Retaliating against the U.S. labeling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] April 8.as a foreign terror group, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani branded the U.S. as the “leader of world terrorism.” Rouhani’s outrageous remarks flies in the face of all logic, harking back to his mentor the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Khomeni showed a prodigious talent for propaganda, essentially bamboozling Iran into believing the Revolution would lead to more rights and opportunities for ordinary Iranians. It didn’t take long for the Mullah class to control every aspect of Iranian life, including Iran’s oil, banking, telecommunications, education and journalism industries. Iranians today, unlike the pre-Revolutionary days when Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ruled the country, have no free press or civil rights except those granted by the Mullah government.
Iran’s Mullah government, led by 79-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rules Iran by brute force, incarcerating, torturing and vaporizing opposition. Most of Iran’s intelligentsia, including doctors, engineers, scientists, academics and artists, have left the country, now living in the United States, Canada and Europe. Today’s egregious propaganda, shows Rouhani obedience to the Ayatollah. “Who are you to label revolutionary institutions as terrorists,” Rouhani said in a speck on State TV. There’s only State TV or radio, giving the government’s whitewashed view of events, including President Donald Trump’s decision to label the IRGC a “foreign terrorist organization.” Since breaking of diplomatic ties in 1979, Iran has sold its oil into world markets keeping the economy afloat. With Trump canceling the Iranian Nuke Deal May 8, 2018 and instituting new sanctions, Iran’s economy cratered.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Iran the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, supplying arms-and-cash to Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, rockets-and-arms to Palestinians’ Hamas terror group and to Lebanon-based Hezbollah, both major enemies of Israel. Pompeo pulled no punches yesterday announcing that the IRGC was now on the U.S. terrorism watch list. “You want to use terrorist groups as tools against the nations of the region . . . you are the leader in world terrorism,” Rouhani said, showing the world how out-of-step Iran is with reality. Unlike Iran’s closed State-sponsored media, the world knows what Iran’s up to in its proxy war in Yemen against Saudi Arabia, not to mention working with Russia and Hezbollah in Syria to prop up Syrian dictator Basha al-Assad. Listening to Rouhani reminds the world of that Iran is not a free society.
Letting Iran spew more pernicious propaganda reminds the world why the U.S. designated its IRGC and foreign terrorist group. Rouhani went off-the-rails with the full backing of Ayatollah Khamenei. “Who is propagating and encouraging terrorism in today’s world? Who wanted to use ISIS [The Islamic State Group] as a tool? Rouhani asked, accusing the U.S. of harboring ISIS leaders. Everyone knows that the U.S. led the battle with its Kurdish YPG allies, AKA Syrian Democratic Forces, to eradicate ISIS in its last stronghold in Baghouz, Syria. “Even now America is hiding the heads of ISIS, even now they are not prepared to tell the regional governs where the heads of ISIS are hiding,” Rouhani said with a straight face. Rouhani knows that Trump gave the U.S. military and Kurdish militia the green light to wipe out the once lethal Sunni terror group that controlled 30% of Iraq and Syria.
When world leaders hear Rouhani’s outrageous propaganda, they understand first hand what its like to live under Iran’s Mullah rule. No free press, no civil or human rights, no access to the Internet, only State-controlled lies designed to keep Iranian citizens in the dark. Lashing out at the U.S. only makes Iran look bad, realizing no Western government can trust doing business in Iran. With the Iranian currency in free fall in world markets, the Iranian economy finds itself unable to climb out of its current hole. Rouhani’s over-the-top public remarks indicate that things aren’t good in the Islamic Republic, dealing with new U.S. sanctions. Once Trump pulled out the Iranian Nuke Deal, Iran hasn’t been able to convince the U.K. or European Union to keeping doing business with Iran. Foreign businesses know that they do business with Iran at their own peril.
Trump’s decision to declare IRGC as foreign terror group has implications for foreign contractors looking to supply Iran with military hardware. Over the years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been more than willing to fill Iran’s military and banking vacuum. “You wanted to tell the Iranian nation that we do not have any red lines, you wanted to say that we also kill children, you want to say that we also kill women,” Rouhani said. Rouhani knows since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has turned into a brutally repressive theocracy, controlling every aspect of Iranian life. Only the Mullah class has access to a limited amount of Iranian wealth. All the rest live in fear and poverty, knowing that any protests are met with extreme punishment. Rouhani knows that the U.S. houses the world’s largest Iranian ex-pat community, thriving with new-found freedom and economic prosperity.
