Iran’s situation: nefarious attempts at distorting facts

During the last couple of months, mainstream and social media, including Western Persian-language media, has published material raising unfair and unrealistic allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. This article is meant to scrutinise these allegations and bring to the fore the facts about the internal situation of Iran and the real reasons behind attributing such allegations to Iran.

Western countries — by supporting and arming hostile groups and enemies of Iran and providing them intelligence feeding and financial support — are trying to trigger disorder and mutiny in Iran. The media — supported and financed by elements inimical to Iran — produce fake and antagonistic content for TV channels and newspapers, discussing issues like nuclear energy, human rights, military, security, etc. These inimical groups and the media are acting against a country which is a member of the international community, threatening its peace, security and sovereignty. They continue to encourage unrest in Iran and have gone as far as teaching civilians how to make incendiary weapons such as Molotov cocktails, hand grenades, etc. They even tell their pawns to seize and disarm Iran’s military and security institutions, and urge people to take hold of state buildings and ask other states to suspend diplomatic relations with Iran.

The reality on ground, however, is totally different from the fallacious propaganda unleashed by these media organisations. Over the last decades, the people of Iran have endured the cruellest of international sanctions as well as secondary sanctions imposed by America just because the Iranians want to enjoy their inalienable right to peaceful atomic energy. Despite complying with its international obligations, Iran had to face severe pressure from the previous American administration. Shortly afterwards, Major General Qasem Soleimani, Iran’s senior military commanders and the hero of the fight against terrorism and extremism, was assassinated while he was on an official mission to a foreign country. Then, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 150,000 Iranian citizens lost their lives just because the vaccine could not be exported to Iran at the right time due to the sanctions and the obstacles posed by West. However, a little later, Iran managed to produce the first Covid vaccine in the Islamic world; and not only did the country contain the mortality rate, but also exported the indigenously produced vaccine and medical equipment to other countries.

And when the world was on the path of economic and social recovery from the pandemic, the lamentable death of an Iranian woman triggered agitation and created controversy against Iran. Some of the Western countries, along with media organisations that support them — contrary to international laws and principles — encouraged the turmoil against a UN member state, urging protesters to adopt violent means and turn to hooliganism in order to achieve their nefarious goals. Tens of Iranian law enforcers were killed due to the assault and battery exerted by the rioters or by cold weapons or direct gunfire in the streets.

Smuggling of weapons and ammunition into Iran, destruction of public property, disruption of the democratic and public order, vandalism, intimidation, assault and battery, assassination, terror and lynching are only parts of the illegal actions carried out by these so-called freedom fighters and defenders of women’s rights. Most of the weapons used by them are foreign. During the investigations, some detained rioters have admitted connections with intelligence services of foreign countries. In one of the cases, the ISIS terrorist group attacked Shahcheragh Shrine of Shiraz and martyred dozens praying there. Still, the propaganda machinery against Iran acted so brazenly that even when the ISIS officially accepted the responsibility of the terrorist attack in its media, the hostile groups and their media distorted the reality to insinuate its audience that it is carried out by the forces affiliated with the government.

Westerners and their biased media have unleashed their propaganda machinery to promote violence, aggression and terrorism in Iran. Therefore, by settling in the countries that claim democracy and respect for the rights of nations, they blatantly act against the territorial integrity, sovereignty, national unity, stability and national security of a UN member state. Despite all this, the world community, international organisations and even some supporting states stay silent on this inequity and breach of the international law. Even some countries, including the US and its allies, openly support and finance them.

Raising deceptive slogans such as seeking freedom and defending women’s rights is not only a lie but also a cover for creating disorder, damaging democratic structures, spreading hatred and triggering ethnic conflict and sectarian war in Iran. With a brief look at the functional and organisational history of each of the active groups in the recent riots, the veracity of these claims and the falsity of their allegations will be determined. The documents and evidence of the contemporary history in the last few decades evidently testify their brutality, selfishness, divisiveness and the morbid desire for power. For example, in the past, and during the Iran-Iraq war, in alignment with the Iraqi Ba’ath regime and using borrowed weapons, the hypocrite group of MOK attacked the border cities of Iran and massacred thousands of civilians. Presently once again, this group has activated its death squads against the people of Iran in two phases — first by field operations in Iranian cities, and then by a psychological warfare in cyberspace by spreading lies against the government as well as publishing unrealistic content in their media in order to distort the facts about Iran.

During the last decades, hostility, terror and killing of civilians have been the common pain of the two great nations of Iran and Pakistan. Therefore, the honourable people of Pakistan understand this pain as the two countries have sacrificed many precious martyrs for the cause of security, stability and peace.

To conclude, it is worth mentioning that Iran and Pakistan — the two brotherly neighbouring countries — have always supported each other in the hard times throughout the history and are proud of their cultural, linguistic, ethnic and religious links and commonalities. It should be remembered, and of course, a brief look at the region confirms it, that the security, stability, sustainable development, integrity and constancy of the geopolitical and geostrategic position of the region and its party states, comprise a comprehensive and monolithic entity. Therefore, security and stability in one area can contribute to the security and stability of other areas in the region. Strengthening the geo-economy of the region; boosting economic and commercial prosperity; connecting border crossings gates; expanding transportation corridors; guaranteeing safe and current flow of energy; and maintaining security of the infrastructures in the region all require security, stability and continuity of geographical borders and territorial integrity of the countries in the region, internal security and political stability throughout the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2022.

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