With nearly three months into the war in Gaza, one thing has become increasingly clear: Iran’s regime is playing an important role in keeping the Middle east in chaos.
Many politicians and analysts across the spectrum concur that Iran’s regime has played a pivotal role in creating the crisis.
In a new in-depth report, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) lays out the stake that Tehran has in the war in the Middle East and why any solution for peace in the region must include a firm policy toward the regime.
Survival through external crises
“Since its ascent to power following the 1979 revolution, the Iranian regime has anchored its governance on two fundamental principles. The first revolves around internal repression, while the second centers on the global dissemination of crisis under the pretext of the ‘export of revolution,’” the NCRI writes.
This dual goal has been the main goal behind the founding the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), which is tasked with both oppressing internal dissent and exporting terrorism abroad. It is important to look at the regime’s intervention in the region through this lens. Therefore, the regime’s primary objective in fomenting this crisis “serves as a calculated maneuver to sacrifice the lives of thousands of Palestinians and Jews to divert attention from a more significant crisis within Iran and facilitates the suppression of domestic protesters,” the NCRI writes.
This has been marked by the hundreds of executions carried out in Iran since the beginning of the war, along with an unprecedented surge in repressive measures against dissidents and minorities.
How appeasement aids and abets the regime
While the regime’s role in the Middle East conflict is undeniable, there are differing view on how to deal with Tehran’s provocative behavior.
The proponents of the policy appeasement have chosen to overlook the interventions of the Iranian regime, all in the name of preventing a war between the US and Iran. They try to portray the regime as part of any solution for peace in the region.
“Unfortunately, this policy has not only failed to prevent war but has inadvertently enabled the Iranian regime to fuel bloody conflicts in the region for years,” the NCRI writes.
The failure of this policy is evident in the bloody results of the regime’s interventions in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestine.
In fact, the policy of appeasement is being reinforced by the efforts of the regime itself, which uses its lobbies and media influencers to sell the narrative that the alternative to appeasement would be a direct armed conflict with the regime. These tactics can be seen in the context of the current war, where Tehran’s lobbies label those who point to Iran as warmongers seeking to escalate tensions between the US and Iran.
But the truth is that the regime wants to avoid a direct conflict at all costs, which is why it engages in power posturing and tries to incite violence through its proxies, giving it an excuse to shrug off any responsibility.
Per the NCRI report, “In essence, the regime’s interventions in other countries through proxies are solely aimed at maintaining its grip on power, concealing internal crises, and preempting uprisings that could threaten its rule. Turning a blind eye to these interventions and appeasing the regime only serves to fuel its strategic objectives.”
War is not the solution
It is clear that as long as the mullahs’ regime is in power in Iran, there will be no peace in the Middle East because this regime predicates its survival on causing mayhem in the region. Contrary to what the proponents of the appeasement policy are trying to portray, the alternative is not to go to war with Iran’s regime.
Instead, the NCRI reiterates the Iranian Resistance’s solution, which “entails fostering and supporting a grassroots movement from within Iran that advocates for and actively works towards a democratic transformation and the removal of the existing regime.”
There is already great potential for change inside Iran. Since 2017, the Iranian people have expressed their desire for regime change through numerous waves of nationwide uprisings. Moreover, the Iranian people benefit from the existence of an organized resistance movement symbolized by the PMOI and the NCRI, which has stood against this regime for four decades. Today, this organized resistance movement is expanding inside Iran through the network of Resistance Units who have countered the regime’s efforts to suppress dissent and protests.
The regime fears the Iranian Resistance enormously, which is why it has invested so much into emboldening the appeasement policy and at the same time discrediting the opposition through its lobbies, including by spreading false information about the PMOI and NCRI indirectly endorsing fake opposition movements such as the remnants of the Shah regime or individuals with ties to regime factions. In parallel, it is carrying out various activities to directly target the resistance, including terrorist attacks against resistance members and supporters abroad and a clampdown on any kind of support for the PMOI inside Iran.
“The regime is acutely aware that despite the simmering discontent within Iranian society and widespread dissatisfaction, its continued reign is assured as long as there exists no organized nationwide opposition capable of sustaining the protests,” the NCRI writes.
While the world is standing at a critical juncture regarding the threats of the Iranian regime, the solution is neither war nor appeasement. As the NCRI report points out, peace will be achieved through a firm stance toward the regime and an active support for the Iranian people’s desire for freedom.
Source » mojahedin