IRAN AND WORLDWIDE TERRORISM
Background
As it has for more than quarter of a century, Iran of today remains the number one state sponsor of terrorism
(U.S. Department of State Report on Iran, 2005). At first, mullah’s long-standing support of the various
global terrorist organizations may seem a bit puzzling. Reasonable minds would wonder why the theocratic
government of this sovereign nation would embark on such well-documented worldwide exportation and
sponsorship of international fundamentalism/terrorism?
The answer is embodied in the inherent illegitimacy of its existence and rooted in its bankrupt ideology. The
fundamentalists ruling Iran are fully aware that with peace and freedom and in the absence of conflict, the
people always choose the path consistent with the societal, political, religious, and cultural norms and
standards. Accordingly and because of its illegitimacy, the government of Iran cannot exist and thus will not
tolerate such a paradigm.
By breaking international laws, be it through terrorism or by brutal oppression of the Iranian people, the
mullahs in Iran have managed to win concessions from the international community and instill fear in the
majority of those who challenge them. One can go as far back as the Iran-gate scandal to see vivid examples
of this doctrine.
The bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires (seven high ranking Iranian officials,
including its former president Refsanjani were charged in October 2006); the unsuccessful attempt to blow
up the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok; the assassinations of publishers and translators of Salman Rushdie's
books; the terror plot against Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of
Iran (NCRI) in Germany, the terror plot against Yasser Arafat; the explosion in Riyadh; the bombing of the
Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; 128
terrorist operations against Mojahedin in Iraq, including the bombing of a city bus near a hospital in
Baghdad are but a few of the terrorist activities perpetuated by the rulers in Tehran, their agents, or their
fundamentalist. Iran’s interference in Iraqi affairs, including its indiscriminate support of sectarian violence
is also well spoken of and requires no further explanation.
Sadly however, in academic discussions, some view the Iran led expansionist phenomena as an entity
capable of moderation, while others simply aim to change the definition of fundamentalism (to extremism)
without assertively addressing its ideological wellspring, and the states which legitimize its continuation. In
either case, they naively prefer appeasement and dialogue, including submission, and concessions to the
ruthless perpetrators of terrorism. Arguably, 27 years of engagement with the mullahs have yielded nothing
but continued misery for the Iranian people and a progression of Iran’s nuclear projects.
Accordingly, Iran’s intentions as well as actions present the greatest challenge to international community
and are not confined to a U.S, Iran confrontation. It would therefore, not be an overstatement to consider
this clash a challenge to humanity’s peaceful existence. Beyond all the analysis, the past twenty-seven years
have taught us that in today's world, terrorism is a tool in the hands of religious extremists, and essential to
its existence.
Exportation of Revolution as a Specific Goal: Iran’s Constitution “paves the way"
Khomeini institutionalized the "export of revolution" and creation of a global Islamic rule, not only as an
ideal but as a specific goal and program within various parts of his constitution. The foreword of the
regime's constitution reads, in part, "Given the context of Iran's Islamic Revolution, which was a movement
for the victory of all the oppressed over the oppressors, it provides the ground for continuation of the
revolution inside and outside the country, specifically in spreading international links to other Islamic and
people's movements, tries to pave the way for the creation of unique global ummah so the continuation of
the struggle for the salvation of deprived and suffering nations can be settled." Another part of the foreword,
under the headline "Ideological Army," reads, "The Army of the Islamic Republic and the
Revolutionary Guards Corps (Revolutionary Guards, WSJ, 10/06, Original Article...). carry not only the
duty of protecting the borders but also ideological duty, i.e, Jihad for God and struggle to spread the
rule of God's law in the world."
The Eleventh Act of the constitution reads, "The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is obligated to
base its general policy on the coalition and unity of the Islamic nations and to try to fulfill the political,
economic, and cultural unity of the Islamic world."
Wellspring of Islamic Fundamentalism-Led Terrorism
Terrorism is a tactic, a function, and a method whose driving force is an ideological and political goal.
Without such a driving force, terrorism would dry up and fail. In the 1960s and 1970s, terrorism was based
on nationalist, secular views and in many cases was chauvinistic. For reasons that we will not discuss here,
it started to decline in the second half of the 1970s. Despite the fact that reactionary religious movements
existed throughout the twentieth century, they were never in a position to engage in terrorist activities until
recently
The roots of Islamic fundamentalism go back to the first centuries of Islam. But Islamic fundamentalism in
its current context, theory, and power emerged after Ruhollah Khomeini came to power in Iran in 1979. The
Khomeini regime has transformed the idea of creating a global Islamic rule from an unachievable ideal to an
attainable goal. Many of the modern fundamentalist groups have since emulated his framework either with
or without Iran’s direct backing.
The September 11 Tragedy: A Strategic Blitz
The tragic events of September 11, 2001-the hijacking of passenger planes in the United States and attacks
on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, in which thousands were killed-shocked the world, especially the
United States, as the most destructive terrorist incident in contemporary history. From a political,
economic, and security point of view, the impact of the deadly attacks of September 11 are clearly far
greater than that of the all the more recent conflicts combined.
Even if there are doubts about the identities of the perpetrators of this tragedy, there is no doubt that they
all belong to one camp: Islamic fundamentalism. They dare to use the name of God and Islam to step on all
values and to cross any lines in order to advance their evil intentions. In his address to the U.S. Congress on
Thursday, September 20, 2001, President George W. Bush described the perpetrators as radical Muslims
and extremists who stand shoulder to shoulder with fascism, Nazism, and totalitarianism. If we want to
bundle all these descriptions into one name, none can be more expressive than Islamic fundamentalism (Iran
and its Symbolic, Financial and Ideological Leadership: an example - - Iran's Training of Suicide Bombers...
and Iran's hand in Afghanistan.
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Tehran: The World Capital of Fundamentalism and Terrorism
Iran enjoys a unique position in the world of Islam due to, among other factors, its strategic location, natural
resources, and historical and cultural role in the development of the Islamic civilization. Thus, the mullahs'
victory quickly turned Tehran into the world capital of fundamentalists-similar to the relationship between
Moscow and Marxism. More significant than money or arms,Tehran provided the fundamentalist currents
with inspirational, political, regional, and international support.
Fundamentalist movements, which till then were mostly isolated and weak, became the clerical regime's arms
for the export of terrorism and fundamentalism, and as such, the menacing phenomenon of terrorism became
global. One of the assignments of the regime's diverse institutions formed for exporting fundamentalism,
including the Organization of Islamic Culture and Communications, Ahl- Al-Beyt foundation, and cultural
attachés is to attract and select forces which would, following an initial training and subsequent security
checks, be handed over to the Qods Force of the Ministry of Intelligence.
The Qods Force, along with the Ministry of Intelligence, operate dozens of training centers all over Iran and
now openly operate in Iraq.
New recruits enter Iran in secret, mostly via third countries, through coordination between the mullahs'
Foreign Ministry and the Intelligence Ministry and the Qods Force..read more(WSJ, 10/14/06). The mullahs'
regime provides facilities such as passports which are also used for the return trip to the third go-between
country to make sure that true identities are kept secret.
During the 1980s and 1990s, at least 90 percent of the major terrorist attacks were linked either to Tehran as
the epicenter of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism or to its surrogates and agents and movements that
managed to thrive only under the light of Tehran's mullahs. Some of the terrorist attacks carried out either
by Tehran or fundamentalists under its hegemony and influence are:
 | | The occupation of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the taking of American hostages in 1979. This was, | | | in fact, a clear declaration of war by this new phenomenon that effectively demonstrated its anti-western
potential and hysteria.
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| | Taking westerners, especially Americans, hostage in Lebanon in the 1980s.
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| | The explosion of the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983.
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| | The bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. The explosion of an Air France | | | 747 passenger jet in Tehran's airport in 1983
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| | Several bombings in the streets of Paris in 1986, which caused many deaths and injuries among civilians
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| | The hanging of U.S. Colonel William Higgins, who worked for the United Nations, in Lebanon.
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| | The shipment of 51 packages of explosives to Saudi Arabia (which were discovered before detonation) in | | | 1986 in order to kill many pilgrims. The massacre of more than 400 pilgrims to Mecca in 1987
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| | The bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires. Seven high ranking members of the Iranian | | | government, including its former president Hashemi Rafsanjani were formally charged for their role in the
planning and execution of the bombing.
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| | The killing of antifundamentalist intellectuals and authors in Turkey.. The decree to kill Salman Rushdie.
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| | The assassination of many Iranian dissidents, particularly the Mojahedin, in Germany, Switzerland, | | | France, Sweden, Italy, Turkey, Pakistan, and United Arab Emirates. Italian prosecuters have charged a
high ranking Iranian diplomat for their systematic murder of opposition voices
abroad.
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