Syria and North Korea are a large concern for the Trump administration but Syria’s civil war has created a greater concern. Millions of refugees have fled, and continue to flee the war in Syria. Diseases like polio, once thought to be extinct, have been revived, and the country has become a haven for Islamic State terrorists, as well.
And yet, according to Jennifer Rubin in her article for the Washington Post, “these should be lesser concerns in the bigger scheme.”
On Friday, amid the conflict of Iran’s upcoming presidential election on May 19, Senator John McCain, Chairman of the US Senate Armed Forces Committee and senior member of the Republican Party, visited Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Albania.
He met with Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a combination of Iranian dissident organizations and individuals all seeking regime change in Iran. The PMOI/MEK is the largest of five different organizations in the NCRI.
Senator McCain congratulated PMOI/MEK members on their successful relocation to Albania from Iraq after having suffered several attacks in both Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty from 2009 to 2016.
Disputes between factions vying for Iran’s presidency continue, especially regarding economics, as each faction accuses the other.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran’s Mayor, said as he registered his candidacy, “[Iranian President Hassan] Rouhani speaks of economic conditions improving. But he would be more informed about the economic situation if he took a step out of his office. It would become crystal clear for him that only 4% of the society is happy with the status quo. The truth is that people from all walks of life are very unhappy as small and large production units are forced to shut down one after another.” Ghalibaf slammed Hassan Rouhani, describing his performance as “pointless and promotional plans” over the past 4 years.
In Iran economic inequality and class divisions has reached a point that is very concerning to many economic experts, as the class divide increases.
According to the state-run Tasnim News Agency, “Published statistics show that in recent years the financial power of the rich has increased in comparison to the power of the poor, under a variety of indexes,” The urban rich class’ spending for food has increased from 4.29 times more in 2013 to 4.77 times more in 2015.”
While Ehsan Aminolroaia was being interviewed, questions about the state of Iran’s presidential election arose.
Aminolroaia, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), was asked, “In the upcoming election, how will Iran politically respond to what question and how will it resolve the conflict? In 2013, the Iranian regime needed to respond to the issue of the nuclear deal. In year 2005, Iran wanted to spread its influence in Iraq and obtain the nuclear bomb. Therefore, the regime created a Monique ruling apparatus with Ahmadinejad’s base. What is the regime’s Supreme Leader is looking for?”
Ahmad Tavakoli, former Iranian MP, and Abbas Abdi, member of the what is known as the “reformist” camp in Iran, issued a joint statement regarding institutionalized financial and economic corruption in Iran, calling senior officials “concession greedy” and stating that “this corruption will eventually find more depth, and today we are faced with systematic and networked corruption.”
According to the Alef website, they added, “In this phase the very oversight bodies involved in the fight against corruption will become influenced and corrupt individuals and begin supporting each other in a networked manner. This in itself will become part of the reason of this situation continuing.”
At the minute, the US and the Russian governments are debating about the future of Syria and how to proceed. One of the main points of discussion is regarding the withdrawal of Hezbollah and other militias. The US has made it clear that all armed forces from abroad that are supporting the Syrian regime need to leave. First and foremost, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Afghan, Iraqi and Pakistani militias.
The United States had as good as agreed that the Russian project aiming to end the conflict politically in Syria regardless of the survival of Bashar al-Assad was the way to move forward. But then the chemical weapons attack on Khan Shaykhun happened.
The war in Syria can no longer be described as a civil war. A more accurate description would be a clash of coalitions and opposing blocs. Iran’s presence in Syria is by far the most dangerous. In fact, in Iran’s involvement in propping the Syrian dictator up, Assad ironically seems to play a very small role. The Iranian regime is commanding Assad’s troops and has a much higher ratio of forces.
Iran, with its huge financial wealth and the copious number of weapons that goes with it, has deployed jihadist agents all over the region to help in its domination of the Middle East.
President Donald Trump makes it very clear that he does not adhere to the policy of his predecessor for Iran or many other issues.
On February 2, 2017 Michael Flynn, former National Security Advisor, put Iran “on notice” over missile tests. The next day Trump tweeted, “Iran is playing with fire — they don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President Obama was to them. Not me!”
During his campaign, Trump described the Nuclear Deal with Iran by saying, “It’s one of the worst deals ever made.”
US Treasury Department announced on Thursday that an Iranian prison company and its former leader are being sanctioned for orchestrating beatings of more than 30 political prisoners in 2014.
Sohrab Soleimani and Tehran Prisons Organization were added to the list of officials and organizations involved with human rights abuses in Iran. They have been blocked from the U.S. financial system, and U.S. citizens and businesses are barred from conducting financial transactions with them, according to an article in The Hill. Any assets Soleimani may have in the U.S. are frozen by this action.
