Behind the Headlines/April 16

Jamshid Chalangi:

We continue tonight’s program with looking at the arrival of hundreds of Iraqi and Lebanese militias into Iran and ask what is the real purpose of this movement of armed forces?

Also, what are the economic and political consequences of the US decision to designate the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group for Iran?

Our guests tonight are Mr Amir Hossein Etemadi of the opposition group Farashgard, and the Tehran based journalist from Asia economic magazine, Mr Navid Jamshidi.

 Navid Jamshidi:

The Iranian people look upon the arrival of these foreign militias into their country with suspicion.

In fact whatever our leaders do and whatever decision they make, our people act against them.

There is a wide gap of mistrust between our people and their rulers.

You know that our people do not have a positive view of the Basij militias and to bring their foreign versions from Iraq and Lebanon into our country is seen as a ploy by the rulers, rather than a good intention to help with the victims of the flood.

Iranian people are saying that the regime pays for these militias in their own countries and could instead put that money into good services for the Iranian people and the flood victims.  

These people are considered as war criminals in their own countries and we pay for their wellbeing and invite them to our country and pay them for being here when our own people are left neglected.  

Hossein Etemadi:

Last year Mussa Ghazanfarabadi had clearly said that if one day it is needed to protect and keep the Iranian regime in power by other nationals other than the Iranian people, they will call upon the regime’s Afghan, Lebanese and Iraqi proxies to come to Iran and do this task. 

At the time not many people paid much attention to his comments, but today we can see that day has arrived. 

The only reason for these foreign militias to enter our country is to scare our people from rising up.