they are somehow stopped, expect announcement of an Iranian nuclear capability within two years.

But the third reason for watching Persia may be less grim. The theocracy's days are numbered, and, God willing, they will be short. As in the Arab countries, the majority of Iran's people are under 30; but there the similarities end. Israel aside, no nation in the Middle East or Central Asia has a population more pro-Western, or for that matter more pro-US.

The Movement called, this morning (09:00 AM Tehran's local time), for a massive support of George W. Bush in preparation of the upcoming US Presidential election. The call was made by Aryo B. Pirouznia, of SMCCDI, during an interview made with the popular Los Angeles based “National Iranian TV” (NITV) which broadcasts for Iran, America and Europe.

The Movement's Coordinator who was speaking during a round table, hosted by Cyrus Sharafshahi of NITV, stated: “The dynamic for the Iranian People must be to help the current US President in order to be re-elected. The Man at the White House has been supporting us in our endeavors while his opponents were the same who for years helped and backed the clerics by ignoring our plight and discussing on top of our People's blood.”

Pirouznia added: ” We all remember how the Carter administration supported the mullahs and how Ramsey Clark qualified a tyrant, such as Khomeini, as a “Gandhi of his time”….. Same type of demagogy was followed, on the blood of the Iranian People, during the Clinton Administration which offered apologies to this regime and which helped the continuation of its life by promoting the so-called reformists….. Of course, we all remember how Al Gore qualified the Islamic republic regime as “being on the way of becoming democratic” during the famous electoral TV debate he had with Mr. Bush….. Now few years later, the same path is being followed by John Kerry who has qualified, SO FAR, the Islamic regime as a “democracy” and promised to establish ties and to “repair damages” in an e.mail sent to the official Mehr News Agency affiliated to the mullahs regime…. Such an unethical doing was quoted by the official Tehran Times of February 8th…. One must ask him then what is his excuse for such wrong doing when everybody know, since a long time, how much the theocratic regime is rejected and illegitimate?…”

Well.

If the mullahs fall, then within a decade there might well be a solid band of representative democracies from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.

It could happen. But not without our continued vigilance.

UPDATE: That last should read “But not without our continued vigilance and support of the Iranian democratic movement.” See the comment below.

European countries have to stop making biz-deals with mullahs and US must start support iranian students and dissidents inside iran financially. As same as mullahs are helping shia jihadists in iraq, CIA has to start contacting iranian studetns and help them in their demonstrations and strikes. There are many students inside iran that wants western democracy and they are prepared to give their lives for it, but they can't do it with bare hands. Theocracy days are numbered but it doesn't mean US Gov. has to sit and watch.