The world would be a better place without the regime in Iran. That’s the thought that ran through my head as the fourth anniversary of the take-down of Flight PS 752 was marked on Monday.
The Ukrainian International Airlines flight from Tehran to Kyiv was shot down by missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps minutes after take-off. All 176 people on board were killed, including 55 Canadians, and 30 permanent residents.
It’s an act of aggression, of terrorism that should outrage every Canadian and never be forgotten, but it’s sadly only one of many reasons the world would be better off if the mullahs in Tehran were taken out of power.
Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, Iran has turned from a somewhat free and relatively prosperous place into a theocratic dictatorship. The everyday rights of the people are suppressed while police and state officials hold immense power which they abuse.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic of Iran now exports death, destruction and terrorism around the world.
It was Iran which helped fund and train Hamas fighters to carry out the attacks on Israel on Oct. 7. It is Iran which has helped sustain the terrorist activities of Hamas for years and encourages its hard-line stance against Israel.
As other countries in the region have signed treaties or begun trading with Israel, the leaders of Iran continue to call for death and destruction.
It’s what they have exported to Lebanon as well with their support of Hezbollah.
Called Iran’s most successful export by some, Hezbollah has not only carried out war against Israel since 1982, but has also engaged in pitched battles for control of Lebanon itself. The country, once a beautiful tourist destination — with Beirut known as the Paris of the Mediterranean — has been reduced to a shadow of its former self.
Iran has also exported death and destruction to Syria with their financial and material support for the Assad regime. More than 500,000 people have died in that conflict, which continues thanks to the help of Tehran.
In Yemen, funding from Tehran helps support Houthi rebels in that country’s civil war that has taken the lives of close to 400,000 people, according to the United Nations. Tens of thousands of children have starved to death over the last decade as a direct result of this war, which Iran is funding to project its power in the region.
The deaths of average people traded for the projection of power.
The sick and twisted world view of the mullahs in Tehran, the former revolutionaries, has spread untold misery around the world over the past 45 years. It’s not just violence, there is also the intimidation of anyone who dares to speak out, including in this country.
Iranian Canadians who speak out against the leaders in Tehran, who attempt to expose their foreign interference network in Canada, are targeted by Iranian agents.
In 2021, the FBI informed Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad of a plot to kidnap her as well as other targets in Canada. A recent extensive report by Global News detailed how extensive and threatening Iran’s network is in Canada.
Sadly, little has been done by the Trudeau government to stop the tactics being used by Iran.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did say on Monday that his government will look at ways to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp of Iran as a terrorist entity, something he has been under pressure to do, but he stopped short of saying it would happen. He promised to hold the murderous regime in Tehran accountable while speaking at a memorial, but offered no details.
Trudeau has long been soft, naive, even on Iran.
He was critical of the Harper government’s decision to expel Iranian diplomats and sever ties in part over Tehran’s intimidation of Canadians. In his eight years in office, he has done little more than offer lip service against the actions of Tehran.
On this anniversary of Flight PS 752, and in particular after the events of Oct. 7, the whole world needs to wake up to the evils of the Iranian regime and do whatever needs to be done to ensure change happens there sooner rather than later.
Source » torontosun