By Heshmat Alavi
The recent summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was held last week in Turkey, was the largest bloc representing Islamic countries .The organization consisting of 57 countries is also the second group of world’s countries after the United Nations. It represents 700 million Muslims in the entire world. Almost all the leaders present in the summit supported The Summit’s final declaration which had a strong warning to the regime in Tehran, “Get your terrorists out of our countries”. In fact the vast majority of those nations have united against one of their own members, Iran. Many angry Muslims wrote in the messages on tweeter, “how an Islamic summit can take place when the enemy is among you, Iran is the one killing Muslims everywhere.”
The gist of final words of representatives of Muslin nations was well heard in different parts of the world. “Iran has done massive harm to our countries and our peoples”. However, can this be the end of it? Can the Mullahs in Iran behave like a good pupil and do their homework as the teacher says? Will Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei come up to say in a next speech, “sorry to bother you, we will take our 60.000 troops out of Syria”? Well, experienced teachers advise us that this will never happen. OIC summit ended on Friday and just two days later, on Sunday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani vowed Speaking during a National Army Day parade, “It was our warriors that defended the gateways of Baghdad and the holy shrines in Iraq. When Damascus was in danger we sent our forces to defend this capital “
No rulers in Iran’s history have been so much despised by its own citizens than the present regime of Ayatollahs is today. Iran’s cities witness at least three or four anti-government demonstrations every day. What the rulers in Iran fear most is another mass uprising such as the ones happened in 2009. The high ranking Iranian authorities have frequently confessed that if they did not fight in Syria they would have to face the war in Hamadan, Kermanshah and other Iranian cities. Iranian regime is the main party responsible for the massacre of 500 thousands innocent people in Syria.
The newly established Islamic coalition, led by Saudi Arabia gave birth to a major political development in the region. Iran came under harsh criticism for its involvement in ill-disposed activities in the region. This shaped question about how Iran will react to the new developments. The response comes only two days after the summit.
Speaking during a National Army Day parade in which Iranian forces displayed sophisticated air defense systems recently acquired from Russia, Rouhani praised Tehran’s role in helping the Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. Iranian regime’s immediate response was displaying Russian-made S-300 air defense missiles delivered earlier this month.
Whether Iran truly is able to enter a direct military conflict, as it did in the eight year long war with Iraq, is not the issue. Whether Rouhani is telling the truth about Iran’s military power or is just bluffing is not of much importance. The hideous fact is that Iran’s rulers have a hostile attitude toward their neighbors. While Islamic countries are talking about their joint development plans, Iran is showcasing its wide range of missiles, to show its reaction to the new alignment in the Middle East. Iran’s missiles are the only contingent force that can surface in any encounter against a foreign adversary.
The Ayatollahs grasped power in Iran by manipulating the teachings of Islam. Four decades later Iranian masses are looking for a chance to disseat the whole system. The mullahs have no significant social base to count on in their country. Iran’s “military might” is summarized in its support for terrorist groups in various countries across the region. Bombs, mortar weapons and terrorists are Iran’s main exports to other Islamic countries. Jeopardizing the lives of innocent people has become the main tool for Iranian Ayatollahs to maintain their unlawful power. This is where the final declaration of Organization of Islamic Cooperation has to go a step further. Expel Iran from the Islamic bloc.
Heshmat Alavi is a political activist and supporter for regime change in Iran. He writes on Iran and the Middle East.
He tweets at @HeshmatAlavi
