Earlier this week, the Atlantic published an article by the Foreign Minister of Iran Javad Zarif. As per most comments from the Iranian regime, the piece is full of lies and deceptions. The truth and reality is twisted. However, one thing was very clear from the article – Iran’s goal is to become a regional power and it is doing so by making the West believe that it is not happening.

Speaking about the accuracy of the country’s missiles, Zarif said that Iran is trying to avoid “civilian or non-combatant deaths”, but we know that it is to intensify the threat and to improve its capabilities of causing further destruction in the Middle East.

He spoke about the “meddling” of the West in the affairs of Iran and described it as causing conflict in the region. However, he forgot to mention that Iran is meddling in the internal affairs of countries across the whole of the Middle East. It is inserting itself in conflicts that have nothing to do with Iran. Syria is one such example. Iran started to interfere in the Syrian civil from the very beginning and it has spent years, and an absolute fortune, on propping up its president Bashar al Assad. If Iran has not been involved in this war, it would have ended a very long time ago. Iran’s financial and military support has ensured that the war has dragged on for far longer than it should have.

Zarif, in his article, portrayed Iran as a democracy. This is quite simply laughable because there is barely a shred of democracy in the country. The recent election was a complete shambles and prompted people to take to the streets to condemn the process for being so undemocratic. The Iranian authorities oppress the people of Iran in all areas. People are punished for their religion, for their political beliefs, for their sexual orientation, for attending mixed-sex parties, and so on. People are lashed and stoned and tortured and imprisoned and executed for “crimes” that are not even seen as such elsewhere.

Regarding terrorism, Zarif wrote: “Our interest in our region’s affairs, though, is not malevolent. On the contrary, it is in the interest of stability. We do not desire the downfall of any regimes in the countries that surround us. Our desire—in principle and practice—is that all the nations of the region enjoy security, peace, and stability. Unfortunately, this is not the desire of some of our neighbors, whose untried leaders cherish the delusion of regime change in Iran, and support terrorist groups that seek to overthrow our government or create fear for the sake of wounding the nation.” These words are ironic as they come from the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Iran, since the nuclear deal was signed and since billions of dollars were freed when the sanctions were lifted, has plundered so much wealth on terrorist activities, terrorist groups and the spread of terror. There have been threats and claims towards the United States and many other countries. The Supreme Leader said that he wants to “wipe Israel off the map” and said earlier this year that it is a cancer that needs to be destroyed.

This article by Zarif is typical of the Iranian regime. It is a skilled player that knows how to use deception to get what it wants. It should be a warning that the Iranian regime is not the “moderate” that it tries to make people believe it is. It is using the nuclear deal to help it further its own goals.

Source » ncr-iran