The Iran Deal’s Tragic Affect on the Region

Amir Basiri, a human rights activist writes in an article for Forbes, about the Obama administration’s further easing of financial sanctions on Iran, that were lifted as part of the nuclear deal that came into effect early this year. This facilitates for non-U.S. persons to deal with Iranian entities that are minority owned or controlled by sanctioned individuals or bodies.

These concessions are meant to assist the Iranian regime’s economy, but the likely outcome will be that more money will go to the treasure chest of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).  IRGC is sanctioned by the U.S. government for its non-nuclear-related activities, although it’s achieved notoriety for its role in exporting terrorism,  and allegedly has ties to the plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to U.S. in 2011 and attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq.  The IRGC is involved in the continued fighting in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other countries in the region. And it has a history of making the waters of the Persian Gulf insecure for U.S. vessels. 

As well,  IRGC’s function at home is as the Iranian regime’s main conduit for the violation of human.  After it was established, at the end of the 1979 revolution, the IRGC has been involved in cracking down on opposition and dissent, persecuting ethnic and religious minorities, arresting and incarcerating U.S. citizens, and suppressing women and youth. 

The IRGC played a role in the torture, executions and murders of thousands of dissidents and opposition members in the past decades, including the 1988 massacre of more than 30,000 political prisoners. 

The decision to give more financial and economic leeway to the perpetrators of that crime is a terrible message to sent  to the families of the Iranian regime’s victims or the members of the U.S. Congress, who seek accountability and justice for this unpunished crime. 

The Joint Plan of Comprehensive Action (JCPOA), enable Iran to profit from the lifting of sanctions, but the fear of becoming linked to the IRGC caused some foreign investors to linger. 

The latest relaxation of restrictions on the Iranian regime will put the IRGC in a better positioned to fund its activities in Iran, across the Middle East region and worldwide, which will prove to be damaging for the U.S.’s goals in promoting stability and peace in the region.  

The people who were meant to benefit from the Obama administration’s generosity toward the Iran will end up living in greater misery, poverty and repression.