Iran, October 1, 2019—International political analysts and even the Iranian regime’s own pundits consider the visit by Iranian regime president Hassan Rouhani visit to New York to lobby for his failing regime under the pretext of the United Nations General Assembly a failed endeavor.
A campaign that has failed not just in one, but in many aspects.
On the one hand, Rouhani missed an opportunity to start talks with the U.S. while taking the blame for not sitting at the negotiating table, and on the other hand, economic and diplomatic sanctions against the ruling theocracy in Iran were increased. Europe’s commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the Iranian regime was hoping would help it to drive a wedge between the deal signatories, turned out to be not that sacred.
FULL REPORT
Iranian opposition coalition NCRI: New details on #Iran’s missile, drone attack against Saudi oil facilitieshttps://t.co/wbHmSCtwLP— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 30, 2019
The Iranian Resistance’s show of organization and political reach through demonstrations and policy discussion panels was also one of the key factors that turned the trip of the hopeful Iranian president into a failure.
Supporters of the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) launched massive “No to Rouhani” rallies outside the UN, expressing their protest to Rouhani’s presence in New York and demanding the expulsion of the mullahs’ delegation from New York.
In a joint statement, the European signatories of the JCPOA, namely Germany, France and the United Kingdom, condemned the attack against Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil facilities while clearly accusing Iran of being the perpetrator. And despite the real consequences of the statement for the Iranian regime, the ruling mullahs in Tehran are unable to respond in kind, except for some angry complaints which have mainly domestic use.
In a report on September 26, Iranian state-run national television said: “In response to accusations against Iran on attacking Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, Rouhani said that the root cause of these alligations lies in America’s inability to support the Saudi regime. [Hassan Rouhani]: ‘First of all, I asked the leaders of the three European countries personally and asked them why they say Iran has assisted this attack? They had no reason. They had only one thing to say that the organization of this attack was beyond the power of the Yemenis.”
Also on September 26, in his meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts, Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei admitted that some regime officials are terrified. “Sometimes, due to various difficulties in society, some dignitaries and distinguished individuals lose control.”
Khamenei then responded to the joint statement of the three European countries. “They are explicitly showing animosity towards the Islamic Republic of Iran. Their animosity towards the Islamic regime has no essential differences with America’s animosity. They enter as mediators, make calls, contacts, conduct long talks and provide promise. Yet all such promises are empty,” he said.
As much as Khamenei attempts to cloak his concerns behind the big talk, the statements of his regime’s officials betray them.
In a program on the regime’s state TV, the moderator asks Hashemi Ghazizadeh, a member of the Board of Directors in the regime’s Majlis (parliament), about the joint statement by the three European countries. “What do you think about the statement of the three European countries that they issued at the beginning of Rouhani’s visit [to New York]. They condemned Iran and raised other issues that were very unfortunate. First, what is your opinion about this statement? Second, has our response been adequate to this statement?”
Ghazizadeh responds: “This statement is a tactical turning point that has happened in the West’s front. In other words, the West's front decided that the U.S. leaves the JCPOA and launch a major psychological war on the domestic and international stage, increase sanctions, and completely shut down the path to potential openings, while Europe keeps Iran in the JCPOA. In this regard, time was not on Iran’s side. Meaning that considering that Iran was still in the JCPOA and respecting the deal provisions, pressure and sanctions costs were not in our interests, but in America’s interests.”
