ANALYSIS: Congress is taking the lead on #Iran policy
A visit by a high-profile delegation of American Senators to Albania,
home to members of the Iranian opposition, is sending major signals and
messages to Tehran about growing consensus in Washington over the
necessity to adopt regime change policy in the face of the mullahs’
belligerence.
The Senate delegation
consisted of Senators Roy Blunt, Vice President of the Republican
Conference, and member of the Appropriation, Select Intelligence, Rules
and Administration, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation
committees; John Cornyn, the Majority Whip, and a member of the
Judiciary, Select Intelligence, and Finance committees; and Thom Tillis,
a member of the Armed Services, Judiciary, Banking, Housing and Urban
Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs committees.
The
delegation met with Iranian opposition Maryam Rajavi, President of the
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Tirana, discussing
recent developments in the Middle East and
Iran’s menacing role.
“Maryam
Rajavi thanked the Senators for their decisive position vis-à-vis the
Iranian regime, especially the adoption of a new resolution which
imposed sanctions on the clerical regime and the Islamic Revolutionary
Guards Corps (IRGC) for human rights abuses, the ballistic missile
program, and the export of terrorism. She expressed gratitude for the
efforts of the U.S. Senate, particularly Senator Blunt, regarding the
protection of thousands of MEK members in Camp Liberty, Iraq, and their
safe relocation to Albania,” according to a
NCRI statement.
Destructive meddling
Back in July
2014 several senior American figures, including Senator Blunt, staged a
Senate briefing strongly condemning Iran’s destructive meddling in its
western neighbor, Iraq.
Characterizing the Iranian regime as part of the problem and not the
solution, Senator Blunt emphasized on his demand for the PMOI/MEK
members’ urgent and speedy transfer from Camp Liberty – a ransacked and
deserted former US base near Baghdad International Airport west of the
capital – to countries abroad in an effort to save their lives.
Senators
John McCain and Jeanne Shaheen, joined by then Senator Carl Levin,
former chairman of the Armed Forces Committee, issued a strong letter to
former Secretary of State John Kerry seeking “protection of Camp
Liberty and to expedite the resettlement of the Camp Residents to
countries outside Iraq, including the United States.”
Senator
McCain himself had back in April became the most senior US official to
visit the PMOI/MEK in Albania. McCain is known to be a very vocal critic
of the Iranian regime’s policies and actions, and a staunch supporter
of the Iranian opposition in their struggle for regime change to
establish freedom and democracy.
During
his visit to Tirana McCain met with Iranian opposition leader NCRI
President Maryam Rajavi, evaluating issues in relations to Iran’s
belligerence across the Middle East and the struggle of the PMOI/MEK’s
residency in Albania. His participation in a PMOI/MEK event sent alarm
bells across Tehran, terrifying of the mullahs Washington coming in line
with the Iranian opposition was receiving after their departure from
Iraq.
Comprehending fully the potential
threats posed by their opposition, the Iranian regime had long sought to
annihilate the PMOI/MEK during their stay in Iraq. These Iranian
opposition members were stationed in Ashraf, a city north of Baghdad,
which they had built from scratch from 1986 onward. Ashraf residents
were, however, forced to transfer to Camp Liberty following three ground
attacks by Iraqi government forces and a logistical/medical siege from
2009 onward, all at the best of Tehran.
US Senators with Maryam Rajavi in Tirana, Albania. (Supplied)
The delegation consisted of Senators Roy Blunt, John Cornyn, and Thom Tillis. (Supplied)
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