The clerical extremists ruling Iran excel in the art of deception and outsourcing their dirty work. They present themselves as devout Muslims and champions of the underprivileged in predominantly Islamic nations, while clandestinely financing, arming, and training paramilitary extremists to sway the political landscape of targeted countries. Despite employing aggressive rhetoric on the global stage, they leverage lobbying firms and articulate spokespeople educated in the West to influence international decision-making processes and advocate for a conciliatory stance toward their regime. Iran’s regime also poses as a universal defender of the oppressed worldwide, while it mainly entertains cooperation with illegal entities in almost every continent to execute criminal agendas.
On Monday, January 29, the United States government leveled charges against a notorious drug smuggler from Iran, accusing him of orchestrating the hiring of two Canadians, one of whom is affiliated with the Hells Angels, to murder two Iranian refugees residing in Maryland. Statements from the Justice Department and the Treasury indicate that the accused, Naji Sharifi Zindashti, purportedly operated an assassination ring under the auspices of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
The official Turkish news agency reported in 2020 that Turkish intelligence findings indicated that the MOIS had been using the criminal network of Zindashti and its subsidiaries since 2015 to assassinate and abduct opponents of the Iranian government in Turkey. Naji Sharifi Zindashti has a history of detention in Turkey, but his name came to light in the media after the abduction of Habib Farajallah Chaab, an Iranian dissident. Also known as Habib Asyud, the Iranian-Swedish citizen was abducted in Turkey in October 2020 and was executed in Iran on May 6, 2023. Other media outlets reported Zindashti’s involvement in the killings of Saeed Karimian (director of Gem TV networks) and Masoud Molavi (administrator of a whistleblower channel).
In 2019, Iranian activist Ahmad Mola Nissi was killed in the Netherlands. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed Iran for the deaths of two dissidents in the Netherlands and imposed EU sanctions on an Iranian intelligence unit and officials. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok also cited Iran’s involvement in assassination attempts in Denmark and a bomb plot in France. A Dutch intelligence agency (AIVD) statement said middlemen were employed by the Iranian government to kill the two victims.
In November last year, Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former Vice President of the European Parliament, survived an attempted assassination in Madrid. Spanish investigations led to the identification of a suspect, Greg Oliver Higuera Marcano, a Venezuelan believed to have played a logistical role in the assault. Colombian police detained Higuera after being detected by immigration officials while attempting to enter Colombia via the Simon Bolivar International Bridge on the Venezuelan border. Three individuals were previously arrested in Spain in connection with the incident, but the identity of the gunman described as a Frenchman of Tunisian origin, remains unknown. Dr. Vidal Quadras firmly accused the Iranian regime of orchestrating the assassination attempt, saying he had no other enemy.
Through Hezbollah’s global network, Iran has been able to turn a criminal enterprise into a political force that runs terrorist activities in the world while circumventing international scrutiny and sanctions regimes. The group’s involvement in illicit activities, including drug trafficking, money laundering, and arms smuggling, has provided the Iranian regime with a means to finance its destabilizing agendas while leveraging Hezbollah’s international reach to sow chaos and promote its ideological objectives on a global scale.
Tehran meticulously devises plans to project power, evade scrutiny, and sidestep accountability for their misdeeds. Although this strategy has beguiled many global statesmen, it becomes evident that a regime lacking domestic support and economic prowess resembles a paper tiger that roars through terrorism.
As the world is grappling with a major conflict in the Middle East, also a Tehran’s making, world leaders are constantly balancing the costs and benefits of military action versus inaction. While targeting Iran’s mouthpieces in the West and militias in the Middle East is as necessary as it is overdue, the best way to eliminate the world’s most destabilizing force is to hit where it is the weakest.
Iran’s population remains among the most rebellious, persistently advocating for regime change, alongside possessing the most organized, domestically spread, and internationally recognized Resistance movement. The only thing the world needs to do is to acknowledge the truth about Iran and stop hindering the inevitable.
Source » ncr-iran