November 23rd, 2009 by Jason

Iran launched a series of war games this weekend as the international community expressed their frustration over troubled nuclear negotiations.

The Senate passed a resolution (S.R. 355) by unanimous consent condemning Iran for its multiple human rights violations. The bill was cosponsored by Carl Levin, John McCain, Bob Casey, Lindsey Graham, Bill Nelson, Bob Corker and Joe Lieberman. In response, the head of the National Iranian American Council, Trita Parsi, welcomed the resolution, explaining that “a U.S. approach to Iran that is singularly focused on the nuclear issue and neglects the human rights abuses in Iran will have limited success.” The United Nations also passed a resolution condemning Iran for its human rights abuses. While similar resolutions have passed for 15 consecutive years, this resolution focused the crackdown since the election this summer.

Despite these resolutions, the Iranian regime continues to repress the Iranian people. The New York Times reports that “a flurry of executions and death sentences in Iran has raised concern that the government is using judicially sanctioned killing to intimidate the political opposition and quell pockets of ethnic unrest.” While many of the condemned are common criminals, others have been targeted for the support of the opposition movement. Most notably, former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi was sentenced to six years in prison as part of a mass trial against opposition members. In all, the trial condemned five defendants to death and 81 more to prison terms ranging from six months to 15 years.

Nonetheless, the Iranian opposition continues to voice its desire for reform. The New York Times  profiles Ayatollah Montazeri who “has emerged as the spiritual leader of the opposition, an adversary the state has been unable to silence or jail because of his religious credentials and seminal role in the founding of the republic.” In addition, Muhammad Sahimi at Tehran Bureau lauds two “courageous and principled” journalists, Isa Saharkhiz and Ahmad Zeidabadi, who stand out amongst the many reformist journalists and bloggers who have been persecuted by the regime. Finally, Maziar Bahari, the Newsweek journalist who was held in Evin prison for 4 months, has published an article detailing his ordeal and the “rampant paranoia [that] underpins an ever more fractured regime.”

Beyond the crackdown on journalism, the government has begun sending text messages to opposition members warning them to not attend demonstrations. The messages seemed to be targeted at protesters who send texts during protests. But Tehran Bureau explains how Bluetooth cellphone technology allows Iranians to circumvent government censors of SMS messaging, as well as the strict morals of the Islamic revolution.

The debate in Washington focuses on how to address the nuclear issue without forsaking the domestic opposition. Robin Wright at Time Magazine relays that the Green Movement is calling for increased support from the United States, but it has to be the right kind of support. Specifically, they contend gasoline sanctions would hurt ordinary Iranians, so instead the U.S. should target the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Wright contends that these demands, however, “muddy” nuclear negotiations with the Iranian regime. While exploring the student movements in Iran, Shirin Mohammadi argues that the international community should condemn the government’s “incessant violations of basic human rights.” However, she warns that “openly stating support for the movement risks undermining it.” Therefore, the U.S. should incorporate “a broader range of issues in future talks, providing economic incentives, and condemning Iran’s systematic use of violence against its civil society.”

But the National Review Online editorial staff view things differently, urging for broad sanctions, including on gasoline, that would “inflict economic problems of unpredictable degree on Iran, further destabilizing its internal politics and undermining the position of its rulers.” While they prefer military strikes as a last resort, they also recognize the potential necessity of preparing for a policy of containment should the West decide that the military route should not be pursued. Meanwhile, Michael Crowley wonders whether regime change may be the only option left to avoid a nuclear Iran, but admits “that’s easier said than done.”

Finally, Matthew Duss, writes at The American Prospect that “the Islamic Republic is currently experiencing the worst crisis of legitimacy, both at home and abroad, since its founding.” Citing Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour, Duss worries the regime might “seek to externalize its domestic difficulties and deflect attention from its recalcitrance on the nuclear issue by provoking another regional crisis that again results in U.S.-made Israeli bombs falling on Muslim civilians.”

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Elections, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Journalism, Judiciary, Kurds, Legislation, Mideast Peace Plan, Military, Multilateralism, NGOs, Oil, Terrorism, US foreign policy, US politics, United Nations, sanctions |