You Gave Your Words, Senators. Now, Stand By It!

By Mohammad Parvin

Last week, while several of the prisoners of conscience in Iran were on hunger strike and close to death, and when a 16 year old girl, Atefeh Sahaleh, was hanged publicly because of bad behavior and her "sharp tongue", the vice-presidential running mate, Senator John Edwards, made an offer of friendship to the murderous regime of Iran .

He said in an interview that, if elected U.S. president, Senator John Kerry would offer Iran a deal allowing it to keep its nuclear power plants if it gave up the right to retain bomb-making nuclear fuel.

Senators Kerry and Edwards both chose to ignore the fact that the Islamic Regime of Iran (IRI) is a terrorist regime and turned a blind eye to 25 years of atrocities against the Iranian people who are struggling for a secular democracy in Iran .

Sen. John Edwards told "The Washington Post" that if Iran did not accept this "great bargain," this would confirm that the Islamic state was building nuclear weapons under cover of a nuclear power initiative.

If Iran rejected this proposal, Edwards stated that Kerry would ensure that European allies were prepared to join the United States in imposing strict sanctions against Iran .

"If we are engaging with Iranians in an effort to reach this great bargain and if in fact this is a bluff that they are trying to develop nuclear weapons capability, then we know that our European friends will stand with us," said Senator Edwards.

"A nuclear Iran is unacceptable for so many reasons, including the possibility that it creates a gateway and the need for other countries in the region to develop nuclear capabilities-- Saudi Arabia , Egypt , potentially others," Senator Edwards alleged.

Well, the Islamic Regime did not bite this "great bargain" and their nuclear disarmament plan has been bluntly rejected by the Islamic Regime's foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi.

Senators Kerry and Edward must now stand by their words and declare that they will impose a strict sanction against the Islamic Regime.

Even if the Islamic Regime of Iran had accepted this offer, it would still have been a murderous regime responsible for the imprisonment, torture, and the execution of thousands of freedom-loving Iranians and is not worthy of any sort of recognition. Even if it complies with all the demands of the west regarding the control of its nuclear program, it is still a terrorist regime that has terrorized the Iranians for 25 years and must not be legitimized by any state or state leader that has the slightest respect for human rights and liberties.

Senators Kerry and Edwards ignored the barbaric acts of the terrorist regime that have been systematically exercised for a long time. We did not hear any objections from the world. Now, it is time that the whole world and especially the American people hold them responsible for their words. They offered friendship to one of the most brutal regimes of all time and it was rejected. They promised that if Iran rejected this proposal, they would ensure that European allies were prepared to join the United States in imposing strict sanctions against Iran . They must deliver now on this promise.

Maybe it is time to see the reality of the Islamic Regime and come to the conclusion that the existence of this monster is not only a daily danger to the lives of millions of Iranians, but to the world. Maybe it is time to ignore the interest factor and the short term financial interests of the oil companies and start to pay a little attention to humanity.

We do not expect much from the international community in general - the US in particular. We just expect them not to legitimize or help this terrorist regime. We expect a rigid sanction against the IRI, not of the type that we have been witnessing during the years that a "sanction" was supposed to be enforced, and not of the type that would exclude Halliburton, GE and more than two-hundred American companies. A genuine and real sanction.

We expect the U.S. to reduce its diplomatic relations with the Islamic Regime to the lowest possible level. This regime is not the representative of the Iranian people, and we challenge those who think otherwise by an internationally monitored referendum. If the US government and politicians want to be on the side of the brave Iranians who have not given up hopes in spite of confronting a brutal regime and all its western supporters, they should just give them moral support by declaring that they do not recognize the Islamic Regime as their representatives, and that they would refrain from establishing friendly relations with their abusers.

That is all we believe most Iranians expect from the U.S. and other countries. Just do not help this terrorist regime, and the Iranians themselves will topple the Islamic Regime through disobedience and non-violent action.

Those who listen will earn the love and votes of the Iranians.

Mohammad Parvin is an adjunct professor at the California State University and director of the Mission for Establishment of Human Rights in Iran (MEHR) - http://mehr.org

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