U.S. and the Khomeini Regime

Amid all the reports about the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini regime’s continued military and political setbacks at home and abroad, it was astonishing to see Shireen Hunter blame the current predicament of the regime, the direct consequence of nine years of repressive and brutal rule, on outside powers (“U.S. Must Make Up Its Mind on Gulf Goal,” Op-Ed Page, July 6). Even more so was Hunter’s preposterous claim that the success of the People’s Mojahedin in uprooting the mullahs “would only be a prelude to Iran’s dismemberment.”

To say the least, Hunter’s desperate bid to whitewash Khomeini’s domestic atrocities and foreign warmongering reminds one of the shah’s red herrings as his regime was about to be overthrown by the Iranian people in 1979.

The absurdity of such an analysis notwithstanding, Hunter is trying to kill two birds with one stone: First, to confuse the layman as to the nature of the Iran-Iraq War and second, to discredit the People’s Mojahedin, who seek to rid Iran of one of the most tyrannical regime’s of contemporary history.

That the international community has begun to take a firmer stance vis-a-vis this terrorist regime should not be construed as the byproduct of a tilt toward Iraq, but rather as a consequence of the mullahs’ absolute disregard for all universally recognized norms of conduct.

The ludicrous assertion that “Iraq’s current strategy is to use the Iranian opposition group Moujahedeen-e-Khalgh as a Trojan horse for its ambitions in Iran” is, of course, consistent with Hunter’s present and past allegiances. Today, it is Khomeini who makes such claims and before him it was the shah, Hunter’s former employer, who labled his opposition agents of Iraq.

The Mojahedin’s relationship with the government of Iraq rests on the necessity of reaching peace in the devastating Iran-Iraq War and on such principles as the territorial integrity of both countries and non-interference in the domestic affairs of one another.

The real threat to the very survival of Iran as a nation and to the stability of the Persian Gulf region is the Khomeini regime itself, a regime which in nine dark years has brought death, destruction and misery to Iran’s citizenry and terrorism, hijacking and crisis to the rest of the world.

Regrettably, Hunter’s article exemplifies a biased assessment abounding in errors and far from the reality of today’s Iran. This is the same perception which promoted rapprochement with the medieval mullahs and led to the Iran-gate disaster. Hunter and those of like mind must be prepared to share the blame for perpetuating this misguided approach which has had adverse repercussions, particularly in the relations between the nations of Iran and the United States.

ALA’EDIN TOURAN

People’s Mojahedin

Organization of Iran

Washington, D.C.