by Navid Felker
As always when Iran faces a new threat, the pro-Iran lobby has been working hard to falsify and distort events. When it was announced that the US national security adviser H.R. McMaster is to be replaced by former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, the lobby got to work.
Many are trying to portray Bolton as an aggressive warmonger. However, many of these claims are coming from the most hawkish of all – the ayatollahs that have spent decades spreading chaos in the Middle East.
Iran is behind the conflicts that are ravaging across the region and its policies of Shi’ite expansionism are worsening the crises.
When former president Barack Obama was in office, he pursued policies of appeasement towards Iran. He wanted to concede to Iran and appease it so that its aggressive behaviour and activities would be toned down. He gave numerous and very significant concessions to Iran during the nuclear deal negotiations and he turned a blind eye to many things that should have been addressed rather than ignored.
Bolton realised this. He said that appeasement cannot and will not work. History has proven this. Looking further back than Obama’s presidency, Iran’s other appeasers were unable to prevent war.
Furthermore, appeasing Iran resulted in it becoming even more emboldened. It provoked more conflict. Not less.
It is clear that Iran’s support of Bashar al Assad in Syria has kept that civil war going. If Iran had not fuelled the conflict there, Assad would not have kept power for anywhere near as long as he has. Iran’s presence there has also given the green light to Russia’s presence. Obama’s policy was weak and resulted in the Islamic State gaining ground. Obama brushed his red line on the use of chemical weapons aside.
Furthermore, Obama lifted sanctions on Iran when the nuclear deal was signed, effectively giving Iran $150 million. This didn’t get spent on improving the economic situation in Iran. The people were suffering from ever increasing prices and tougher living conditions. The social conditions and services were appalling. Instead of improving this, Iran decided to invest in the export of terrorism. It also used the huge windfall to fund numerous proxy groups and militias across the region including the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Bolton, like many others, condemns Iran for being the main source of terror, not just in the region, but in the world. His support for the Iranian opposition – the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI or MEK) – is no secret. He has spoken at numerous events and has called for support for regime change in Iran because he wants justice for the 80 million Iranians that have suffered at the hands of the mullahs.
And it is not just Bolton that is calling for regime change. People in more than 140 cities across the country took to the streets to call for regime change. The people’s desire for freedom, democracy and human rights is overwhelming. At least Bolton has the decency to respect the people.
