The Iranian regime is involved in fighting outside its borders in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and others, which raises a question about the reasons behind the Iranian wars far from its borders and the steep price it will pay for that involvement?
In fact, the Iranian leadership has adopted this policy for many reasons, the first and most important is the desire to shift the nation’s attention away from internal troubles threatening the Iranian society such as addiction, high divorce rates, people living in graves, high unemployment rates, closing down of factories, and ethnic and religious groups demands for more rights the regime is disregarding under the pretext of fighting Iran’s enemies abroad. The second reason is that the regime aims to elude the vague promises it gives to people, which can best be achieved through the excuse of fighting outside the Iranian borders to prevent any threat to its national security.
Furthermore, the Iranian regime has other expansionist and sectarian goals in the region, especially in the Arab World within its sphere of influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. It has dispatched thousands of its terrorist militias- Iranians and others- equipped with weapons, money, and ammo. In addition to that, the Revolutionary Guards Forces operations outside the Iranian borders are a clear evidence of the Iranian interference in these countries and threat to their security and stability. This strategy is like hitting two birds with one stone; expanding the Iranian influence and delivering a message to the Iranian people that, “The region is witnessing chaos, instability, and political unrest and we have to protect our borders from any threat against our national security.”
Indeed, the Iranian regime is using this situation to prevent any internal move against the regime by casting accusations against its opponents of being agents of the international oppressors and bullies such as the Green Movement leaders during the events of 2009; blaming some Arab countries of being behind any internal uprising to destabilize the Iranian national security; and striking the sectarian chord through the claim that Iran is protector of the Shiite minorities in the Arab region against oppression although the living conditions of Shiites in the Arab countries, in terms of rights and freedom, are incomparable to those inside Iran itself.
In order to distract its population from their own domestic strife and ensure its regime’s position in power, Tehran has developed a conspiracy theory, blaming foreign powers to validate its wars and practices outside the Iranian borders under the pretext of preventing enemies from inflicting serious harm on the country. This strategy was evident in the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s speech when he said, “We are fighting in Syria in order to prevent fighting inside our borders.” He added, “Had we not stopped evil people and advocates of sedition of the Zionist and American agents in Syria, we would have been confronting them here in Tehran, Persia, Khorasan, and Esfahan.” Moreover, Khamenei justified this policy and attacked his critics in December 2016 saying, “We have to eliminate our enemies outside our borders,” when he gave Syria a bigger importance than the Arab-majority province of Ahwaz in Iran in response to the statements of the Iranian cleric Mahdi Taieb.
The claims of the Iranian regime about countering terrorist groups, standing against the so-called Global Arrogance and supporting the axis of resistance aim at misleading the Iranian people and the international public opinion. Nevertheless, the Iranian intentions and expansionist ambitions have been clearly exposed by the regional countries and all concerned about the Iranian affairs. Although common interests and the mutual-benefit relationship between Iran and terrorist groups, some Western nations are still seeking cooperation with the Iranian regime and giving it a major role in countering terrorism in the region. In fact, Iran is sponsoring these terrorist groups. It hosts a lot of their leaders in Tehran and supplies them with all financial and logistic support.
The Arab media has to expose the Iranian regime’s lies and deception before the Iranian and Arab people. It has to explain that the Iranian regional practices are at the expense of the Iranian people’s lives and standards of living. It also has to highlight the regime’s ignorance of their demands for better living and health conditions; the spread of drugs among children, women, and young people; high unemployment; and the soaring prices that overburden the Iranian people.
All in all, the Arab media can make documentaries, news reports, and direct TV programs toward the Iranian people through utilizing satellite channels, websites, and social media. By doing this, it can assist all regional countries to restrain the Iranian interference and expose the Jurist Leader regime’s practices against people of the region and the oppressed people inside the so-called Iran’s geography.
Opinions in this article reflect the writer’s point of view, not necessarily the view of The Arabain GCIS
