Erfan Fard
As an analyst in the counterterrorism (CT) center, I value the help of my collogues in CT of the UK. In addition, I am grateful for the efforts of the Chief of MI5 in London. Precisely, the CT of the UK identified “lethal threats to Iran International TV’s journalists on British soil”. As well, Scotland Yard knows “the meaning of credible threats to life” from IRGC. For this reason, the protection of all staff has been considered by the UK Government. When I did my research at London University, most of my colleagues in former classmates in the intelligence community of the UK were busy analyzing the nature of Islamic Terrorism. For the first time, under the supervision of Professor Jeffry Haines – at LMU – I published my field research: Transnational Terrorist Network, in 2016. During that period, Gina Haspel was working in the US Embassy in the UK as a CIA’s station chief in London. Then, before returning to the USA, my last research was on Hamburg Mosque or Islamic Center, which it is a Hotbed for Iranian Propaganda in Germany. The problem is increasingly sophisticated, but my main research was concentrated on Iran’s terrorist cells inside the European Union. This should not come as a surprise to Europe.
Unquestionably, Iran’s regime is recognized as a hostile state “actor” by all counter-terrorism police and intelligence agencies, capable of carrying out assassination attempts and terrorist operations in the UK. The issue, however, goes far beyond the ways Europeans thinks about the Iranian regime’s history of Terrorism. Disasters were certainly possible, but oddly enough, all the terrorist cells linked to MOIS or IRGC can be uncovered by MI5 and the Metropolitan Police in London.
The challenge is immense. Finding the cells and agents of the mullah’s regime is incredibly important for Europe. The time has long since come to acknowledge that the criminal mullahs and their mafia regime are not a rational actor on the international stage. Over the decades, this outlaw regime has supported terrorism around the globe. Finally, it becomes increasingly clear that the doctrine of the regime was based on Khomeinism. The only surprising thing is that “Terrorism” is an inseparable part of this destructive ideology. Before 1979, the winter with no spring in sight, Khomeini accepted a radio program from Ba’ath Party in Iran. It is not surprising that Khomeini was supported by Yasser Arafat, Qaddafi and other Islamic Terrorist organizations such as Muslim Brotherhood. Stubbornly, he used all the media to spread his false propaganda against the late Shah of Iran. In its early stages, despite the clarity of empty words, Khomeini called his fake propaganda as a Holly mission against imperialism! In the same vein, He labeled all his terrorist operations as an Islamic Jihad. That, of course, is a description of Khomeinism. All Europeans needed to do was consider the fate of one country to understand the potentially disastrous consequences of such thinking. Currently, the intelligence organizations of MOIS and IRGC are accusing Iran International TV of “incitement of riots” and “support of terrorism” over their coverage of the anti-government protests. In retrospect, the British House of Commons is pushing to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization following a threat to the lives of two Iran International TV journalists. Additionally, the Metropolitan Police have now formally notified both journalists that these threats represent a looming, plausible, and substantial risk to their lives and their families.” The 24-hour news channel has in the past come under inspection by the Iranian government for its coverage. Now the mullah’s regime decides to hush this media. Such a scenario is extremely unlikely. Before going any further, since 1979, all the Iranians are living in silence under the rule of criminal mullahs. For 43 years, people in Iran were reluctant to speak up because they are living under the seemingly omnipresent surveillance of intelligence informers. As well, the military regime of this religious dictatorship painstakingly watches foreigners’ activities in the media.
Unpredictably, the minister of intelligence, who is a brutal radical mullah opens his mouth. First, he had attempted to whitewash the brutal activities of savage forces in suppression of unarmed civilians in Iran.
Unashamedly, in his last interview, Esmail Khatib said: “Iran International TV is a terrorist organization! that all cooperation and links with it would be considered a threat against national security, and that its “agents” would be pursued.”. IRNA reported. He also accused the UK of spreading propaganda against Iran’s mullah’s regime and warned it would “pay for its measures to create insecurity”.
Then he added “We consider Iran International a terrorist organization and will prosecute its staff members. From now on, any affiliation with Iran International TV will be regarded as an engagement in terrorist activities and a threat to Iran’s national security. We will never sponsor acts of terrorism and insecurity in other countries, as Britain does, but we won’t commit ourselves to counter insecurity in these countries. So Britain will way for its actions aimed at making Iran insecure,”
If truth be told, it’s an insult to Counter -terrorism’s intelligence! He does talk garbage as usual. The freedom of media isn’t criminalized in modern states. Most disturbing, however, MOIS recognized a TV station as a terrorist threat and branded it as a “terrorist organization,”! The most significant fact about Khatib is, his accusations are all stuff and nonsense. Pull the other one! Even though, Khatib is too slow off the mark!
As I said in an Arabic Satellite program, the UK should condemn these horrific lethal threats and continue to highlight the importance of media freedom. This is the main goal of the UK’s democracy. In these days of the Iran revolution, a Farsi-language TV channel from British soil covers the events inside Iran.
It appears that these historic shifts are only beginning. The effects of rapid change are often unwelcome, but the process of transformation is one of growth and development, not of decline and fall. Considerably, the wave of the Iran revolution in 2022 by the resilient Iranians will sweep the Middle East bears a striking resemblance to previous political earthquakes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Erfan Fard is a counter-terrorism analyst and Middle East Studies researcher based in Washington, DC. He is in Middle Eastern regional security affairs with a particular focus on Iran, counter-terrorism, IRGC, MOIS and ethnic conflicts in MENA .He graduated in International Security Studies (London M. University, UK), and in International Relations (CSU-LA). He is fluent in Persian, Kurdish, Arabic, and English. / Follow him from this Twitter account @EQFARD