The Mullah Syndrome

Al-Jazirah newspaper

IN medical terms, a syndrome is a group of symptoms that occur together and cause conditions that are often incurable. If we apply this medical term in the political context, we will discover that there is a striking similarity between its symptoms and the Iranian government’s policies.

The Iranian regime has become an incurable disease because Tehran has been trying to export its revolution by any means. These attempts can be described as the effects of the Mullah Syndrome.

The Iranian constitution stipulates in its preamble that the content of the Islamic revolution was a movement for the victory of all the oppressed people over their oppressors and that the ground for continuing this revolution at home and abroad must be prepared.

In fact, this introduction contradicts Article 152 of the same constitution, which states that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy is based on the rejection of any kind of domination, both in exercise and submission.

Apparently, this is a sharp contradiction. If we look at Iran’s foreign policy since the revolution, we will see that Tehran has worked hard to export this so-called Islamic revolution to all parts of the Muslim world. This Iranian ideology is similar to the terrorist ideology of the Daesh, whose slogan was “Remain and Expand”.

Iran’s attempts to export its revolution has come with a hefty price, which continues to be paid by the Iranian people who have been deprived of the country’s wealth and who have revolted many times and will continue to revolt. The Iranians have cast aside the fears of the regime’s brutality and cruelty and decided to rally in the streets for their rights and the country’s wealth that has been wasted by the regime in the hope of exporting the revolution.

Iran has been using the people’s wealth to support Bashar Al-Assad, the Syrian assassin who is rejected by the majority of the country's people and who mustered all his strength to kill his own people using every brutal method and fatal weapon, including nerve gas. The whole world saw pictures of children, men and women who were foaming at the mouth before breathing their last because of the use of chemical weapons against them. We have seen very barbaric and appalling images of cities, villages and towns that were wiped out by the barrel bombs dropped on them. These images of devastation and extermination remind us of World War II.

In Iraq, the Iranian government has also been using its people's wealth to support sectarian forces. Iran has ordered its proxy militias to wreak havoc, kill people based on their race and identity and undermine the country's peace and security.

Iran sowed the seeds of havoc in Lebanon, a country that was spared a protracted civil war thanks to Saudi Arabia's efforts and role to restore peace and stability after a long time through the Taif Accord. Through Hezbollah, Iran has worked hard to undermine this stability and bring the country back to the brink. Because of Iran and the crises it created, Lebanon has become a time bomb that might go off any minute.

The bill of Iran’s interference in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon is being paid from the wealth of its people, as openly declared by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Iran has interfered in Yemen, incited sectarian conflicts and armed the Houthi militias with money and weapons, including ballistic missiles. Today, the Houthis use these missiles to threaten the region’s security and stability. The Yemeni people have paid a hefty price as their country continues to witness more and more devastation.

The Iranian mullahs have not only exported the revolution but also dragged the country's youth and children into conflicts with which they have nothing to do. The sight of coffins of Iranian soldiers who were killed in conflicts has become something frequent. Today, the Iranians are revolting to stop the government from squandering the country's wealth and stop the needless deaths of its people.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, said, “No country can secure itself by endangering its neighbors’ security.” This statement applies completely to Iran, which works hard to destabilize the region. Fortunately, the Iranian people have finally realized this fact.

Now it is clear that “the oppressed people” mentioned in the preamble of Iran’s constitution refers to killers and assassins like Assad and the Iraqi militias, as well as its puppets the Houthis and Hezbollah that Tehran takes here and there to undermine peace and security of countries.

In medicine, a syndrome is difficult to cure. Apparently, the Mullah Syndrome is incurable as well. The only solution the deprived Iranian people have is to excise the tumor so that the Iranian people can enjoy the country's wealth.

The mullahs use religion as a pretext to export the so-called revolution, a revolution that does not represent the Shariah's sublime and tolerant values for peaceful coexistence.