Iran and Proxies
Iran’s proxies surround Israel with a “ring of fire.”
By Laurence F. Sanford
“Death to America” and “Death to Israel” are the battle cries for Iran and its proxies: Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Through these proxies, Iran effectively controls Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.
Iran is spreading its tentacles.
Sudan recently signed a memorandum of understanding on security cooperation. The two countries expressed support for the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israel. Iran has been supplying drones and military training to the Sudanese military and is seeking access to building a navy base on the Red Sea.
Niger is negotiating to export uranium yellow pancake to Iran. Niger recently expelled the U.S. military and invited the Russians to a $280 million drone air base built with U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Argentina’s highest court blamed Iran for a 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center that resulted in 85 deaths and 300 injured. The court called it a “crime against humanity.”
Cuba is in talks to receive Iranian aid in refurbishing 160 sugar cane processing plants. Due to Castro’s socialist policies, the once-thriving sugar cane industry can not even meet domestic demand and needs to import sugar from the United States.
Venezuela signed 25 “Memorandums of Understanding” with Iran, covering strategic alliances on energy, trade, culture, industry, and science.
Ukraine is being attacked by Russia with Iranian-built drones and missiles.
Russia has contracted to build $10 billion worth of nuclear power plants in Iran.
The United States Justice Department has charged three men in an Iranian plot to kill American Iranian author Masih Alinejad, who has spoken against human rights abuses in Iran.
Iran’s proxies surround Israel with a “ring of fire.” Hamas started the Gaza War, and the Houthis in Yemen joined the war by firing missiles and severely hampering shipping in the Red Sea. Hezbollah in Lebanon has fired missiles into northern Israel, and the PLO threatens Israelis in the West Bank. Thousands of missiles are aimed at Israel. The annihilation of Israel and Jews in Israel is the first step in the Islamic jihad. The next step is the annihilation of Western Civilization in following the Islamic ideology of world domination.
Iran is rife with internal dissensions, as witnessed by:
Riots that followed the death by the morality police of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for not wearing the hijab on her head properly.
Social media has castigated the mullahs for ordering the removal of urinals from Tehran shopping malls as they are “un-Islamic and indicative of Westoxification.”
The economy is stifled by socialist rule.
Water shortages due to drought and mismanagement have led to rioting and deaths. One expert said Iran is in a “water bankruptcy trap” and cannot escape.
Ethnic minorities are restive under Persian dominance. Iran’s population of approximately 90 million is 65% Persian, 16% Azerbaijanis, 7% Kurds, 6% Lurs, 2% Arabs, 2% Baloch, and various other non-Persian, non-Turkic groups. Several of these groups, such as the Kurds, Balochs, and Azerbaijanis, have insurgents seeking independence from the Persians.
A large Iranian diaspora fled Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Approximately 1.5 million now live in the United States, with 500,000 in the Los Angeles area.
Islam was introduced into Persia (Iran) with the Arab conquests of 633-654 AD. Prior to the conquest, the primary religion was Zoroastrian. Shia Islam dominates. Though Arabs ruled after the conquest, Persians continued to practice their native languages and customs.
Since the 1979 revolution and rule by Muslim mullahs, the public has steadily lost faith in theocratic rule and Islam. Now, 72% of Iranians reject the idea of a religious figure as head of state, and only 32% identify as Shiite Muslims.
Recently, Iranian Director Mohammad Rasoulof fled Iran ahead of being prosecuted and flogged for daring to make movies that were not to the mullahs’ liking.
Iran has been developing nuclear energy for over 40 years and probably has the bomb now but has chosen not to announce the fact publicly. What should the United States do? No military actions, as they probably would not eliminate the threat and open up the world to unforeseen developments. An argument has been made that Iran’s nuclear bomb would add stability to the region. The world continues with nuclear-armed North Korea and Pakistan. The U.S., China, Russia, the UK, France, and India are other nuclear powers.
One can argue that biological weapons are a bigger threat to humanity than nuclear weapons.
Summary
Iran is waging war against the United States, Israel, and Western Civilization. Yet the United States showers Iran with billions of dollars in the vain hope that Iran will change its course.
The only way Iran will change course is through a change in leadership. This means no Islamic theocracy. The United States should openly state that regime change is needed and must be done by the Iranian people. The U.S. should engage in “gray zone” non-kinetic actions such as increased Voice of America broadcasts, social media, supporting dissident diaspora Iranians, and forming alliances with nations opposed to Iran — develop our own “proxies” against Iran.
Action
- Reciprocity — Iran is preaching “Death to America.” We should reciprocate and treat Iran as an enemy and implement unrestricted non-kinetic warfare.
- Send no more money or economic benefits to Iran.
- Countries that ally with Iran should be treated as unfriendly to U.S. interests.
- Form alliances — “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
- Increase spending on the U.S. military and supporting military-industrial complex.
- Recognize that the United States is in Cold War II with China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
Laurence F. Sanford is a senior analyst at the American Security Council Foundation.
