Wes Martin, who served as the senior anti-terrorism officer in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 and the senior operations officer for detention operations from 2005 to 2006, wrote an op-ed for Iran Focus in which he applauded the senior officials in the Trump administration for refocusing the attack onto the Iranian Regime.

In recent weeks, Donald Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Secretary of Defence James Mattis, among others have come out to criticise Iran as the number one states sponsor of terrorism in the world, as they did before the attacks.

Martin wrote: Having served as the Senior Antiterrorism Officer for all Coalition Forces in Iraq, I personally know the Iranian mullahs actively supported Al Qaeda for the sake of harassing and killing American troops.”

He continued: “It has also been widely reported that Tehran allowed traditional Al Qaeda cells to operate from inside the Islamic Republic, as well as sheltered several of Osama bin Laden’s close relatives. Tehran will support terror under any self-described Islamic banner if it means causing trouble for progressive nations. It was only a matter of time before an Islamic terrorist organisation was going to bite the hand that has been feeding them.”

It is worth noting that the Iranian Resistance forces have the same view of Iranian terrorism.

Maryam Rajavi, the president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, released a statement which argued that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had welcomed the terrorist attack, as he could now play the victim in the eyes of the world’s media.

She wrote: “[Khamenei] wholeheartedly welcomes [the terror attack] as an opportunity to overcome his regime’s regional and international impasse and isolation [and allow Iran and its foreign representatives to] switch the place of the murderer and the victim and portray the central banker of terrorism as a victim.”

Martin argues that lawmakers across the world must be careful not to fall for this deception, otherwise they may end up kowtowing to terrorists because they feel sorry for them.

He wrote: “The Iranian presence in [the Middle East] is aimed at establishing a region-spanning Shiite caliphate much like the Sunni one ISIS had sought to create. The major difference between these entities is not sectarian, and it is certainly not that one is a victim of terrorism while the other is a perpetrator.”

He continued: “The major difference is that while ISIS is losing ground, Iran is on a path toward growth. It will continue unless the international community takes notice of the danger, tightens the economic restrictions on the regime, and puts its support behind the Iranian Resistance, which aspires to establish a truly democratic system in place of the regressive theocracy.”

He encouraged world leaders to have the courage to address Iran as a terrorist supporter and endorse the Iranian Resistance, who are widely supported by the people of Iran, as the only legitimate option for Regime Change in Iran.