In an article for Al Arabiya by Heshmat Alavi, he writes that after the U.S, pulled out of Iraq, “Iran usurped the opportunity and opened the gates of hell into Mesopotamia. The destructive policies Tehran dictated to Baghdad under former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki paved the path for the rise of ISIS in 2014 to storm the country’s north and central lands. It has taken three dreadful years and a volume of human and financial resources to push the terror group out of Iraq, leaving large swathes of the country devastated and more importantly, Iran enjoying unprecedented and highly sensitive influence across the spectrum in Iraq through its conglomerate of militias.”

He adds, “Regarding Syria, the Levant is important for Iran. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has stressed the imperative of Iran confronting its enemies in Syria – far from its own borders. In a recent statement, he said, “Had the ill-wishers and plotters not been prevented from their evil deeds in Syria we would have to prevent them in the Iranian provinces of Tehran, Fars, Khorasan and Isfahan, so it is better we do it there. The door for martyrdom, which was closed by the end of the war with Iraq, is now open in Syria.”

Non-military options are always preferable, and so Washington’s sanctions are an effective means for dealing with Iran and stop their meddling in other nations’ domestic affairs, and their exportation of terrorism. Military confrontation is considered illogical by politicians from both sides of the aisle in Washington, as well as their counterparts across Europe and the Middle East.

Alavi writes, “Iran’s policies in the Middle East have been against the interests of all parties, with the exception of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and its slate of proxy forces behind the rampage we are witnessing today.The question is how to confront Iran correctly. Those in control are taking advantage and misrepresenting Islam for their interests and their sponsored atrocities are against the teaching of all holy books, including the Torat, Bible and Quran.”

The Iranian opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is a strong coalition that provides an effective platform on how to take on the Iranian regime. NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi, a Muslim woman who represents a tolerant vision of Islam, held a gathering on Sunday in Paris marking the holy month of Ramadan.

Mrs. Rajavi spoke about Encouraging “Interfaith Solidarity against Extremism,” and provided the initial building blocks of how to tackle the dilemma of the Iranian regime. “I would like to propose a three-pronged initiative on behalf of the Iranian people and Resistance. And I urge all the states and countries in the region to support it,” she said, and outlined the following:

• First, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which is the main operative advancing all the regime’s policies in the region, must be officially recognized and declared a terrorist entity. The presence of this force and its proxy militias in Middle East countries must not be tolerated and they must be evicted all together from countries in the region.

• Second, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) must expel the Iranian regime and grant Iran’s seat in this organization to the Iranian people’s Resistance.

• Third, they should recognize the Iranian people’s struggle to bring down the clerical regime and establish freedom and democracy.”