Weekly Commentary

Suicide Bombers Thrive under Ahmadinejad

To no one's surprise, recruiting and training suicide volunteers has been a thriving enterprise in Iran since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became mullahs’ president last summer. And why not?

In the last two decades, Iran’s primary instrument of advancing its foreign policy objectives has been terrorism or the mere threat of using it. When all else fails, dispatch of the suicide bombers hostage-takers ranks first in Tehran's foreign policy agenda. With the mullahs' diplomatic machinery hitting rock bottom and in disarray these days, there's an even greater need to revert to the old tactics.

On Sunday, Mohammad Ali Samadi, the spokesman for the notorious “Headquarters for Commemoration of Martyrs of Global Islamic Movement” (HCMGIM) said that his organization would hold a ceremony to honor volunteers for suicide bombing operations. The event, scheduled to be held on October 30 in Tehran, has been billed as “Men of the Sun” and government officials are going to attend it, according to official Mehr news agency.

“Headquarters for Commemoration of Martyrs of Global Islamic Movement” was established in 1982, grabbed the headlines in spring of 2004 when introduced as an NGO in charge of recruiting “suicide volunteers” to combat “World arrogance.” This so-called NGO is merely a tool to advance foreign policy objective of the Iran’s tyrants.

As Tehran’s Mayor, Ahmadinejad played a key role in facilitating the activities of this state-sponsored terror organization and similar terrorist outfits such as Ansar-e Hezbollah by placing the capital's resources at their disposal.

For example, last year’s “First International Commemoration” of suicide bombers was held in a government-owned building in Tehran and Brig. Gen. Salami, a confidant of Ahmadinejad and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Joint Chiefs of Staff Director of Operations, was the keynote speaker. The title of his speech was “Suicide operations: A security and military strategy perspective.”

Since last year, the HCMGIM has actively recruited Iranians and foreign nationals for terror operations. Boasting of its success, the group’s spokesman Samadi told Mehr News Agency that in this year’s ceremony, forms would be provided to attendees to volunteer for suicide operations. He added, “40,000 have already signed up for martyrdom-seeking operations and are organized into three battalions of volunteers with more to follow in due course”.

In summer, Mohammad-Reza Jafari, an IRGC senior officer the told the hard-line weekly Parto Sokhan that the garrison under his command was inaugurated to recruit and train volunteers for “martyrdom-seeking operations”. He told the pro-Ahmadinejad weekly that the “Lovers of Martyrdom Garrison has been activated, where a Martyrdom-seeking Division will be formed for each province in the country, organized in brigades, battalions and companies.”

Interestingly, in an earlier interview, Jafari had told another publication, “I have personally met Dr. Ahmadinejad, the distinguished mayor of Tehran. He is a Bassiji and I recommend to other officials to make him a role model”.

Tehran is actively training and dispatching these trained suicide volunteers. Last month, a top IRGC commander told state-run media that “trained volunteers for martyrdom-seeking operations” would soon stage a maneuver near Tehran to display their “readiness”.

Hossein Allahkaram, the leader of Ansar-e Hezbollah, a paramilitary force tasked with cracking down anti-government demonstrations, said in the interview that the would-be suicide bombers belonged to an NGO, a direct reference to the Headquarters for Commemoration of Martyrs of Global Islamic Movement.

It would be dangerously naïve to take this as mere terrorist saber-rattling and hollow rhetoric by Tehran. Early this month, another senior IRGC commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Kossari, who heads the Security Bureau of Iran’s Armed Forces, threatened the United States. “We know all of the enemies’ weak points and what to do against them. Today, we have martyrdom-seeking individuals who are ready to strike at these sensitive points,” he boasted.

He was parroting Ahmadinejad’s Defense Minister who told Parto Sokhan weekly in September that the clerical regime “has martyrdom-seeking Bassij forces, and so there is no need for nuclear weapons… and can use its devoted forces to stand against the enemies and neutralize all their threats”.

According to reports from Iraq many the suicide bombers have been dispatched to Iraq from Iran, with some of them acting as sleeper cells and others getting into action immediately.

What has been said by US and British officials in recent weeks about Iran’s meddling in Iraq is just the tip of the iceberg. This however should not stop here. Otherwise the continued silence and deliberate inaction about the full extent of Tehran’s destabilizing campaign in Iraq would amount to nothing less than appeasement. It would allow Tehran to advance its ominous campaign to install a satellite regime in Iraq and, as a result, emerge as the sole dominant power in the region. (USADI)
 

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The Independent

October 17, 2005
Rice tells Iranians not to stir up insurgency

 
Iran was warned not to "stir up" insurgency and to be a "good neighbor" to Iraq by the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, as she met Tony Blair for private talks yesterday.

Her comments came as the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, repeated the Government's concerns that Iran is behind attacks on British soldiers in Iraq. Downing Street said Mr Blair and Ms Rice discussed the need for Iran to meet its "international obligations".

Britain believes that the insurgents targeting its troops in southern Iraq are being trained by an elite arm of Iran's armed forces. Defence sources say the explosives that have killed eight British soldiers had been supplied by Hizbollah via the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

In an interview with the BBC, Ms Rice called on Iran to become "good neighbours" with Iraq. "I trust the British on this issue because the British are operating in the south. They know the situation there," she said..

Mr Straw underlined suspicions that Iran had a hand in bomb attacks on British troops in Iraq. "What we have presented to the Iranians is evidence which, in our judgment, clearly links the improvised explosive devices which have been used against British and other troops, mainly in the south of Iraq, to Hizbollah and to Iran."

“Naturally, Iran does have a certain influence in Iraq as a result of its influence with the different groups, namely the Shiites and Kurds,” he said.

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Khaleej Times (Editorial)

October 18, 2005
Way forward for Iran

IRAN says it is prepared to return to the negotiating table to end the impasse over its nuclear programme. Teheran has emphasised it is keen to resolve the issue through talks with the European Union to avoid a showdown in the UN Security Council.

However, Iran has stuck to its guns on the issue of uranium enrichment saying it is not prepared to freeze the nuclear fuel activity. Which takes us back to the square one. The US and EU have been demanding a complete freezing of Teheran’s nuclear programme before any talks could resume. In fact, the West had forced the nuclear watchdog, IAEA, to pass a strongly worded resolution against Iran referring the country to the Security Council despite opposition from many developing countries.

This is why it is doubtful if Iran’s latest ‘offer’ to return to the negotiating table with EU makes any visible difference to the status quo. In fact, even as Teheran unveiled the new offer of talks yesterday, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice was meeting President Putin in Moscow seeking Russia’s help in taking punitive action against Iran. Russia and China have been opposed to bringing international sanctions against Teheran and are in favour of resolving the issue through dialogue. Nonetheless, the West is preparing ground to unleash strongest possible action against the Middle Eastern country.

Iran has to wake up to the gathering threat. Whether it likes it or not, the country has to face up to the fact that the West will do everything to prevent it from acquiring nuclear power (weapons?). The situation demands that Iran takes all necessary steps to prevent any aggression against it. Instead of blowing hot, blowing cold and flipping its stand every now and then, Iran would be well advised to take a firm stand and cooperate with the EU and IAEA. This is the only way to avoid a totally unnecessary confrontation with the West. And this is the best course of action for the country to protect its interests and dignity.

The country, which suffered a long and debilitating war with Iraq soon after the Islamic Revolution, is just now beginning to recover from the disastrous effects of the conflict. The decade long unfortunate war of aggression, imposed by Saddam Hussein, which killed millions on both sides has had a devastating impact on Iran’s economy, and infrastructure. It cannot afford yet another military aggression.

Iran’s leaders should therefore stop chasing the elusive dream of nuclear power and instead focus on improving living conditions of their people and economic development of the country. Thanks to recent steadily high oil prices, Iran’s economy is looking up and its long empty coffers are fast filling up. The Iranian leadership should cash in on the oil boom to improve the lot of its long-suffering people.
 

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The US Alliance for Democratic Iran (USADI), is a US-based, non-profit, independent organization, which promotes informed policy debate, exchange of ideas, analysis, research and education to advance a US  policy on Iran which will benefit America’s interests, both at home and in the Middle East, through supporting Iranian people’s  aspirations for a democratic, secular, and peaceful government, free of tyranny, fundamentalism, weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism.

USADI supports the Iranian peoples' aspirations for democracy, peace,  human rights, women’s equality, freedom of expression, separation of  church and state, self-determination, control of land and resources,  cultural integrity, and the right to development and prosperity.

The USADI is not affiliated with any government agencies, political groups or parties. The USADI administration is solely responsible for its activities and decisions.