Incite Change From Within Iran
November 16, 2011
Foreign Affairs Analyst and Iran Expert
By ALIREZA JAFARZADEH , Author of 'The Iran Threat:
President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis'
November 16, 2011
Over the past three decades, Washington's Iran policy has
acted like a pendulum, oscillating between engagement and
threats of military action. Given the problematic nature of
the latter, engagement has essentially held sway. This has
provided the Iranian regime a golden opportunity to rapidly
advance its quest for the bomb.
In other words, engagement has failed to halt Tehran's
nuclear drive.
So, what needs to be done? Tough sanctions are of course
necessary, but clearly not sufficient. It is time for the
West, the United States in particular, to focus on the third
option, i.e., change from within. How? By relying on the
people of Iran and their organized opposition.
That opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), has
been the source of much of the intelligence about the
existence of multiple nuclear sites scattered in different
parts of Iran, including the uranium enrichment facility in
Natanz, and the heavy water facility in Arak in 2002; Kala
Electric, Lavizan-Shian, and Lashkar Abad in 2003; the Qom
underground facility in 2005; and most recently the TABA
site in 2011, where advanced centrifuge parts are
manufactured.
Iran saw major uprisings in 2009 lasting several months
before being brutally suppressed. Currently, Iran's economy
is in shambles, the ruling elite are increasing fighting
among themselves, and internal dissent has spread.
Nothing can convince the mullahs to halt their ambitious
nuclear weapons program. The only and least costly option is
to rely on Iranians and their organized opposition committed
to replacing the regime with a democratic, secular, and
non-nuclear republic. This option has widespread political
support, signified by a large group of bipartisan members of
Congress who are calling on the State Department to remove
the shackles placed on the main Iranian opposition 14 years
ago as a goodwill gesture to Tehran.
Make no mistake. Nothing can mobilize Iran's population
behind its ruthless rulers, and nothing has been more
destructive than the various forms of engagement. However,
there is no need for foreign governments to allocate money,
dispatch troops, or carry out any kind of military action
against Tehran. The West must realize the power of Iran's
people, arguably more deeply rooted even than what we saw in
the Arab Spring. The time to act is now.
Jafarzadeh has revealed Iran's terrorist network in Iraq and
its terror training camps since 2003. He first disclosed the
existence of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility and the
Arak heavy water facility in August 2002.
