Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani (L), the head of Iran’s Quds Forces, in Aleppo, Syria in late 2016. Soleimani was assassinated by a US drone in Baghdad, Iraq in January 2020.
I joined the TRT World Forum for a 90-minute special on Iran’s role in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq since the uprisings across the Middle East in 2011.
The other panellists are Yemeni analyst Baraa Shiban and the University of Exeter’s Dr. Tallha Abdulrazaq.
We look at Tehran’s motives for intervention, the effects upon millions of civilians, and whether Iran’s position is one of strength or weakness across the region.
I don’t think Iran intervenes in a sectarian manner. Instead, it is trying to influence or maintain a position of power, and in that position of power civilians are expendable….
At the start of Syria’s uprising, Iran called for reform and not mass killings. But once the Assad regime pursued that mass killing — from massacres on the ground to sustained bombing to barrel bombs to chemical attacks — Iran never drew the line.
Amateur Video Shows Iranian Protest Camp In Flames
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-isfahan-protest-water/31578877.html
Security Forces Use Tear Gas In Central Iranian City Against Protesters Demanding Drought Aid
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-water-protests-isfahan/31580547.html
Iran covid cases and deaths continue to fall: https://irangov.ir/detail/374697
Just 86 confirmed deaths and 4,000 cases. Back in early August it was around 700 deaths and 40,000 cases. Iran has been successful in reducing transmission.
“At the start of Syria’s uprising, Iran called for reform and not mass killings. But once the Assad regime pursued that mass killing — from massacres on the ground to sustained bombing to barrel bombs to chemical attacks — Iran never drew the line.”
Syria was one of the few Arab nations to support Iran during Saddam’s invasion of Iraq. It is a vital ally. Iran did not admonish Syria over its handling of the Hama uprising in 1982. Iran denies Syria carried out chemical attacks and blames the rebels for first using them in Khan -al-Assal: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22456106
The trial of Hamid Noury accused of “war crimes” continues: https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/iran-ex-official-dismisses-lies-sweden-war-crimes-trial
Having spent 2 months of hearing witness testimony alleging that Mr.Noury – a 27 year old assistant to the deputy prosecutor at Gohardasht prison – physically led MEK prisoners to execution chambers at the facility, Mr. Noury has now been given the chance to testify.
Mr. Noury denies the charges as fabricated and that he was present at the prison most of the time.
The MEK claims that 30,000 of its members were executed without trial and due process. Amnesty International believes it is around 5,000. However, the only publicly available list of names indicates 1,432 persons who were executed between 1988 and 1989: https://holycrime.com/Images/Listof1367Massacre.pdf
Thousands of MEK members were definitely killed fighting the Iranian military during 3 Iraqi-backed invasions of Iran in 1988.
According to the BBC, Mr.Nouri is accused of “handing down death sentences, bringing prisoners to the execution chamber and helping prosecutors gather prisoners’ names, according to the prosecution.”
According to the MEK – which has been calling for his prosecution – he was not a judicial but instead a prison official: https://english.mojahedin.org/article/hamid-noury-reveals-his-true-colors-in-court-hearing/
“Noury, who was a senior prison guard in Iran’s notorious Evin and Gohardasht prisons in the 1980s.”
If so, he could not have handed down any death sentences as he had no authority to do so.
Something fundamental is amiss in your argument in saying iran is in defensive position , Scott.
Iran did not have to be anywhere beyond its own boarders passed 1975, let alone running any military operations.
Even sadam hosein would have stayed clear of iran if khomeini didn’t keep poking at them. Iran in 1978 was one of very few countries in that region that actually didn’t have enemies. Yes, they had competition, but there were not any military aggression toward iran. This is entirely missing from understanding of political experts today. What happened, what changed that?
You are tangled in the same position that iri created for itself, and keep trying to make sense of a tangle.
Disgraceful to hear an Iranian claim that Iran provoked Saddam Hussein into invading…
I was a soldier stationed in Fakkeh during khomeini’s war. You want to see disgraceful, look in the mirror, reza.
‘Give Isfahan Life!’ Water Shortages Unleash Waves Of Protest In Iran
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-water-shortages-protests/31577306.html
Iranian Security Forces Set Protesters’ Tents On Fire In ‘Clean-Up’ Operation In Isfahan
https://www.rferl.org/a/isfahan-protest-tents-burned/31578707.html
General McKenzie acknowledges Iran’s progress with ballistic missile technology: https://time.com/6123380/iran-near-nuclear-weapon-capability/
“Iran has shown that its missiles have a proven ability to strike targets with precision, McKenzie says. In January 2020, Iran launched more than a dozen Qiam-1 and Fateh-313 ballistic missiles from launch sites at three bases in western Iran that hit two Iraqi bases, Al Asad and Erbil, where hundreds of Americans were stationed. The missiles turned buildings, aircraft and living quarters into smoldering rubble. No one died, as most had managed to shelter in underground bunkers and trenches, but concussions from the blasts injured 109 American troops. Those missiles hit within tens of meters of their targets,” McKenzie says. “The one thing the Iranians have done over the last three-to-five years is they built a very capable ballistic missile platform.”
This is the first time a U.S military official has admitted just how precise the missile fired by Iran at Ain-al-Assad actually were. The ones fired at Erbil airport, however, were not as accurate.
I should point out that I am not rejoicing in the injuries to American troops. They had no role in the murder of General Soleimani. Trump and Pompeo pulled the trigger. The fact that no Americans were killed prevented further escalation and loss of life which would have been politically disastrous.