A concerted effort on the part of Iranian citizens rioting, backed by cyber warfare, American air-power, and Israeli counterintelligence operations, would succeed in taking down the brutal Iranian regime. The hour of truth is now. It’s time to start imagineering a post-ayatollah Iran.

Post-ayatollah Iran: the time has come

Over the years, I’ve written about Jewish indigenous rights to the Land of Israel, and how Israeli foreign policy should support the non-Arab/Muslim indigenous minorities throughout the Middle East and North Africa – such as the Kurds – and roll-back the 7th century Arab/Muslim imperialist conquest of the region. To help create a New Middle East.

Now, because the Iranian people are voting in the streets, it’s time for it’s corollary, a democratic post-ayatollah Iran. Something that would greatly benefit the Iranian people, America, Israel, the West in general, and all the peoples of the region. And, disengage Iran from North Korea, George W. Bush’s “Axis of Evil.” See my “North Korea: The Israeli Connection” to better understand their relationship.

Missed opportunities

The last couple times there were large protests against the government in Iran in 2009-2010 and again in 2011-2012, the Obama administration wasted its opportunity to help liberate the Iranian people from the mullahs, and put the nuclear facilities in the hands of level-headed people.

Judith Miller, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and adjunct fellow of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, in a recent interview stated, “…that might have happened in 2009 if Pres. Obama had lent any support. Pres. Trump is now in this. I’m hoping the Iranian people get rid of this regime…this is the most serious set of protests since 1979.”

Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bush and Obama agrees, Retired Adm. Mike Mullen, wants the Trump administration to not make the same mistakes as the Obama administration, and fully back protesters in Iran.

Current state

Reza Pahlavi – Crown Prince of Iran and son of the late Shah – see’s the historic opportunity and has called on the people of Iran to participate in acts of civil disobedience, similar to Lech Walesa/Poland, Nelson Mandela/South Africa, and what occurred during the fall of the Soviet Union and Berlin Wall.

Alireza Jafarzadeh, an active dissident against the Iranian government, formerly the chief congressional liaison and public spokesperson for the US office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and best known for revealing the existence of clandestine nuclear facilities in Iran in 2002, stated that, “riots have broken out in over 80 cities throughout Iran.”

In a recent interview, Jafarzadeh explained that the riots started because of the economic situation, and accusations of corruption against the regime, and quickly morphed into an anti-Khamenei, anti-Rouhani, anti-regime movement. He stated, “people see the money that came from America, from Obama’s Iran deal, that the regime had promised would help improve people’s economic situations, going instead, to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, to Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain, Gaza and Lebanon.”

Jafarzadeh said the Iranian people do not support the foreign interventions and terrorism that the government has been involved in. He claimed that, “The situation now is more serious than in 2009, because, leaders of the regime are divided themselves.” He called on the West to designate the leaders of the regime as, “major violators of Human Rights,” and weaken the regime further by applying new sanctions to it.

What Trump can do now

What he is doing

The Trump administration can do a lot to bring about regime change in Iran, and they shouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of this G-d given window of opportunity.

“Big protests in Iran,” Trump tweeted. “The people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism. Looks like they will not take it any longer. The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations!”

And then Trump tweeted, “Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!”

Israeli PM Netanyahu echoed Trump’s sentiments in a video posted to his Facebook page saying, “Brave Iranians are pouring into the streets. They seek freedom. They seek justice. They seek the basic liberties that have been denied them for decades. Iran’s cruel regime wastes tens of billions of dollars spreading hate,” in the region. “This money could have built schools and hospitals.” Netanyahu continued, “This regime tries desperately to sow hate between us. But they won’t succeed. And when this regime finally falls, and one day it will, Iranians and Israelis will be great friends once again,” (as before the 1979 Islamic Revolution).

US Vice President Mike Pence also tweeted support for the protesters, saying “We will not let them down.”

What more he can do

But, “vicious” tweets and Facebook videos won’t do it. In his recent national security speech Trump said, “To counter Iran and block its path to a nuclear weapon, I sanctioned the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for its support of terrorism, and I declined to certify the Iran Deal to Congress.” With Iranians now rioting in the streets, America must step-up to the plate and commit itself to absolute victory in Iran, using it’s massive firepower, for the good of the world.

As Trump said, “A nation that is not prepared to win a war is a nation not capable of preventing a war.”

Open US support for the Democratic Revolution in Iran, the protesters, backed by American air-cover to prevent Iranian security from mowing them down, would go a long way. Add to that, missile strikes against selected command-and-control systems, nuclear facilities, government media outlets, and other selected infrastructure, and you have a lethal combination, to empower the Iranian people to overthrow their ayatollahs.

What Israel can do and is doing

Israel’s contribution can be significant too. Remember Stuxnet, the malicious computer worm – uncovered in 2010 by Kaspersky Lab – it was responsible for causing substantial damage to Iran’s nuclear program up to that point. The worm was believed to have been a jointly built American/Israeli cyberweapon. Israel is one of the acknowledged world leaders in cyber warfare.

And, according to Ronen Bergman, senior correspondent for military and intelligence affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s Mossad, has been carrying out counterintelligence operations for some time in Iran, including sabotage and the assassination of nuclear scientists and others, involved in Iran’s nuclear program. Bergman in the past justified the operations, citing former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who regularly said that Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth. Ayatollah Khamenei and others continue in his footsteps.

Bergman said, referring to Meir Degan, the former chief of the Mossad, “… he hung a photograph behind him, behind the chair of the chief of Mossad, And in that photograph you see – an ultra-orthodox Jew – long beard, standing on his knees with his hands up in the air, and two Gestapo soldiers standing beside him with guns pointed at him. One of them is smiling…Degan used to say to his people and the people coming to visit him from CIA, NSA, etc, ‘Look at this guy in the picture. This is my grandfather just seconds before he was killed by the SS,’ we are here to prevent this from happening again.’”

So, one can understand Israel’s high motivation to bring down the mullah regime in Iran.

What a post-ayatollah Iran would mean

Supporting the creation of a pro-western independent Kurdistan bordering Iran, as a bulwark to help prevent a pro-Iranian Shiite Crescent, from Iran through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, to the Mediterranean, should be of immediate interest to policy makers in America, Israel, the Sunni Arab Coalition, and the West. So too, should they actively resist, Iranian penetration of neighboring states, support for international terrorism, and the development of nuclear weapons.

Better yet, it’s time to start imagineering a post-ayatollah Iran. A democratic Iran, denuclearized, and welcomed back into the family of civilized nations, good to its citizens, and at peace with its neighbors. The hour of truth is now, enough poli-talk, it’s time to act!

Ariel Natan Pasko, an independent analyst and consultant, has a Master’s Degree specializing in International Relations, Political Economy & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites and in newspapers. His latest articles can also be read on his archive: The Think Tank by Ariel Natan Pasko.

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