When President Hassan Rouhani started his first term in office as the President of Iran, many from the West viewed this as a positive step for the people of Iran. He was considered a moderate and it was expected that things would change for the better in Iran. However, looking back on his first term, none of this materialised. 

During his first term, Rouhani presided over more than three thousand executions. He ordered many crackdowns on the people of Iran. He boasted of deceiving world powers during the nuclear deal negotiations. President Rouhani let extremism and terrorism continue without challenge.

Alejo Vidal-Quadras, an atomic and nuclear physics professor, former vice-president of the European Parliament (1999 to 2014) and current president of the International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ), has warned that the West needs to be careful not to fall victim to the Iranian regime’s propaganda that makes it look like an ally in the war against terrorism. 

The country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) recently announced that it had fired several missiles into the eastern area of Syria in an alleged attempt to help Bashar al Assad’s fight against the terrorists.

Every year the Iranian opposition holds an important event that sees Iranian people, dignitaries and political figures from across the world reunite and call for regime change in Iran. The event is held in support of the Iranian people who are desperate for peaceful leadership, freedom and democracy. 

Named the “Free Iran” rally, it is crucial for the organisers to make sure that policymakers around the world can understand clearly just what the Iranian regime is doing and how it poses a very real threat to worldwide security and stability in the region.

Since taking office, the Trump White House has made some important changes in U.S. policy toward Iran.  It has shifted from the conciliatory gestures of the Obama administration to a stance that acknowledges American intolerance for violent extremism, human rights violations and the support of terrorism. This message has been broadcasted by leading administration figures

Ivan Sascha Sheehan, director of the graduate program in global affairs and human security in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Baltimore writes in an article for the Baltimore Sun, “The time has never been better for the White House to focus on Iran’s support of terrorism.”

A lawyer for the United States government said earlier this week that Iran has been named as the owner of a skyscraper in the city of New York. The long-time owner has been a secret for a long time and the news was announced after a trial lasting a month. 

Michael Lockard, Assistant US Attorney, said that following a trial involving extensive evidence including documentation and witness testimony, the federal court had decided that the Alavi Foundation may have to forego its stake (of sixty per cent) in the building.

Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate had a rare moment of agreement when they passed a bill imposing several encompassing sanctions on Iran because of its malign, nefarious and abusive activities with regards to terrorism, human rights and ballistic missile testing. 

The Act entitled “The Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017” had a majority vote of 98-2. The news of this being passed a few weeks ago was a very strong message to Iran showing that both political sides in the United States had united in agreement that Iran needs to be dealt with.