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<\/p>\nNCRI – During a panel discussion regarding the US policy review on Iran, several prominent figures gave their opinions on the current situation in the country.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield, former Assistant Secretary of State for Military Affairs, moderated the discussion and was joined by John Baird, former Foreign Minister of Canada, Joseph Lieberman, former US Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate, Ambassador Robert Joseph, United States Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation and the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security until 2007, Rtd. General Jack Keane, former Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army, and Bruno Tertrais, Deputy Director of the Fondation pour la Recherche Strat\u00e9gique of France.<\/p>\n
John Baird kicked off the discussion saying that he completely rejects the Obama administration\u2019s appeasement of Iran and his claims that President Rouhani is a moderate. He said that there is no moderation in the Iranian government and it was very na\u00efve of Obama to make such claims. He also pointed to the recent presidential elections in Iran which were anything but democratic. He questioned how an election can be considered democratic when a panel exists to approve and reject candidates. There is nothing democratic about an election in which presidential candidates are only candidates because of their strong allegiance to the Supreme Leader and his vision.<\/p>\n
Joseph Lieberman emphasised that nothing has changed in the Islamic Republic of Iran since the nuclear deal came into effect. He said that Iran continues to support terrorism, it continues to fuel warfare and still causes horrible human suffering in the Middle East, all to further its own agenda.<\/p>\n
He too criticised the Obama\u2019s administration\u2019s treatment of Iran saying his policies were \u201cIran-centred\u201d. Lieberman said that the Trump administration\u2019s review of foreign policy toward Iran, which is currently in progress, will hopefully take into account that the people of Iran can be considered allies of the US and so can the Iranian Resistance. He said that the opposition and resistance to the regime is looking for the same as the US \u2013 peace.<\/p>\n
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Pointing to changes in Iran, Lieberman also mentioned that President Hassan Rouhani is starting to make independent comments that are angering officials of the regime, and the country\u2019s Supreme Leader has publicly threatened that he will be sent into exile like previous presidents.<\/p>\n
Robert Joseph agreed that nothing has changed in Iran since the nuclear deal was signed and emphasized that Iran continues to pursue nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. He also pointed out that the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the main opposition, very recently revealed new information about Iran\u2019s ballistic missile program.<\/p>\n
He called on officials to put the Iran proliferation threat into context, in other words, to recognise that the threat lies with the regime. He said it is essential to find a path to getting rid of the regime. They reiterated that this is the bottom line as far as he is concerned.<\/p>\n
Joseph said that the nuclear deal is highly ineffective because it rewards the regime for pretending it is not pursuing nuclear weapons. He said: \u201cCheating is in the DNA of the regime.\u201d
Regarding claims that there is moderation in the Iranian government, as said by many leaders in the West, Joseph said that it is a misplaced hope. He said that this will never happen and the Iranian regime is at the centre of the threat. There must be regime change from within and this can be done via the opposition. He said that we need to support the opposition that wants a non-nuclear Iran that is ruled by a secular government.<\/p>\n
Jack Keane said that the Iranian regime\u2019s goal is to dominate the region and to impose its will across the Middle East, but the Trump administration is acting to put an end to this. Although he agreed that President Trump does not have much experience with foreign policy, he said that he has chosen a very strong, knowledgeable and experienced foreign policy team.
Speaking about the differences between the Trump administration and that of his predecessor, Keane drew attention to the fact that Trump, at the very beginning of his time in office, sent his top officials around the world to reassure them that the US would be by their side and that it would not be taking a \u201cwait and see\u201d approach like Obama\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n
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Keane placed a lot of importance on Trump\u2019s first official visit saying that it was very significant that it was to the Middle East. He made it clear that the US would stand with its Middle Eastern allies, saying that the biggest threat to all of them was Iran. He vowed that they would curb the threat of Iran together \u2013 showing that his administration was taking a 100 percent reversal of Obama\u2019s policy.<\/p>\n
Secondly, during his Middle Eastern trip, Trump told the Muslim leaders that they need to get extremism out of their mosques and they have to stop their citizens from funding terrorism. He said that they need to ensure that young people have an alternative but emphasised that the US would be standing behind them the whole way and is ready to use force, if or when it is necessary. Keane said that this visit was proof of Trump\u2019s commitment to countering the Iranian threat.<\/p>\n
Another action that showed Trump\u2019s commitment was the fact that he acted immediately when Iran fired a ballistic missile in the early days of his time in office.<\/p>\n
Bruno Tertrais spoke about the European attitude to the Iranian crisis, saying that many in Europe confuse moderation and pragmatism. Referring to claims that the regime is moderate, Tertrais slammed this idea saying that it may be pragmatic but it can in no way be described as moderate. He called Iran the \u201carsonist to the fireman\u201d and said that it is hugely responsible for the rise in terrorism that we have seen in recent years.<\/p>\n
Being French, Tertrais felt he had to mention France\u2019s stance on the situation. However, French President Emmanuel Macron is so new to office and has not said anything yet to indicate that he is na\u00efve about the Middle East crisis. He strongly believes that Macron will have the correct policies in place to act in the way he should.
President Obama and many EU leaders thought that trade would bring moderation to Iran, but this is completely false. Furthermore, it has been historically proven that it doesn\u2019t work. So rapprochement in that respect is a mistake.<\/p>\n
Tertrais emphasized that Iran and its militias are propping up the Assad regime. ISIS is the \u201cbest friend\u201d of Assad, therefore Iran, by supporting Syria, is reinforcing ISIS and its terrorist activities. And finally, he said that Iran is not showing the behaviour of a country that is giving up for good the nuclear option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NCRI – During a panel discussion regarding the US policy review on Iran, several prominent figures gave their opinions on the current situation in the country. Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield, former […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":49158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[175],"class_list":{"0":"post-23115","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-a-world","8":"tag-updated"},"yoast_head":"\n