ANALYSIS: Is this the beginning of a new era for Iraq without Iran?

The military phase of the fight against ISIS is winding down after the liberation of Mosul, and the battle for the nearby town of Tal Afar is predicted to end soon. This has provided an opportunity for Iraq to begin distancing itself from the influence gained by Iran following the disastrous 2003 war, and returning to its true Arabic heritage.

Iraq was known as a melting pot where Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens lived alongside and in mixed societies for centuries. Prior to Iran gaining its disastrous sway across Mesopotamia, this was a land where the majority of Shiites lived and prospered with their Sunni, Christian, Yazidi and all other religious minority brothers.

Has not the time arrived for Iraq to regain its true position as part of the Arab world, and rid its soil of the meddling of Iran’s clerics?

Long-awaited developments

Iraqi officials have embarked on a new campaign of visiting Saudi Arabia and other Arab Sunni states, signaling long-welcomed changes. The influential Sadrist leader Muqtada was seen in the final days of July meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman.

Only days later Sadr paid a visit to the United Arab Emirates, another critic of Iran’s policies, where he was welcomed as an Iraqi leader by a slate of leading politicians and clerics.

Sadr’s visit rendered a variety of measures by Riyadh, including launching a Saudi Consulate in Sadr’s hometown of Najaf, one of the two holiest Shiite cities in Iraq. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, known as Iraq’s most senior Shiite cleric, his distance from Tehran’s viewpoints and calling for Iraq to practice openness in establishing relations, did not block such a proposition.

Muqtada al Sadr with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman in Riyadh. (Al Arabiya)

Iran, however, resorted to strong remarks against Sadr for his visits to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The visit was even described by a local wire as an act of betrayal to the Houthis in Yemen.
source:ANALYSIS: Is this the beginning of a new era for Iraq without Iran?

IRAN: AFTER THE JCPOA, THE AMOUNT OF IRAN'S FOREIGN DEBTS?

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

Arabnews, 20 August 2017 - There is a need for a more firm approach toward the Iranian government and its increasingly aggressive foreign policy.Tehran is ratcheting up its interference and interventions in Arab countries. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its affiliates are increasing domestic repression as well, according to the latest reports by human rights organizations.

Support for a firm approach against the Iranian political establishment is increasing in the United States. About 30 prominent American luminaries and former officials issued a joint statement expressing bipartisan support for underscoring the need for countering Tehran regime. Among the signatories were former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

It is crucial to point out that the Iranian government has been causing regional instability, engaging in egregious human rights violations and exporting terrorism and extremism abroad. The letter scolds the Iranian regime for committing these acts.

The view that the regime can be reformed has been proved to be inaccurate, simplistic and unsophisticated. Former US presidents made efforts to moderate Iran’s foreign policy through engagement, diplomacy or concessions. Nevertheless, as history reveals, these efforts have failed.
source:IRAN: AFTER THE JCPOA, THE AMOUNT OF IRAN'S FOREIGN DEBTS?

Maryam Rajavi’s speech on the anniversary of 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran

Seeking Justice for Victims of 1988 Massacre is Indispensable for the Iranian Nation’s Campaign to Overthrow the Regime in Iran

Dear sisters and brothers, the honorable friends of the Iranian Resistance,

I salute you all.
The presence of supporters of Iranian Resistance in this gathering, which is calling for justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre in Iran, is heartwarming.
This is an extraordinary gathering. Among you here today, more than 920 have spent many years in prisons of the Shah and Khomeini. Nearly 10 percent were incarcerated during under the Shah and about 90 percent under the mullahs’ regime. Some served anywhere from 5 to 10 and 12, 13, 15 and even 17 years.

 

 Seeking Justice for Victims of 1988 Massacre in Iran

In 2009, the Iranian Resistance’s Leader Massoud Rajavi said that the names of all of you, who were in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, at the time, had been sent to all relevant international organizations.
The renowned American law professor Alan Dershowitz, once described the residents of Ashraf as “the largest concentration of witnesses” to the crimes of the Iranian regime in the world and urged the international community to protect these witnesses.
Hail to each and every one of you!
Paying Greatest Tribute to the heroes of 1988

 

 Maryam Rajavi and a number of dignitaries at a ceremoney marking the 29th anniversary of the 1988 massacre of political prisoner in Iran
source:Maryam Rajavi’s speech on the anniversary of 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran

CALL FOR AN INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY TO INVESTIGATE 1988 MASSACRE OF 30,000 POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN

Human rights, in particular, bringing to justice the officials involved in the 1988 massacre, should be at the core of Iran policyHuman rights defenders, dignitaries, European politicians and the Iranian Resistance called for the formation of an international commission of inquiry into the massacre of political prisoners in Iran in the summer of 1988 and bringing those responsible for this genocide and crime against humanity to justice.

They stressed that the issue of human rights should be at the core of the West’s policy on Iran. They urged the UN, EU and the US to put the issue of flagrant and systematic violation of human rights in Iran on top of their agenda.

The call was made during an exhibition on the 1988 massacre that took place upon the initiative of Mr. Jean-François Legaret, the Mayor of Paris municipality District 1 at this municipality on Thursday, August 17, 2017.

In addition to Mr. Legaret, several French mayors including Armand Jacquemin, mayor of Moussy Le Vieux, Jean-Claude Jegoudez, mayor of Grisy-Sur-Seine, and Jacky Duminy, mayor of Ors took part and spoke at the exhibition.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, in a message to the exhibition said 30,000 political prisoners were hanged in Iran in days such as these in the summer of 1988, without any reaction by Western governments.

Those who remained silent over this tragedy betrayed humanity because the mullahs found out that their crimes had no consequences. So, they continued by exporting their terrorism and fundamentalism abroad and drenching the Middle East in blood.

If in those days, the massacre had not been met with silence, today, the mullahs could not sink Syria in a whirlpool of blood.
source:CALL FOR AN INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY TO INVESTIGATE 1988 MASSACRE OF 30,000 POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN

WHAT IRAN REALLY WANTS FROM THE NUCLEAR DEAL

 by Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

Iran’s ruling clerics frequently complain, without evidence that the US is not complying with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal reached in 2015 between Tehran and six world powers. Since Iran continues to receive significant sanctions relief under the agreement, and is also conducting an increasing amount of business with the West, what exactly are they complaining about, and why?

The accusations that the US is not complying with the deal are part of a strategy that Tehran has employed since the agreement was signed, and which has three major objectives. The first is to coerce the agreement’s other signatories, by threats and tough language, into continuing sanctions relief. The second is to divert attention from Tehran’s own non-compliance with the nuclear agreement. The third is to project a strength that does not exist by bolstering the pretense that Tehran is not desperate for the nuclear agreement to remain in place.
The reality is that Iran needs the nuclear agreement more than the West does. Tehran is hemorrhaging billions of dollars on Bashar Assad in Syria and its Shiite militia proxies there and elsewhere in the region. The continuation of sanctions relief under the nuclear agreement is critical to Tehran.The US has not violated the nuclear agreement, as Iranian leaders claim. Washington’s unilateral sanctions are a response to Tehran’s ballistic missile program. Since the nuclear agreement was signed, Tehran has fired at least 10 ballistic missiles, some of them into Syria, in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. US sanctions also targeted the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the main player in Iran’s ballistic missile activities and the backbone of its support for terrorist groups in the region. These sanctions have nothing to do with the nuclear agreement, which was signed by several participants, not just Washington and Tehran, and addressed only Tehran’s nuclear program.
source:WHAT IRAN REALLY WANTS FROM THE NUCLEAR DEAL

Senior U.S. Senate Delegation Meets with NCRI President-elect Rajavi

In a move that must frustrate the Iranian regime and its mullahs, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) President-elect Maryam Rajavi hosted a senior Senate delegation from the United States on August 12, 2017. The meeting was held in the Albanian capital of Tirana. During the gathering, the two groups discussed the current situation of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Albania, the latest developments in Iran and the Middle East, and solutions to end the current crisis sweeping that region.

The Senate delegation was comprised of Senators Roy Blunt, Vice President of the Republican Conference, and member of the Appropriation, Select Intelligence, Rules and Administration, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committees; John Cornyn, the Majority Whip, and a member of the Judiciary, Select Intelligence, and Finance committees; and Thom Tillis, a member of the Armed Services, Judiciary, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs committees.

The meeting was initiated by Senator Roy Blunt, who led the delegation in congratulating the MEK for the safe and secure relocation of all Camp Liberty residents out of Iraq. They also wished the group well in its efforts to secure democracy and human rights in Iran.

Mrs. Rajavi, after thanking the senators for their decisive position on the Iranian regime, emphasized that contrary to the propaganda by the Iranian regime’s apologists, the ruling theocracy was rotten to the core and very fragile. Without foreign support, especially the policy of appeasement pursued in the U.S. and Europe, it would not have survived so long. She added that regime change in Iran is necessary and a viable and democratic alternative exists that could make a successful regime change possible. Mrs. Rajavi said equating regime change by the Iranian people for democracy with war and instability in the region is a sheer lie, the source of which is the Iranian regime’s lobby in western capitals. They demagogically turn the truth on its head, she noted, adding that the overthrow of the Tehran regime was a prerequisite to ending crisis and war in the Middle East.

Embed from Getty Images

As part of the meeting, some steps that the NCRI believes necessary for the international community to undertake regarding Iran were discussed. These included imposing comprehensive sanctions on the Iranian regime’s banking and oil sector, expelling the IRGC and its affiliated militias from the Middle East, and taking urgent steps to punish the regime for the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners.

The Senate delegation also met with MEK members that witnessed or were victims of the regime in Iran and within Iraq at Camps Liberty and Ashraf.
source:Senior U.S. Senate Delegation Meets with NCRI President-elect Rajavi

OPINION: COUPLE US SANCTIONS WITH MIDDLE EAST EXPULSION OF IRAN

by Shahriar Kia

Riyadh Daily, 16 August 2017 - The Iranian regime is attempting to secure a corridor through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, providing a supply route for its numerous terrorist proxies in the region.Iran’s clandestine nuclear and ballistic missile drive, support for terrorism and domestic crackdown are all aimed at maintaining the Tehran’s fascist mullahs in power and pursue their regional policies.

This notorious objective, in direct conflict with those of the regional and global coalitions to fight terrorism and extremism, can be stopped. Eviction of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and all its proxy forces from the Middle East must complete the new US Congress sanctions. With President Donald Trump signaling his approval, this first and foremost step should be taken with hesitation following the sanctions.

The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to rally major new sanctions on Iran, parallel to measures on North Korea and Russia. To impose additional sanctions on Iran’s defense sector, the House voted 419-3. Coming after three weeks of negotiations, this bill “tightens the screws on our most dangerous adversaries,” explained House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Maryam Rajavi , the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI ), welcomed the adoption of a bill by both chambers of the US Congress which imposes new sanctions on the Iranian regime for violating human rights and pursuing ballistic missiles.

“Since several years ago, the Iranian Resistance had urged the terrorist designation of the IRGC, as it preserves the entirety of the clerical regime and acts as its main apparatus for domestic suppression and export of terrorism and fundamentalism,” she stressed. “However, the policy of appeasing the mullahs’ religious dictatorship paved the way for the IRGC and its proxies’ rampage in the entire region.”
source:OPINION: COUPLE US SANCTIONS WITH MIDDLE EAST EXPULSION OF IRAN

Before Anyone Further Appeases Iran...

The pro-Iran deal camp is recently making much noise about how the Trump administration and critics of the pact, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are making rightful complaints of the text failing to address Iran’s destructive belligerence in the Middle East.

These are valid concerns, considering the fact that even if the deal remains intact come October’s decision by President Donald Trump to find Iran in compliance or not, the mullahs are hell-bent to continue wreaking havoc and expanding influence across the region.

The pro-Iran deal camp claim Washington has no evidence to hold Tehran in violation of the JCPOA terms. Not true.

• Tehran has exceeded its heavy water production cap, necessary for a plutonium nuclear bomb,
• testing more advanced centrifuges,
• illicitly procuring highly sensitive nuclear and ballistic missile technology in Germany, according to Berlin’s intelligence services,
• surpassing its uranium enrichment cap, another key non-compliance factor

The pro-JCPOA camp also argues this deal has prevented Iran from becoming the next North Korea. This is partially true and misleads only the uninformed reader. A deal very similar to the JCPOA, led by the Clinton administration, was signed with North Korea and ended up in dismal failure. This left the world with a rogue state now equipped with at least 20 nuclear bombs, intercontinental ballistic missiles and the technology to miniaturize a nuclear warhead in its payload.
source:Before Anyone Further Appeases Iran...

WHY IS TEHRAN TERRIFIED OF US SENATORS MEETING WITH THE IRANIAN OPPOSITION?

by Amir Basiri

Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., met with National Council of Resistance of Iran President Maryam Rajavi and members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran. Rajavi thanked the senators for their firm position toward Iran, especially the adoption of new sanctions against the ruling regime and the Revolutionary Guards for their human rights abuses, Iran's ballistic missile program, and the export of terrorism.

The Iranian regime has constantly tried to downplay the role and influence of the opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and its main constituent, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), by portraying them as marginal and insignificant. Yet, its mainstream media and top officials are constantly betraying the regime's real feelings and fear of the group.

The latest episode came after U.S. senators visited the organization's headquarters in Tirana, Albania. Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., met with NCRI President Maryam Rajavi and members of the MEK, and discussed the latest developments in Iran and the Middle East as well as solutions to end the current crisis in that region.

Rajavi thanked the senators for their firm position toward Iran, especially the adoption of new sanctions against the ruling regime and the Revolutionary Guards for their human rights abuses, Iran's ballistic missile program, and the export of terrorism.

Less than a day later, dozens of mainstream media outlets representing all factions and branches of the Iranian regime expressed concern about the lawmakers' visit, calling it a provocative move meant to cause instability in Iran.

The visit comes as the Trump administration is reviewing its policy toward Iran's nefarious activities, and cabinet officials have hinted at supporting regime change, a goal that the MEK and NCRI have been calling for since 1981.
source:WHY IS TEHRAN TERRIFIED OF US SENATORS MEETING WITH THE IRANIAN OPPOSITION?

Iran: The Lives of the Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Danger

The Iranian Resistance expresses grave concern over the health and security of political prisoners on hunger strike in solitary confinement of ward 4 in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran. All international human rights organizations, especially the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur of Human Rights in Iran, Special Rapporteur on Torture are called upon to take urgent action to save the lives of these political prisoners.

Misters Abolqassem Fouladvand, Hassan Sadeghi, Saeed Masouri, Reza Akbari Monfared, Jafar Eqdami, Amir Qaziyan, Khaled Heradani, Zaniyar and Loqman Moradi who are in solitary confinement. A number of other ward 4 prisoners, including Misters Mohammad Banazadeh Amir Khizi, Pirouz Mansouri, Majid Assadi and Payam Shakiba are amongst the inmates who are also on hunger strike protesting repressive measures against ward 4 political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison. The authorities have banned these political prisoners from any family visits and placed them under pressures to end their hunger strikes.

The protesting political prisoners are amongst the inmates of hall 12 of ward 4 in Gohardasht Prison who were attacked on Sunday, July 30, insulted and beaten by prison guards, and forcefully transferred to hall 10 of this ward (NCRI Statement – August 1). Prison authorities have deprived these political prisoners of minimum hygiene products and decent clothing.

The religious fascism ruling Iran exerts its authority through executions, torture and detentions. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, with his “moderate” mask, are two sides of this medieval regime’s coin.

Senior Iranian regime officials must be placed before justice for their continuous and increasing crimes against the Iranian people. Any relation with Tehran must hinge on the mullahs’ improving the disastrous human rights situation and releasing all political prisoners without any preconditions.
source:Iran: The Lives of the Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Danger

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
August 10, 2017

ANALYSIS: Congress is taking the lead on Iran policy

By Heshmat AlaviSpecial to Al Arabiya EnglishMonday, 14 August 2017

   

A visit by a high-profile delegation of American Senators to Albania, home to members of the Iranian opposition, is sending major signals and messages to Tehran about growing consensus in Washington over the necessity to adopt regime change policy in the face of the mullahs’ belligerence.

The Senate delegation consisted of Senators Roy Blunt, Vice President of the Republican Conference, and member of the Appropriation, Select Intelligence, Rules and Administration, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation committees; John Cornyn, the Majority Whip, and a member of the Judiciary, Select Intelligence, and Finance committees; and Thom Tillis, a member of the Armed Services, Judiciary, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs committees.

The delegation met with Iranian opposition Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Tirana, discussing recent developments in the Middle East and Iran’s menacing role.

“Maryam Rajavi thanked the Senators for their decisive position vis-à-vis the Iranian regime, especially the adoption of a new resolution which imposed sanctions on the clerical regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for human rights abuses, the ballistic missile program, and the export of terrorism. She expressed gratitude for the efforts of the U.S. Senate, particularly Senator Blunt, regarding the protection of thousands of MEK members in Camp Liberty, Iraq, and their safe relocation to Albania,” according to a NCRI statement.

US Senators with Maryam Rajavi in Tirana, Albania. (Supplied)

Destructive meddling

Back in July 2014 several senior American figures, including Senator Blunt, staged a Senate briefing strongly condemning Iran’s destructive meddling in its western neighbor, Iraq. Characterizing the Iranian regime as part of the problem and not the solution, Senator Blunt emphasized on his demand for the PMOI/MEK members’ urgent and speedy transfer from Camp Liberty – a ransacked and deserted former US base near Baghdad International Airport west of the capital – to countries abroad in an effort to save their lives.
source:ANALYSIS: Congress is taking the lead on Iran policy

Iran Regime Change: A New War or Preventing One

By: Keyvan Salami

The News Blaze, August 12, 2017 - The bipartisan passage of the sanctions bill H.R. 3364 by both houses of Congress, and the Trump administration’s approach to Iran have raised questions over the right policy toward Iran.
Meanwhile, a grand gathering of Iranians in Paris suburb on July 1st with 100,000 participants, recited the desire of millions of Iranians: regime change.
Accordingly, Iran apologists, concerned that the appeasement policy is coming to an end and the new administration may adopt a policy of regime change, have become active to portray this bloody picture that such a policy will drag America to another Middle East war.
To prove their point, they refer to the US-led invasion of Iraq or the Libya regime change campaign. Due to catastrophic consequences of Iraq’s invasion for the US and the region, this reasoning could convince many Americans that regime change policy is not the right policy.
Nonetheless, this comparison is merely aimed at exploiting a wrong policy to adopt yet another wrong policy. Sending troops and invading Iraq by the US was a wrong policy, but worse is naively comparing that failed policy to the current situation in Iran, and denying the right of Iranian people to change the tyrannical regime.

U.S. Military Action Not Needed

Contrary to what Iran apologists portray, the regime change policy means neither military invasion nor military intervention by US in Iran.
It simply means stopping the appeasement policy and recognizing the right of the Iranian people for regime change. The Iranian people and their resistance movement can and will change the regime in Iran, and ask for the US to stop standing alongside this regime.“We reiterate and emphasize that regime change and establishment of freedom and people’s sovereignty, is solely the task and within the powers of the Iranian people and Resistance and no one else. Having relied on the suffering, struggle and endurance of this movement and this alternative, today we are most confident in the victory and liberation of our homeland” said Maryam Rajavi , the President-elect of Iranian Resistance in her opening statement at a recent Interim Session of the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI ).
source:Iran Regime Change: A New War or Preventing One

IRANIAN REGIME CRACKS DOWN ON MEK/PMOI

The growing movement calling for justice for the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran, has provoked the Iranian regime to attempt to discredit the movement.State-run Basij News recently wrote, “The People’s Mojahedin of Iran (MEK/PMOI) has organized the maximum propaganda and military activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The unresolved issue is how some of the political circles support the MEK’s measures in the current situation and they question the events of the 80s, while trying to call the hangman a martyr.”
Leadership of the regime have criticized France for hosting the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI)’s annual “Free Iran” event. At “The Islamic Human Rights’ Conference”, Foad Eezadi stated, “France hosts Iran’s enemies, whereas it established economic relations with Iran after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).” He added, “We had a lot of sanctions before the Iran Nuclear Deal. However, the question is that who is left out sanctions after this deal? According to this law, even the President could be sanctioned. The U.S. has enlisted us as the enemy country. Consequently, it doesn’t make much of a difference to give or not to give concessions as long as we are on this list.”
By discrediting the MEK, the regime hopes to discredit the movement. The MEK is seen as the foundation of the protests and domestic uprisings within Iran. The regime wants to confront the MEK, arguing that the regime’s unwillingness to discuss the massacre gives the MEK a foothold with the youth and others, because of the questions they raise.

Mohammad Sadeq Koushki, an international affairs expert in Iran, said, “We should have given people as much information about the MEK that there was no ambiguity about the executions in 1988.”
It appears that the regime is not able to obstruct the popular position of the MEK with the younger generation, although the state-run media, and lobbyists in the international community continue to try. The regime promotes outright suppression of the group. Even with these efforts, the MEK/PMOI continue their focus on the rights of the Iranian people and advocate for human rights and the freedom to express political opinions.
Films made about the MEK must reflect the views of the regime. Historically accurate films cause the filmmaker to be accused of being a supporter of the MEK. A filmmaker was quoted as saying, “Many people, even at the government level, go along with these deceptive slogans.”
The MEK/PMOI questions the actions of the Iranian regime. Their network within the country has exposed the actions of the regime to the international community.
Besides the MEK/PMOI, others who oppose the regime have built a coalition known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which is the democratic alternative to the fundamentalism of the regime. They have developed a 10-Point Plan for building a free, non-nuclear, and democratic country to replace the regime’s fundamentalism and exporting of terrorism.
source:IRANIAN REGIME CRACKS DOWN ON MEK/PMOI

FORGET NEW IRAN NUKE DEAL, REFORM INTEL COMMUNITY

News Max, Aug. 11, 2017 - Critics of the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), argue for withdrawal based mostly on issues peripheral to JCPOA.
For example, critics argue Iran has disappointed U.S. expectations that Iran would no longer support international terrorism or work to destabilize neighboring countries or threaten the United States.

While these were U.S. expectations, there is no legally binding language in the JCPOA requiring Iran to change its international behavior.
Critics of the JCPOA also argue for U.S. withdrawal because Iran continues to develop long-range ballistic missiles — which are militarily practicable only with nuclear warheads. Critics note such missile development violates the 'spirit' of the JCPOA.
Yet again, the JCPOA does not ban missile testing by Iran in any legally binding language.
Indeed, a better legal reason for withdrawing from the JCPOA than the arguments above is that the Iran nuclear deal is not legally binding at all. The JCPOA is not a treaty, but an executive agreement, never submitted to the U.S. Senate for advice and consent, and ratification, as constitutionally required.

Preventing Iran, the world’s leading sponsor of international terrorism, from developing nuclear weapons is vital to U.S. and global security. Yet the JCPOA is not legally or instrumentally capable of stopping an Iranian atomic bomb.
Therefore, President Trump is obligated to terminate the fiction that is the Iran nuclear deal.
But the best argument for abandoning JCPOA is rarely made, that Iran is probably in material breach of the letter and main purpose of JCPOA because, like its ally North Korea, Iran has almost certainly developed nuclear weapons clandestinely.
source:FORGET NEW IRAN NUKE DEAL, REFORM INTEL COMMUNITY

SENIOR US SENATORS MEET IRAN OPPOSITION LEADER IN ALBANIA

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

While August seems usually a passive time of the year in politics, it has been quite the opposite for Iran and the wide variety of developments around this controversial international dossier.A senior delegation of United States Senators travelled to Tirana, the capital of Albania, today, August 12, 2017, to meet the Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, who heads the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

The delegation, Senators Roy Blunt, Vice President of the Republican Conference, and member of the Appropriation, Select Intelligence, Rules and Administration, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation committees; John Cornyn, the Majority Whip, and a member of the Judiciary, Select Intelligence, and Finance committees; and Thom Tillis, a member of the Armed Services, Judiciary, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs committees, also visited members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in the Albanian capital.

 Tirana, Albania, August 12, 2017 - Mrs. Maryam Rajavi (center), the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran meeting a senior delegation from the United States Senate. From right: Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and John Cornyn (R-TX).

The NCRI is a political coalition calling for regime change in Iran and considered the main threat to Tehran’s mullahs. The MEK is the main member of this coalition of a variety of Iranian dissident groups and individuals.

“Led by Senator Blunt, the delegation congratulated the safe and secure relocation of all Camp Liberty residents outside of Iraq and wished them success in their struggle for democracy and human rights in Iran,” according to an NCRI statement.

Rajavi expressed her gratitude for the tireless efforts of the U.S. Senate, particularly Senator Blunt, regarding the protection of thousands of MEK members in Iraq, and their safe relocation to Albania.
source:SENIOR US SENATORS MEET IRAN OPPOSITION LEADER IN ALBANIA

CALLS FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE 1988 MASSACRE LEAD TO CRACKDOWN ON MEK/PMOI

As the movement for calling for justice in regards to the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners grows, the Iranian regime is fighting back in an attempt to discredit the movement. Recently, the state-run Basij News wrote, “The People’s Mojahedin of Iran (MEK/PMOI) has organized the maximum propaganda and military activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The unresolved issue is how some of the political circles support the MEK’s measures in the current situation and they question the events of the 80s, while trying to call the hangman a martyr.”

Various members of the leadership of the regime have also spoken out against France for hosting the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) annual event. “France hosts Iran’s enemies, whereas it established economic relations with Iran after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” said Foad Yazidi at a meeting entitled “The Islamic Human Rights’ Conference”.

He also noted, “We had a lot of sanctions before the Iran Nuclear Deal. However, the question is that who is left out sanctions after this deal? According to this law, even the President could be sanctioned. The U.S. has enlisted us as the enemy country. Consequently, it doesn’t make much of a difference to give or not to give concessions as long as we are on this list.”
source:CALLS FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE 1988 MASSACRE LEAD TO CRACKDOWN ON MEK/PMOI

Tortured by 'Moderates'

Hassan Rouhani was sworn in for his second term as president of Iran on August 5, surrounded by fresh flowers, fervent followers, and around 500 foreign officials. Representatives of the United Kingdom, France, the United Nations, and the Vatican rubbed shoulders with the Syrian prime minister, Hezbollah second-in-command Naim Qassem, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader and FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list member Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, and murderous Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe. The Westerners didn’t seem uncomfortable in such company; indeed, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini was described as the star of the show after Iranian members of parliament elbowed through the crowd to take selfies with the diplomat.

But why should they have been bothered? They were in Tehran, after all, to celebrate the renewed rule of a man who has overseen a steady increase in killings—Iran has the world’s highest per capita execution rate. Three days before Rouhani’s inauguration, Amnesty International released a damning report on conditions in the country: “Iran’s judicial and security bodies have waged a vicious crackdown against human rights defenders since Hassan Rouhani became president in 2013, demonizing and imprisoning activists who dare to stand up for people’s rights.” The press release capping Mogherini’s visit didn’t mention the European-based organization’s report—or human rights issues at all—instead focusing on “the EU’s unwavering commitment to” the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. It’s unlikely Mogherini brought up the subject even in her private meetings: She was pictured smiling in multiple photo-ops with government officials.
source:Tortured by 'Moderates'