POMED Notes: “Axis of Abuse: U.S. Human Rights Policy toward Iran and Syria, Part II”

On Thursday, the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held a hearing about U.S. approaches to human rights policy in Syria and Iran. The panel included Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Mehdi Khalaji, a Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Alireza Nader of the RAND Corporation, Tony Badran, a Research Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and Jon Alterman, Director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Chairman of the Subcommittee Steve Chabot (R-OH) moderated the hearing.

For full event notes, continue reading or click here for the PDF.

Michael Singh gave his opening remarks, calling the situation in Syria is a matter “not only of moral urgency, but of vital importance to U.S. national security.” He asserted that the U.S. must do more to highlight the ongoing human rights abuses in both Syria and Iran and that in order to generate meaningful opposition to these abuses the United States must support transitions to systems of government in which citizens’ opinions and aspirations are respected. Singh added that the U.S. must work to “expose the illusions upon which these regimes are based.” Shedding light on human rights abuses in Iran and Syria must become more frequent and clear, particularly with regards to individuals, Singh said.

Next, Mehdi Khalaji offered his assessment, explaining that the organizations responsible for human rights abuses in Iran are closely associated with the military and nuclear programs. He gave a list of individuals that ought to be targeted for sanctions, including many members of the office of the Supreme Leader and members of the clergy. Khalaji mentioned that any individual that attempts to impede internet and satellite services should also be sanctioned. He encouraged the U.S. government to promote democratic reform in Iran and better publicize the positive effects of individual sanctions.

Alireza Nader followed up, saying that “conditions in Iran suggest that a ‘Persian Spring’ is quite possible.” He suggested that the Green Movement is indeed committed to the Iranian constitution, and therefore will ultimately “preserve the same system of government that oppresses it.” However, he added, the regime still enjoys support among core supporters, and that the tendency of the U.S. to focus solely on Iran’s nuclear program has strengthened the core supporters who resent past U.S. interference. Additionally, the U.S. must broaden its foreign policy focus concerning Iran in order to convince ordinary Iranians that it is concerned with the plight of Iran’s citizens, instead of being solely concerned with American interests in the Middle East.

Tony Badran then proffered his opinions regarding the situations in Iran and Syria, raising the question of whether peaceful protest will be enough to dislodge Assad’s regime since momentum has apparently stalled. In addition, Badran suggested that must no longer defer to the authority of Turkey, and that the United States must promptly take a more active role with regards to Syria to balance the agendas of Iran and other actors. Ultimately, he concluded, the situation in Syria must be viewed as an opportunity to break the influence Iran.

Finally, Jon Alterman posited that the U.S. must not turn domestic political turmoil in the Arab world into confrontations with the United States, which he believes would provide a lifeline for these autocratic governments. He urged committee members that the United States must approach the situation “in the company of other [regional] governments,” because “regional voices have far more credibility with the targeted populations.” He called this a quiet and confident leadership approach, dismissing the idea that it was instead “leading from behind.” He finished by stating that “the quiet and difficult work of building broad coalitions is likely to yield much better results than noisy condemnations that can be easily tuned out.”

In a brief Q&A session, Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) asked the panelists to give suggestions regarding the U.S. approach to Iran. Nader said that isolation benefits the Iranian regime and that greater diplomatic efforts will engage the Iranian government and highlights their inherent instability. He also suggested that the United States use the Iranian government’s own rhetoric about human rights against them. Khalaji urged the use of wider public diplomacy to appeal to the Iranian people, offering ideas such as easing visa restrictions and increasing funding for VOA Persian.