In an editorial, Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor and representative of the Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, urged the Iran-backed militia to take action. He wrote that the Iraqi “revolutionary youths” should be “ending the presence of the US embassy in Baghdad”.
Shariatmadari’s words are no doubt a message sent via the Supreme Leader. He described the United States Embassy in Baghdad as “the epicenter of conspiracy and espionage against the innocent people of Iraq”. He called on the youth to get rid of “this infected wound”.
Shariatmadari continued: “The takeover of the US espionage center in Islamic Iran and eliminating that epicenter of conspiracy had many benefits for us, and then why have the revolutionary youths of Iraq deprived their holy land of these benefits?”
Protests in Iraq continue and the people have made it very clear that they want the Iranian regime to be expelled from the country. The people of Lebanon are also protesting and they too have the same demands – the eviction of Iran and its numerous militias.
The Keyhan daily has been reporting that the uprising in Iraq has been directed by Saudi Arabia and the United States’ Embassy in Baghdad. The editorial advises that the best way to confront this uprising would be to initiate a takeover of the embassy.
There is a reference to the 1979 Islamic revolution strategy. Looking for a major distraction to destabilize the opposition and democratic forces, the United States Embassy in Tehran was taken over. The embassy hostage crisis ensued and lasted for more than a year (444 days to be precise). The regime was able to quash the democratic forces and set about establishing the mullahs’ absolute rule.
Earlier in the week, the Iranian Supreme Leader said during a speech that Gulf Arab countries are financially backing the protests in Lebanon and Iraq and that intelligence agencies are directing and organizing them.
The protests in both countries are of major concern to the Iranian regime because there are great threats to its perceived power and influence in the region. The Iranian regime, in both Lebanon and Iraq, has control over the governments and has poured vast resources into having significant influence.
Just after the anti-government protests erupted across Iraq, Qassem Soleimani allegedly traveled straight to Baghdad where he met with the country’s security officials and told them that he would be able to advise how to put an end to the protests.
However, the Iranian regime has been unable to put an end to the protests at home. The people of Iran have been making their desire for regime change known – echoing the desire for the regime to stop meddling abroad. Faced with popular protests – at home and abroad – the future of the Iranian regime looks bleak.
