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	<title>FrontPage Magazine &#187; Ayatollah Khameini</title>
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		<title>Iran: &#8216;The Great Satan&#8217; Still Our &#8216;Number One Enemy&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/iran-the-great-satan-still-our-number-one-enemy/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=iran-the-great-satan-still-our-number-one-enemy</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/iran-the-great-satan-still-our-number-one-enemy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Nov 2014 05:20:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Majid Rafizadeh]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ayatollah Khameini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[negotiations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nuclear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[p5+1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rouhani]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=245073</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The deadline for nuclear negotiations draws near -- and the Islamic Republic isn't backing down. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Hassan-Rouhani.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-245076" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Hassan-Rouhani-450x299.jpg" alt="Hassan-Rouhani" width="324" height="215" /></a>The deadline for a final and comprehensive nuclear deal between the Iranian leaders and the six world powers (the P5+1: China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) is approaching in less than two weeks on November 24<sup>th </sup>.</p>
<p>It seems that the White House is also investing in the notion that after a final nuclear deal is struck between Tehran and the P5+1, and after economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic are removed, Iranian leaders will alter their foreign policies and regional hegemonic ambitions. This argument is anchored in unrealistic and naïve expectations. If we closely analyze the Islamic Republic’s political and power structures, as well as its major sources of legitimacy, it becomes evident that a major and fundamental change in Iranian leaders’ political calculations is completely unlikely.</p>
<p>Domestically speaking, for over thirty years, by blaming and pointing fingers to the United States and Israel for almost every social and political challenge that the Islamic Republic encounters, the government has been capable of deflecting attention from the high unemployment rate among the youth, high inflation, corruption, nepotism, social injustice, lack of freedoms (speech, press, assembly, etc.), and lack of equal opportunity. The fundamental and underlying tenets of the Islamic Republic are anchored in opposing the United States and Israel and their foreign policies in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Secondly, from the Iranian leaders&#8217; perspective, in order to be capable of legally oppressing and cracking down on domestic opposition, the regime must maintain an anti-American posture. Normally, any individual that criticizes the structure and legitimacy of the Iranian government, ruling clerics and the Supreme Leader, is characterized as a US agent, conspirator and traitor. These charges allow the government to use its judiciary system to oppress opposition and maintain its power.</p>
<p>Recently, in the midst of the international tensions and negotiations regarding Iran’s contentious nuclear program, Iran&#8217;s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released a statement to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency pointing out that the United States, “the Great Satan,” remains the Islamic Republic’s &#8220;number one enemy.&#8221; The IRGC’s statement <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/joseph-perticone/35-years-after-takeover-embassy-tehran-us-still-great-satan-iran"><span style="color: #0433ff;">read</span></a>, “The U.S. is still the great Satan and the number one enemy of the (Islamic) revolution and the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation.”</p>
<p>Also recently, thousands of pro-government Iranians gathered around the US embassy to mark the 35<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the capture of the U.S. embassy and fifty-two Americans in Tehran by militant students. Demonstrators <a href="http://cdn.defenseone.com/defenseone/interstitial.html?v=2.1.1&amp;rf=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.defenseone.com%2Fthreats%2F2014%2F11%2Firanians-mark-35th-anniversary-hostage-crisis-protests%2F98165%2F"><span style="color: #0433ff;">chanted</span></a>  “Death to America,” “ Death to the Great Satan,” “Death to the United Kingdom” and “Death to Israel.”</p>
<p>Even if a comprehensive nuclear deal is reached between the Islamic Republic and the six world powers by November 24th, Iranian leaders’ position towards the United States, Western allies and Israel will not be altered for the following ideological reasons.</p>
<p>Having the largest Shiite population in the region, the Islamic Republic views itself as the major epicenter of Shiite revivalism across the region. Iran’s support for its proxies, Shiite militant political groups in the region (such Hezbollah in Lebanon, Liwa al-Imam al-Husayn in Syria, Asaib Ahl al-Haqq in Iraq, etc.), will remain to define Tehran’s foreign policy.<b> </b>Establishing itself as the front runner and leader of Shiism has been at the fundamental core of Iran’s foreign policy and regional hegemonic ambitions since 1979. This foreign policy objective will continue to define the Islamic Republic’s identity as long as the Ayatollahs are in power.</p>
<p>In addition, Iranian leaders have been investing in the Syrian regime, economically and politically, for over three decades. It is totally unrealistic to argue that if a final nuclear deal is sealed and if economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic are removed, Tehran will alter its unrelenting military, financial, advisory, and intelligence support to the Alawite-based government of al-Assad.</p>
<p>Without a doubt, some minor changes might occur if a final nuclear is struck. For example, Iran would be more incorporated in international organizations, particularly economically, and it would gradually open up its market to foreign and Western investors. It follows that the Islamic Republic will have to embed some international financial standards into its economic system. Nevertheless, the office of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and IRGC will remain the key economic generators with a monopoly over major industries and will be reluctant to allow equal opportunity and redistribution of wealth to the lower classes.</p>
<p>Furthermore, being incorporated more into world economic systems does not necessarily indicate that more political freedom, as well as civil liberties, will be granted to ordinary Iranian citizens. Historical evidence reveals that economic prosperity for some states can result in implementation of robust policies to tighten control over the population and further centralize power. In other words, similar to other authoritarian governments, economic liberalization will not go hand in hand with political liberalizations in the Islamic Republic.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
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		<title>Obama Offered to Ally w/Ayatollah Calling for Jihad Against America</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/obama-offered-to-ally-wayatollah-calling-for-jihad-against-america/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=obama-offered-to-ally-wayatollah-calling-for-jihad-against-america</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Nov 2014 02:45:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ayatollah Khameini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barack hussein obama]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=244745</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is Obama's fourth letter to the terrorist tyrant of Iran.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ap_ayatollah_khamenei_kb_130321_wblog.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-244746" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ap_ayatollah_khamenei_kb_130321_wblog-450x253.jpg" alt="ap_ayatollah_khamenei_kb_130321_wblog" width="450" height="253" /></a></p>
<p>It looks like all those<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/06/source-says-reported-letter-from-obama-to-ayatollah-fs-up-everything/?intcmp=trending"> reports of coordination with Iran</a> have a basis in fact after all.</p>
<blockquote><p>Obama reportedly sent a secret letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month offering to work together against the Islamic State terror group in exchange for a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program</p>
<p>The letter, reported on Thursday by the Wall Street Journal, was sent without informing Israel or other Middle Eastern allies, according to unnamed sources familiar with the correspondence cited by the paper.</p>
<p>In the missive, Obama describes a shared interest in working against the Islamic State group, which has seized wide swaths of Iraq and Syria, drawing a military response from a US-led coalition</p>
<p>&#8230;</p>
<p>Refusing to deny or confirm the report, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said: “I’m not in a position to discuss private correspondence between the president and any world leader.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Which is to say, yes it happened. Earnest constantly denies everything. This isn&#8217;t just a non-denial. It&#8217;s a non-denial of something that they expected to come out.</p>
<p>And this is apparently Obama&#8217;s fourth letter to the terrorist tyrant of Iran.</p>
<p>US allies will feel stabbed in the back, but that&#8217;s normal under this administration. More problematically it suggests that Obama is committing to expanding Iran&#8217;s orbit. While I oppose US intervention against Assad, I&#8217;m starting to wonder now whether Obama wasn&#8217;t being merely indecisive, but was avoiding a conflict to pander to Iran.</p>
<blockquote><p>Mr. Obama’s letter also sought to assuage Iran’s concerns about the future of its close ally, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, according to another person briefed on the letter. It states that the U.S.’s military operations inside Syria aren’t targeted at Mr. Assad or his security forces.</p></blockquote>
<p>Here&#8217;s what the <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/25/irans-supreme-leader-jihad-will-continue-until-america-is-no-more/">Ayatollah thinks of America</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>In response to a question by a parliamentarian on how long this battle will continue, Khamenei said,“Battle and jihad are endless because evil and its front continue to exist. … This battle will only end when the society can get rid of the oppressors’ front with America at the head of it, which has expanded its claws on human mind, body and thought. … This requires a difficult and lengthy struggle and need for great strides.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Why he could be Jeremiah Wright.</p>
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		<slash:comments>18</slash:comments>
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		<title>If Ayatollah Khamenei Dies, What Next?</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/if-ayatollah-khamenei-dies-what-next/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=if-ayatollah-khamenei-dies-what-next</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2014 04:40:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Majid Rafizadeh]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ayatollah Khameini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islamic  Republic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prostate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sick]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=243066</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Preparing for the post-Khamenei era. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="color: #1a1a1a;"><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/10653322_941581589191709_3639992395284817096_n.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-243067" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/10653322_941581589191709_3639992395284817096_n.jpg" alt="10653322_941581589191709_3639992395284817096_n" width="298" height="270" /></a>The news regarding the health of the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has become unprecedented in the last few months. Several other indications suggest that Khamenei&#8217;s health is not only deteriorating but it is cause for a security concern. For example,  following Khamenei’s recent surgery on his prostate, high level officials such as Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hassan Rouhani, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made an unprecedented visit to the ailing leader.</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">This issue raises the question of what will happen if Iran’s current Supreme Leader, who has the final say in the Islamic Republic’s domestic and foreign policy affairs, dies. Who would be the successor? Will the Islamic Republic refashion its foreign policy towards the West, particularly the United States and Israel?</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">First of all, we have to understand Iran’s political structure and power relations in order to develop possible projections. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Velayateh Faqhih, is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, which has 86 members. According to Iran’s revised constitution, “In the event of the death, resignation, or dismissal of the leader, the (Assembly of Experts) shall take steps within the shortest possible time for the appointment of the new leader. Until the appointment of the new leader, a council consisting of the president, head of the judiciary, and a jurist from the Guardian Council, upon the decision of the nation’s Expediency Council, shall temporarily take over all the duties of the Leader.”</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">Although Iranian people elect the members of the Assembly of Experts, it is crucial to point out that the Guardian Council, another crucial political power, vets the candidates beforehand. Only the previously selected members can run for the Assembly of Experts. In other words, the election is just a façade and purely ceremonial. In addition, the turnout for the elections for the members of the Assembly of Experts has always been very low. This is due to the fact that many Iranian people question the legitimacy of these candidates or do not believe that their votes can bring fundamental change.</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">The members of the Guardian Council, on the other hand, are either directly selected by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (six members), or by the Judiciary and Majlis, Iran’s parliament (the other six members).</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">The other key player in making decisions in selecting the next Supreme Leader is the Expediency Council, which oversees disputes over legislation between the Guardian Council and the Islamic Republic’s parliament. It is worth noting that the members of the Expediency Council are also selected by the Supreme Leader. In other words, the aforementioned political bodies have never questioned the decisions, the power, or the political and divine authority of the Supreme Leader.</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;"><strong>The Most Crucial Player in Post-Khamenei Era</strong></p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">Without a doubt, when it come to choosing the next Supreme Leader and making a decision on the nation’s post-Khamenei era, the most powerful political organization is Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). First of all, the IRGC not only militarily and politically controls the domestic and foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic, but it also owns main economic sectors of the country. Under the rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps gained more power to suppress domestic oppositions and intervene in domestic affairs of other countries in the Middle East. In addition, the senior cadre of IRGC has control over Iran’s nuclear program.</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">As a result, having control over the economy, military, politics, and nuclear program, the IRGC will wield the most influence in choosing the next Supreme Leader. Although the Assembly of Experts might ceremonially elect another Ayatollah, the future Supreme Leader will have been chosen by the high officials of IRGC in advance. This suggests that it is likely that the IRGC leaders already have an option or list of names in their agenda.</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">Nevertheless, the key question is what kind of cleric or political figure will the IRGC be looking for as the next Supreme Leader. Although some scholars have put out some names of influential Ayatollahs and clerics as potential and prospective Supreme Leaders for the Islamic Republic, it is less likely that the senior cadre of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps will desire to choose a powerful Supreme Leader who would fully control their activities. In other words, a charismatic, powerful and influential Ayatollah and political figure will be considered a threat to the rule of the senior cadre of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The best option for the IRGC is a weak figure whom they can control.</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">Even when Khamenei was selected, he was considered a weak candidate in comparison to more powerful figures such as Ayatollah Montazeri or Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani at that time. At the time, Khamenei was not even a Mujtahed, a senior jurist who can issue fatwas. As time passed, Khamenei consolidated his power by marginalizing powerful opposition clerics and giving more power to the senior cadre of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">In addition, the IRGC will attempt to choose an individual who serves the IRGC’s objectives: obtaining nuclear capabilities, having a monopoly over economic and political affairs, having power in foreign policy and having the capability to intervene in other countries&#8217; affairs without hurdles from any political figures including the Supreme Leader.</p>
<p style="color: #1a1a1a;">In other words, the senior cadre of the IRGC will attempt to further consolidate its political and economic power by selecting a weak candidate. It follows that one should not expect any fundamental changes in the Islamic Republic’s domestic or foreign policies even if Supreme Leader Khamenei dies. In fact, the power of the elite of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps will increase, and their pursuit for regional hegemonic ambitions will intensify.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
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		<title>The Ayatollah&#8217;s Call to &#8216;Wipe Out&#8217; America</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/the-ayatollahs-call-to-wipe-out-america/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-ayatollahs-call-to-wipe-out-america</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 28 May 2014 04:30:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Majid Rafizadeh]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ayatollah Khameini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jihad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nuclear Weapons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wipe out]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=226401</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Why anti-American jihad is at the heart of the Islamic Republic. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/article-0-05679496000005DC-990_634x486.jpg"><img class="wp-image-226404 alignleft" alt="article-0-05679496000005DC-990_634x486" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/article-0-05679496000005DC-990_634x486-450x344.jpg" width="315" height="241" /></a>The West and mainstream media have made significant efforts to paint a moderate picture of the Iranian regime, with amiable sentiments towards Western and American values.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Nevertheless, on Sunday, Iran’s most powerful political and religious figure, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reiterated the Islamic Republic’s real intentions towards the West and particularly the United States during a speech he delivered to the Majlis— the Iranian parliament in Tehran.  He called the fight against the United States as a great and ongoing jihad.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">When a parliamentarian and lawmaker loyal to the regime asked the Supreme Leader how long the nation should carry the jihad against the United States, he responded: </span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Battle and jihad are endless because evil and its front continue to exist… This battle will only end when the society can get rid of the oppressors’ front with America at the head of it, which has expanded its claws on human mind, body and thought… This requires a difficult and lengthy struggle and need for great strides.</span></p></blockquote>
<p>From Khamenei’s perspective, the nation should follow this sixth pillar of Islam for Allah’s sake. The end of this jihad for the Iranian regime occurs when his loyalist Muslims wipe out their opposition. Many Western politicians, particularly in the Obama administration, seem to have a benevolent view of the Iranian regime and its president Hassan Rouhani.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Any scholar or policy maker who has closely studied the Islamic Republic of Iran and its ideological and geopolitical foundations is cognizant of the fact that the key principle upon which the Islamic Republic rules is its Jihad— and opposition to the United States as well as Israel. The founding father of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini said, it “is the established principle of Islamic nations and countries who, with the help of Allah, will accept Islam as the only ideology leading to salvation – and they will not go back from this principle in the least.”</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">He added, “in our domestic and foreign policy […] we have set as our goal the world-wide spread of the influence of Islam… We wish to cause the corrupt roots of Zionism, capitalism and Communism to wither throughout the world. We wish, as does God almighty, to destroy the systems which are based on these three foundations, and to promote the Islamic order of the Prophet.”</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The fact is that the Islamic Republic of Iran is centered on this Jihadist and anti-American principle that Ayatollah Khomeini established, and his followers like Ayatollah Khamenei want to carry out these goals. The Iranian regime and its Supreme Leader derive power and legitimacy from this antagonism towards America and from pursuing this Jihad (which requires eliminating America, and other countries such as Israel from the earth). If the Iranian regime changed this fundamental organizing principle, it would not be able to yield power from its loyalists, constituents, and define itself as the “Islamic Republic of Iran.”</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In other words, Jihad against America is in the roots of the Iranian regime’s ideological and political underpinnings.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Khamenei clearly stated that aggressiveness is required to pursue this Jihad, get rid of America, and achieve Allah’s will, and higher Islamic values and platforms.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Iran’s most powerful man, Khamenei, even extended the Jihad to the whole world to achieve God and Islam’s mission. He stated, “Today’s world is full of thieves and plunderers of human honor, dignity and morality who are equipped with knowledge, wealth and power, and under the pretense of humanity easily commit crimes and betray human ideals and start wars in different parts of the world.” These words come from a leader of a regime drenched in hypocrisy, corruption, oppression, terrorism, and stealing national resources.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">One of the principle slogans of the Iranian regime, coined by Ayatollah Khomeini, is “Not the east, not the west.”  It is first and foremost Islam and Allah. He adds, “this is the established principle of Islamic nations and countries who, with the help of Allah, will accept Islam as the only ideology leading to salvation – and they will not go back from this principle in the least.”  The Supreme Leader called America “the devil incarnate [with plans for] evil domination of Iran.”</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In an unprecedented speech, Khamenei told the parliament that the Islamic Republic needs to arm itself against the “thieves” and “pirates.” He stated, “The reason for continuation of this battle is not the warmongering of the Islamic Republic. Logic and reason command that Iran, in order to pass through a region full of pirates, needs to arm itself and must have the capability to defend itself.”</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">By listening to these remarks from the man who has the final say in foreign policy and every domestic matter in Iran, is it logical to believe that the Islamic Republic is not seeking to obtain nuclear bombs and weapons to achieve and fulfill this Jihad?  What is appalling is not the Supreme Leader’s remarks (because these remarks have been and will be the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran), but the West’s and the Obama administration’s trust of the Iranian regime and the significant indifference to these public remarks.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The Obama administration is close to sealing a comprehensive nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which would urge the United Nations Security Council to remove all sanctions against Iran. This deal will leave the Islamic Republic with a path to reach the nuclear breakaway capacity, arm its nuclear program, and develop nuclear weapons and bombs. The Iranian regime is already receiving billions of dollars from the Obama administration for the interim nuclear deal. In the meantime, Iran is buying time, has improved its economy by ratcheting up oil exports, and is significantly close to becoming a nuclear power considering the amount of centrifuges it possesses. According to Iran&#8217;s ISNA News Agency, an Iranian official was quoted this week as saying that Russia has also agreed to build eight new nuclear reactors in the Islamic Republic. Russia built Iran’s first nuclear reactor in Bushehr.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The salient issue is that the major pillar, religious and political foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the endless Jihad against the United States and Americans till there is no America. This ideological battle will not alter as long as the Mullahs, Ayatollah, and Iranian regime exercise their power. The objective is to achieve this God’s mission, and the higher Islamic principle of Jihad.</span></p>
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		<title>Manufacturing Consent in Iran</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2010/jlaksin/manufacturing-consent-in-iran/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=manufacturing-consent-in-iran</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2010/jlaksin/manufacturing-consent-in-iran/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:36:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jacob Laksin]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ahmadinejad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Amir Abbas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anniversary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anniversary celebration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ayatollah Khameini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Basij]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civilian militia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demonstration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[evin prison]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fakhravar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fraudulent election]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freedom Square]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[front]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iranian opposition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[islamic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[live ammunition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mass]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mass rally]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[militia corps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[night]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nuclear state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[opposition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[opposition movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[president mahmoud ahmadinejad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Propaganda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[propaganda purposes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protest movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rally]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[referendum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[regime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[regime change in iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Revolution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Revolutionary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[riot police]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[student riots]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tehran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[violent repression]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[week]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=49996</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution, staged rallies of supporters and a new crackdown on democratic protestors. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/IN11_AHMADINEJAD_31240f.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-49998" title="IN11_AHMADINEJAD_31240f" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/IN11_AHMADINEJAD_31240f.jpg" alt="" width="509" height="339" /></a></p>
<p>Iran – or more accurately the Iranian government – this week celebrated the 31<sup>st</sup> anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. In preparation for the tightly orchestrated event, the government unleashed the full might of its security forces – including riot police, the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij, the civilian militia corps – to suppress the opposition protestors who have poured onto Iran’s streets since last summer’s fraudulent election.</p>
<p>Armed with live ammunition, knives and teargas, the security forces set upon anyone identified as opposition protestors. When not resorting to violent repression, the government tried to thwart the opposition by disrupting internet, telephone and text messaging service inside the country. For propaganda purposes, the government also staged its own mass rally in Tehran’s Freedom Square, an occasion capped by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s defiant declaration that Iran is now a “<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1250127/Iran-Revolution-day-protests-Islamic-Republic-nuclear-state.html#ixzz0fEV1nsnR">nuclear state</a>,” capable of producing its own weapons-grade uranium.  </p>
<p>To discuss this week’s events and the state of the Iranian opposition movement, <em>Front Page</em> turned to exiled Iranian dissident Amir Abbas Fakhravar. Jailed for five years in Iran’s notoriously brutal Evin Prison after participating in anti-government student riots in 1999, Fakhravar now heads the Confederation of Iranian Students, an organization committed to non-violent regime change in Iran.</p>
<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/art_amir_fakhravar_cnn.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-50002" title="art_amir_fakhravar_cnn" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/art_amir_fakhravar_cnn.jpg" alt="" width="292" height="219" /></a></p>
<p><strong>FP</strong>: The government clearly tried very hard this week to deter opposition protestors from making themselves heard. Instead, it has put on a mass rally, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1250127/Iran-Revolution-day-protests-Islamic-Republic-nuclear-state.html#ixzz0fEV1nsnR">complete with Iranian flags pro-government pro-Khameini signs</a>, to create the illusion of national unity. What can you tell us about these “pro-government” demonstrations?</p>
<p><strong>Fakhravar:</strong> The government knew that there was a plan from the protest movement to hold demonstrations in Tehran on the anniversary of the Islamic revolution, so they spent money to bring in about 200,000 Basij from cities all across Iran on the night before the anniversary celebration. The Basij – these are the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8509765.stm">masses</a> of men and women you see attending the pro-government protests – were paid $250 each to show up at the demonstrations, which is a lot of money in Iran, when you consider the bad state of the economy. They spent all night covering Freedom Square with the Basij. The government also spent a lot of money on propaganda. They printed posters of Ayatollah Khameini; they even gave the Basij frozen chicken after the demonstration was over.</p>
<p>But that didn’t stop the opposition protestors from showing up. If the government can get 200,000 people out of the 70 million in Iran, that means nothing. Across Iran, I believe there were some 2 million people who showed up to protest the government. And the protestors will come back stronger and stronger. The reason is this: The Basij fight for their salary; the people fight for their freedom. That’s why, on Tuesday, when Ahmadinejad gave his big speech, you could hear chants of “Death to the Dictator!” coming from a distance.</p>
<p><strong>FP</strong>: Reports in the foreign press have portrayed this week’s events as a defeat for the reform movement and a victory for the government. In their accounts, the protestors were overwhelmed by the security forces and outnumbered by the pro-government demonstrators. What do you think explains the slant of this coverage?</p>
<p><strong>Fakhravar:</strong> First, I want to correct you. This is not a reform movement. This is an opposition movement, a revolution against the government. The people want regime change. That is why in front of the Basij and the Revolutionary Guard you heard chants of “Death to the Dictator” and “Death to Khameini.” That is also why the most popular chant was “Referendum.” By this the protestors mean a referendum on the Iranian government. The last time Iran had a referendum was when the Islamic republic came to power in 1979. Referendum means they want regime change. The people are saying to Khameini, “We don’t want an Islamic republic anymore!”</p>
<p>As for the coverage, it may be explained by the fact that the government invited 300 reporters from foreign countries to cover the pro-government demonstration. Yet, they didn’t let them go anywhere. They were only allowed to watch the main demonstration at Freedom Square in Tehran – nowhere else. They never saw the side streets where the opposition protests were taking place.</p>
<p>It should also be noted that the strength of the pro-government rallies is overstated. You can tell the opposition protestors from the government demonstrators because only the protestors carry handmade signs. The Basij carry the posters of Kahmeini or other placards that are printed and distributed by the government. Because all the print shops in Iran are under government control, and are carefully monitored, it’s not easy for protestors to print signs. All the people holding up the printed signs are paid by the government to hold them up. (We have a joke that if you see an ugly woman at an Iranian demonstration, she is with the Basij.) When the demonstrations are over, they just drop the signs and walk over them.</p>
<p><strong>FP</strong>: The government seems to fear the protestors’ use of new media like Facebook and Twitter to organize their movement. Hence the regime’s attempts to restrict internet and text messaging and its announcement this week that it will <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-14552-Social-Media-Examiner~y2010m2d10-Iran-bans-Google-mail-permanent-suspension-of-Gmail-in-effect">permanently ban Google mail</a> in favor of a “national email service for Iranians.” What do you make of this clampdown on new media, and how big of a threat is it to the opposition movement’s ability to mobilize against the government?</p>
<p><strong>Fakhravar: </strong>The government’s primary goal was to shut down YouTube, but they were not successful. The intelligence services called in protestors to tell them that they were being watched and that they should not participate in the anniversary day protests. But we still get hundreds of videos from Iran. That means the government has failed to shut down the new media.</p>
<p>There are some 30 million Iranians who have access to the internet and the new media. Just a few months ago, it was 17 or 20 million. This is a sign that, right now, people are hungry for information from the internet. One of the most useful things that the U.S. could do to help the opposition movement would be to support new media and alternative media, whether it’s the internet or satellite services.</p>
<p><strong>FP</strong>: How would you describe the Obama administration’s position? Has it done anything to aid the opposition movement?</p>
<p><strong>Fakhravar: </strong>The Obama administration’s approach seems to be to keep an eye on the protestors to see if they keep coming out on the streets even amidst the government repression. That’s wrong. It’s also wrong for the administration to continue to pursue diplomatic negotiations with the Iranian government. The government has no legitimacy inside Iran; it has no legal standing with the Iranian people. The people are saying, “This is not our president,” but Obama is saying, “I want to talk to him.” I don’t understand why the Obama administration would want to give legitimacy to a regime that has no legitimacy in the eyes of the Iranian people.</p>
<p><strong>FP</strong>: Perhaps the most notable incident from this week’s pro-government rally in Tehran was Ahmadinejad’s boast that Iran was now a full-fledged nuclear power. What has been the reaction to his remarks inside Iran and why do you think he chose to make the announcement?</p>
<p><strong>Fakhravar: </strong>There were several reasons he said that. First, he wanted to distract attention from the counter-protests and the opposition movement. It is also the government’s way of telling some of the stupider people in Iran, “If we spend a lot your money, eventually we will get what we want!”</p>
<p>For most Iranians, though, Ahmadinejad’s speech was a cruel joke. The funniest part was when he bragged that the regime successfully sent some animals – roaches, worms, mice and turtles – into space. This <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/02/03/iran.space.satellites/index.html">actually happened last week</a> and the government had a lot of propaganda about it. Ahmadinejad was trying to show that Iran was very successful and that the world covets our technological knowledge. But most Iranians cynically said, okay, we sent animals into space – Thank God we’re not hungry or anything.  </p>
<p><strong>FP</strong>: What’s the best thing that the United States and the international community can do to support the Iranian protest movement?</p>
<p><strong>Fakhravar: </strong>It’s very simple: Stop buying oil from the mullahs. If you cut off their oil funds with sanctions, they won’t have money to pay the Revolutionary Guard, or to buy friends in Latin America Russia and China, or to sponsor Hezbollah, or to continue the nuclear program. That would solve the problem.</p>
<p><strong>FP:</strong> What’s next for the Iranian opposition movement?</p>
<p><strong>Fakhravar: </strong>The next step in a protest is March 16, which is the last Wednesday in the Persian calendar. I am optimistic. I’ve lived in Iran all my life and I’ve never seen this much courage from the Iranian people. This is their last chance for freedom and they don’t want to give it up.</p>
<p><strong>FP:</strong> Amir, thank you very much for joining us.</p>
<p><strong>Fakhravar: </strong>Thank you for the interview.</p>
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