Senior U.S. Senate Delegation, Maryam Rajavi Meet in Tirana, the Albanian Capital

Senior U.S. Senate Delegation, Maryam Rajavi meet in Tirana, the Albanian Capital

Senators also met MEK members relocated from Iraq

 

On Saturday, August 12, 2017, a senior delegation from the United States Senate meet with Maryam Rajavi, in the Albanian capital, Tirana, and discussed the situation of the members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Albania, the latest developments in Iran and the Middle East as well as solutions to end to current crisis in that region.

The Senate delegation was comprised 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 meeting, at one of the centers of the MEK in Albania, was initiated by Senator Roy Blunt, as the delegation was on a visit to Albania.

Led by Senator Blunt, the delegation congratulated the safe and secure relocation of all Camp Liberty residents outside of Iraq and wished them success in their struggle for democracy and human rights in Iran. Having undertaken extensive efforts to ensure the security of MEK members in Camp Liberty, Iraq, and their transfer outside that country in previous years, Senator Blunt described the relocation as a major victory for the Iranian people and Resistance and lauded the efforts of Maryam Rajavi and the Iranian Resistance for the success of this major mission.

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.

Maryam Rajavi emphasized that contrary to the propaganda by the Iranian regime’s apologists, the ruling theocracy was rotten to the core and very fragile. Without foreign support, especially the policy of appeasement pursued in the U.S. and Europe, it would not have survived so long. She added that regime change in Iran is necessary and within reach because a viable and democratic alternative exists. Maryam Rajavi said equating regime change by the Iranian people for democracy with war and instability in the region is a sheer lie, the source of which is the Iranian regime’s lobby in western capitals. They demagogically turn the truth on its head, she noted, adding that the overthrow of the Tehran regime was a prerequisite to ending crisis and war in the Middle East.

Maryam Rajavi underscored the need for imposing comprehensive sanctions on the Iranian regime’s banking and oil sector, expelling the IRGC and its affiliated militias from Syria, Iraq, and other regional countries, taking urgent steps to punish the regime for widespread political executions, especially the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, setting up a commission of inquiry to investigate this major crime against humanity with the aim of bringing to justice the perpetrators, and recognizing the aspirations of the Iranian people and Resistance to overthrow the ruling religious tyranny and to establish freedom and democracy, and a republic based on the separation of religion and state, gender equality, and a non-nuclear Iran.

The Senate delegation also met with a number of MEK members as well as witnesses to, and victims of, the Iranian regime’s atrocities in Iran and camps Ashraf and Liberty.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
August 12, 2017

Iran: Rouhani Backs Assad on Chemical Attack

The Media Express

According to Iranian state media, President Hassan Rouhani expressed his support for the Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s chemical attack in early April and even accusing the opposition for the attack.

“The use of chemical weapons…was aimed to diverse the general public’s attention from the truth. We must not permit terrorists use such weaponry, then accuse others and provide pretexts for measures in violation of international regulations,” said Rouhani.

For the past 38 years, the Iranian president has accused the Iranian opposition of oppressing and killing the Iranian people, and considers deceiving the international community on Tehran’s nuclear program is one of his main sources of pride.

Mohammad Reza

An interview with Mohammad Reza Ne’matzadeh, the Minister of Industries and Mines, made comments regarding Rouhani’s relationship with Khamenei.

“Rouhani once said in a cabinet meeting how he asked [Khamenei] what is in our interest. Should I participate or not? [Khamenei] emphasized…

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How will Trump’s Syrian missile strikes affect tensions with Iran?

By AMIR BASIRI

THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER, 4/7/17 – President Trump’s decision to target the Syrian airfields used to carry out Tuesday’s horrific chemical attacks may mark a major change in the direction of the six-year-old Syrian civil war. At the very least, it was a welcome break from the previous administration’s penchant to let Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad off the hook for his war crimes. Still, it will be interesting to see how Trump’s Syrian missile strikes affect tensions with Iran.
In 2013, Assad staged a similar chemical bomb raid against a Damascus suburb. But Obama refrained from taking firm action and instead decided to stay on the sidelines and back off from his ‘red lines.’ The main beneficiaries of this hands-off approach were the Assad regime and Assad’s patrons in Tehran. Assad got away with murder and the Iranian regime got the green light to relentlessly increase its violent meddling in Syria.
Since then, the situation has been on the constant decline. Iran and Assad’s unchecked rampage exacerbated sectarian tensions, killing thousands more and creating the perfect breeding ground for extremist groups such as Islamic State to rise and flourish.
Four years and hundreds of atrocities later, that norm was brought to an end with a volley of Tomahawk cruise missiles that leveled major parts of the al-Shayrat airbase.
Assad himself is too weak a player to be able to influence the dynamics governing Syria and the region. But how will Iran, Assad’s main sponsor, respond? As the state that has invested billions of dollars and thousands of troops to keep Assad in power, Iran will have a major stake in how the U.S.’s involvement in Syria develops and how the fate of the dictator of Damascus unfolds.
Proponents of the appeasement policy will caution against any move that might arouse the ire of the Iranian regime. The world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, they argue, will retaliate by walking away from Obama’s landmark nuclear deal or target U.S. troops and interests in Iraq, Syria, and the Persian Gulf.
But contrary to the misleading narrative of the appeasement camp, the facts show that a firm policy works toward containing the Iranian regime. According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, the Iranian regime has scaled down its provocative actions in response to a firm tone from the Trump administration.
As the MEMRI report states, after being put on notice by the Trump administration for its illicit missile test, Iran has since shown ‘considerable military restraint.’ This includes the cancellation of another long-range missile test and a halt to provocations against U.S. Navy vessels.
Public threats against the U.S. have also come to a stop and the ‘death to America’ slogan has disappeared almost entirely from the official discourse of regime spokesmen, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself.
This is a complete turnabout of the Iranian regime’s posture toward the international community, which during Obama’s tenure was an unending cycle of Iranian belligerence met with concessions. Iranian regime officials described Obama’s years as the ‘golden era.’
The Iranian regime and his acolyte tested the resolve of the new White House lineup with another chemical attack against innocent civilians. Thursday’s strike was a firm and well-timed response to bring Assad’s machine of terror to a halt and will help save lives. If the past is any indication, it will also keep the Iranian regime in check and force it to toe the line.
However, more needs to be done. As the National Council of Resistance of Iran underlined in wake of the strike, the Syrian crisis will only end when the Iranian regime is fully evicted from the region and Assad is ousted from power.
With Assad and the mullahs gone from Syria, the Islamic State will also lose its raison d’etre, a key requisite to rooting out Islamic fundamentalism and bringing peace and stability back to the region.
Amir Basiri is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is an Iranian human rights activist.

Source: How will Trump’s Syrian missile strikes affect tensions with Iran?

Hassan Rouhani: Nuclear technology is a necessity for us

 SHAHRIARKIA

Marking the 11^th anniversary of various nuclear achievements, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday displayed two new achievements by Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. A number of ambassadors and other representatives of foreign countries were present at the event.

“Nuclear technology is a necessity for us, and that is exactly why [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei] constantly highlights on continuing to develop this technology,” he said according to an ISNA wire.

via Hassan Rouhani: Nuclear technology is a necessity for us — Iran Liberty