Jimmy Carter helped give birth to virulent Shiite Islamism by forbidding the Shah of Iran to crush the bloodthirsty Ayatollah Khomeini and his band of rabid Islamists. Former President Obama gave them legitimacy on the illegitimate child, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Like everyone else, I wonder what is going on with Iran. Whatever it is, it just does not bode well for the US, my adopted country. My country of birth, Iran, used to be my proud homeland of noble people, is now a cabal of turbaned religious bigots who took it over some four decades ago and overnight transformed a country that was once the envy of the entire Middle East into a pariah of the world.
Iranians are the proud spiritual descendants of King Cyrus the Great, the author of the first Charter of Human Rights. Some of Cyrus’ children live in the patch of land called Iran. The overwhelming majority—free humans with human beliefs—live in every country, city, and village of the earth. These world-wide people, one and all, irrespective of nationality, color, or creed are Iranians because they all adhere to the Cyrus Charter; they practice and defend its lofty tenets; and, transfer this precious humanity’s treasure to the next generation.
Like Neda, a young woman whose chest was ripped up by the bullet of a murdering Islamist as she peacefully walked with a throng of peaceful demonstrators, Sahar's tragedy gives us a glimpse of the true face of Islamofascism and its brutality inside Iran. The Sahars and Nedas of Iran shall remain as an eternal testament to the depravity of Islamofascism and the horrors it has visited upon innocent people.
December 2018 was my 40th anniversary since I made it to this blessed land, America. Like many of my fellow Persians, I never even imagined to extend my stay in the US beyond the 4 years of the university. Let me remind you that Iranians are not beggars.
The world is captivated by the sudden rise of a relatively unknown to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran, for his torrent of outrageous statements and claims. He has, thus, in a short time acquired great many appellations. He is viewed as zealot, fascist, fanatic, anti-Semitic, lunatic and more. One prominent Western columnist called him “unhinged.”
The biggest surprise of 2003 was when an Iranian human rights activist, Shirin Ebadi, became the first Iranian ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Yet, the Nobel committee referred to her as the first Muslim woman, completely denying her nationality, which angered Iranian nationalists.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is the Islamic Republic’s elite military force which was created by the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Its primary responsibility was to defend the regime from internal and external threats. However, its mission went beyond its original objective.
The rule of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) is collapsing. The previously solid castle shows many cracks that continue to grow. In the past, when individuals were willing to sacrifice their life under any circumstances for the sake of Islam and any criticism of Islam, even in their own mind, considered sin, today it is easy to criticize and challenge religion. A nation that, at the forty years ago, preferred to speak of Ayatollah Khomeini, saint like and almost godly, now he is openly reviled without any fear of retribution.
On July 14, 2015, during the Obama presidency, Iran and six world powers known as the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as ‘Iran Nuclear Deal’ with the intention to marginalize Iran’s nuclear program and monitor it in exchange for relief from nuclear sanctions.
Over the past 40 years, many of us have seen various Iranian opposition groups and TV channels pop up, one after another, but none united or supported their competitors. Each group had its own agenda. A typical Iranian dilemma: “too many chiefs, not enough Indians.”
The Honorable Michael Pompeo
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Mr. Secretary: