Behind the Headlines/september 11

Jamshid Chalangi:

In tonight’s program of Behind the Headlines:

On the anniversary of the 9/11terrorist attacks we will ask if the Islamic Revolution in Iran gave birth to Islamic terrorism and what consequences and cost this has had for Iran?

Our guests tonight are Reza Taghizadeh, Mohammad Ali Toufighi and Ardavan Roozbeh.

Reza Taghizadeh:

I believe if President Bush had followed the same policy that he applied towards Afghanistan and Iraq in terms of removing their regimes on the Iranian rulers, the political map of the world would have looked completely different today.

At the time it was clear that the regime in Tehran had also been implicated in terrorism across the world, however, for reasons known to his administration he followed a different approach towards the regime in Iran and this led to the emergence of Mohammad Khatami who extended the life of the regime for a further 20 years.

Without a shadow of doubt the coming to power of Khomeini’s regime gave rise to a political Islam, which is based on terrorism and extremism to achieve its objectives.

Khomeini’s aim of creating a Shia Crescent in the Middle East put Iran in direct conflict with the Sunni Saudis which has since turned the region into a battleground in which other terrorist and extremist Islamic groups like the Taliban and Al Qaida have emerged, no to mention their latest version the ISIS, or Daesh.

Mohammad Ali Toufighi:

I think the Islamic Revolution is the awakening movement of Islamic countries who have been fighting for their independence as the followers of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East and North Africa.

So far no specific document orevidence has been produced to show that the Iranian government has been involved in the 9/11 attacks and all those court rulings in the US which fine Iran and Saudi Arabia on such charges are meant to get their monies from them. Many of Iran’s funds and capitals have also been blocked in this way.

The Islamic Revolution may have been instrumental in advocating terrorist attacks but in the countries and areas where the Sunnis have been in majority this has not been the case.

Ardavan Roozbeh:

I believe the evidence that shows the Iranian regime has been involved in many of terrorist acts across the world speak for themselves.

However, I believe it has not been involved in the 9/11 terrorist attack in view of the evidence gathered about this particular act.

Having said that, we all know that the Iranian regime has provided safe houses for the followers of Osama Bin Laden and his family and its destructive policies have damaged the image of our country among the international community.