{"id":114878,"date":"2024-08-11T17:05:25","date_gmt":"2024-08-11T15:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=114878"},"modified":"2024-08-10T14:43:50","modified_gmt":"2024-08-10T12:43:50","slug":"11-05-104","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=114878","title":{"rendered":"Needed: Strong Response Iran&#8217;s Mullahs Iranian Mullahs Will Not Stop Unless They Are Stopped"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/images\/gatestone-logo-1000.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"50%\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000080;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #000080; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/20843\/needed-strong-response\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Needed: Strong Response<br \/>\nIran&#8217;s Mullahs Iranian Mullahs Will Not Stop Unless They Are Stopped<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Majid Rafizadeh<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<ul class=\"content_preface_bullets\">\n<li>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Since the Biden-Harris administration came into power in 2021, the Iranian regime&#8217;s belligerent behavior has reached unprecedented levels. The only way to stop this regime&#8217;s aggression is a response that makes it clear that the cost of any further malign activity on the part of them &#8212; or their proxies &#8212; will be a price too high to pay.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>The fingerprints and influence of Iran are evident in countless conflicts \u2013 both global and regional. Iran, along with Qatar, have been key players in the war against Israel.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Iran was also behind &#8220;over 150 attacks&#8221; on US troops in the Middle East, just since October 7, 2023, wounding many American troops.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>So long as the Iranian regime is allowed to expand its influence and wreak havoc \u2013<i>before<\/i>\u00a0it has nuclear bombs &#8212; global security will continue to deteriorate. Just imagine what Iran will do once it has them.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/4926.jpg\" width=\"100%\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><em>The only way to stop the Iranian regime&#8217;s aggression is a response that makes it clear that the cost of any further malign activity on the part of them &#8212; or their proxies &#8212; will be a price too high to pay. (Image source: iStock\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Since the Biden-Harris administration came into power in 2021, the Iranian regime&#8217;s belligerent behavior has reached unprecedented levels. The only way to stop this regime&#8217;s aggression is a response that makes it clear that the cost of any further malign activity on the part of them &#8212; or their proxies &#8212; will be a price too high to pay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The fingerprints and influence of Iran are evident in countless conflicts \u2013 both global and regional. Iran, along with Qatar, have been key players in the war against Israel. Leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, as reported by the\u00a0<i>Wall Street Journal<\/i>, have openly\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/hamas-hezbollah-say-iran-helped-plan-deadly-attack-israel-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">admitted<\/a>\u00a0that Iran was involved in the attack, and\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/middle-east\/iran-israel-hamas-strike-planning-bbe07b25?mod=djem10point\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">quoted<\/a>\u00a0&#8220;senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah&#8221; as acknowledging that Iran&#8217;s regime leaders were instrumental in planning the brutal assault. In addition, The\u00a0<i>Washington Post<\/i>\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2023\/10\/09\/iran-support-hamas-training-weapons-israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a>\u00a0that,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2023\/10\/09\/iran-support-hamas-training-weapons-israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a>\u00a0to U.S. intelligence sources, Iran &#8220;provided military training and logistical help as well as tens of millions of dollars for weapons.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Iran\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/2017-2021.state.gov\/comprehensive-iran-fact-sheet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contributes<\/a>\u00a0approximately $100 million annually to Palestinian terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and $700 million annually to Hezbollah. As U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/daily.gazette.com\/article\/281745569054303\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stated<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>&#8220;93% of Hezbollah and Hamas&#8217; money comes from Iran. They&#8217;re the source of the problem. They&#8217;re the great evil. So, if Hezbollah escalates against Israel, it will be because Iran told them to. Then Iran, you&#8217;re in the crosshairs of the United States and Israel.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Iran was also behind &#8220;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/iran-backed-attacks-us-troops-middle-east-since-oct-7-2024-01-28\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">over 150 attacks<\/a>&#8221; on US troops in the Middle East, just since October 7, 2023,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmilitarynews.com\/2023\/11\/46-us-troops-injured-in-iraq-syria-attacks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wounding<\/a>\u00a0many American troops.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Furthermore, Yemen&#8217;s Houthis have effectively blocked the Red Sea and the Suez Canal for commercial maritime traffic, forcing ships that are refused insurance due to Houthi threats to travel around the entire African continent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The Houthis, with Iranian backing, also\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dia.mil\/Portals\/110\/Documents\/News\/Military_Power_Publications\/Seized_at_Sea.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">continue<\/a>\u00a0to amass weapons in Yemen, and have joined Iran in\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/deadly-houthi-attack-tel-aviv-forces-israel-rethink-drone-defenses-2024-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">attacking<\/a>\u00a0Israel, resulting in deaths and injuries. Iranian aggression also appears to be aimed at pushing the U.S. out of the region.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The Iranian regime, from the beginning, has\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/07\/19\/putin-russia-iran-ukraine-00046646\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">supported<\/a>\u00a0Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Iran has apparently\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2023\/03\/03\/russia-iran-drones-uav-ukraine-war-military-cooperation-sanctions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">become<\/a>\u00a0a significant arms supplier to Russia, beyond just supplying attack drones. A report from Sky News\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/irans-alleged-ammunition-for-russias-war-in-ukraine-the-secret-journey-of-the-cargo-ships-accused-of-supplying-invasion-12828039\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">revealed<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>&#8220;Iran has secretly supplied large quantities of bullets, rockets and mortar shells to Russia for the war in Ukraine and plans to send more&#8230; The source claimed that two Russian-flagged cargo ships, departed an Iranian port in January bound for Russia via the Caspian Sea, carrying approximately 100 million bullets and around 300,000 shells. Ammunition for rocket launchers, mortars and machine guns was allegedly included in the shipments. The source said Moscow paid for the ammunition in cash.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Iran&#8217;s regime also reportedly\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/iranian-troops-ukraine-crimea-russia-drone-strikes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">deployed<\/a>\u00a0troops to aid Russia to attack Ukraine&#8217;s infrastructure and civilian population.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">A serious response to Iran should include targeting its key infrastructure, such as oil and gas facilities, training bases, and basic infrastructure such as electric grids. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/tv\/just-listen-to-me-lindsey-graham-gets-testy-with-abby-phillip-questions-about-us-bombing-iran\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">suggested<\/a><u>,<\/u>\u00a0as Tehran&#8217;s main revenue comes from oil exports:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>&#8220;What I would do, is I would bomb Iran&#8217;s oil infrastructure. The money financing terrorism comes from Iran. It&#8217;s time for this terrorist state to pay a price for financing and supporting all this chaos.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Even destroying a few oil refineries could &#8220;send a message&#8221; and force Iran&#8217;s leaders to reconsider their actions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Additionally, imposing economic sanctions to cut off funding to Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps should be a priority. Furthermore, the Biden-Harris administration should enforce secondary sanctions &#8212; prohibiting US commerce with any country that does business with Iran. The ban would include countries such as China that\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/china-buys-more-iranian-oil-now-than-it-did-before-sanctions-data-shows-2022-03-01\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">violate<\/a>\u00a0U.S. sanctions by purchasing massive amounts of oil from Iran at deeply discounted prices. Nations should be forced to choose between doing business with the U.S. or Iran \u2014not both.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">So long as the Iranian regime is allowed to expand its influence and wreak havoc \u2013<i>before<\/i>\u00a0it has nuclear bombs &#8212; global security will continue to deteriorate. Just imagine what Iran will do once it has them.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><i>Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s\/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=majid+rafizadeh&amp;sprefix=majid+raf%2Caps%2C757&amp;crid=22WY06JIYF98T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">authored<\/a>\u00a0several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"mailto:Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu<\/a><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content-alignment\">\n<div id=\"watch-description\" class=\"yt-uix-button-panel\">\n<div id=\"watch-description-text\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><em>Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion&#8217;68,<\/em><em><br \/>\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion&#8217;68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.<br \/>\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:<br \/>\n<\/em><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"mailto:webmaster@reunion68.com\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr style=\"width: 100%;\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Needed: Strong Response Iran&#8217;s Mullahs Iranian Mullahs Will Not Stop Unless They Are Stopped Majid Rafizadeh Since the Biden-Harris administration came into power in 2021, the Iranian regime&#8217;s belligerent behavior has reached unprecedented levels. The only way to stop this regime&#8217;s aggression is a response that makes it clear that the cost of any further [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114878"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=114878"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114890,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114878\/revisions\/114890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=114878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=114878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=114878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}