For Iran’s late president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash, the question was not whether terrorism was good or bad, but who carried out terrorism against whom.
Raishi be criticized A terrorist attack launched by the Islamic State in January against Iranians mourning the death of Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in January 2020. (Related: Iranian president’s death threatens succession to top leadership)
Soleimani commanded the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), which also carries out terrorist activities. according to To the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The DNI website states that “IRGCF-QF is one of the Iranian regime’s main organizations responsible for carrying out covert and lethal activities outside Iran, including asymmetric and terrorist operations.”
The DNI said, “Iran views terrorism as a tool it can use to deter and counter perceived enemies, assert leadership over Shiite Muslims around the world, and help project power in the Middle East.” “There is,” he said.
In 2021 National reports on terrorismThe State Department explained how the Revolutionary Guard QF supported terrorist activities outside of Iran. “Iran used the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC-QF) to support terrorist organizations, conceal related covert operations, and create instability in the region,” the report said.[T]The IRGC-QF is Iran’s primary mechanism for promoting and supporting terrorist activities abroad. ”
In 2019, the State Department officially designated it a terrorist organization.
On January 3 this year, as a group of Iranians gathered in the city of Kerman on the anniversary of the death of an IRGC-QF commander, two Islamic State suicide bombers infiltrated the crowd. They committed suicide and killed 89 Iranians.
Two days later, Iranian President Raisi spoke at the funerals of these terrorist victims and praised Hamas for the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
“Praising Hamas, Iranian president says October 7 massacre will destroy Israel” Said Times of Israel headline.
“Speaking at the funeral, Raisi praised Hamas’ devastating attacks on October 7, in which thousands of terrorists stormed more than 20 communities in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages,” the report said.
“We know that Operation Al-Aqsa Flood will bring about the end of the Zionist regime,” Raisi told the crowd at the funeral.
The Times of Israel reported, “Mourners held portraits of Soleimani, as well as the national flag and the yellow flag of Hezbollah, Tehran’s ally in Lebanon, amidst cries of “vengeance, vengeance” and “death to America.” “Death to Israel.”
Like the Islamic State and the Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah is a terrorist organization designated by the State Department and supported by the Iranian government, of which Raisi was president.
This “Lebanon-based Shia extremist group draws ideological inspiration from the Iranian revolution and the teachings of the late Ayatollah Khomeini.” To tell State Department’s 2022 Country Report on Terrorism. “The group typically follows the religious guidance of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Hezbollah is closely allied with Iran, and the two often collaborate on common initiatives, although Hezbollah has occasionally gained independence. Sometimes I act.”
Next are the Houthis.
“Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Gaza and Israel’s military response, the Iranian-backed Ansar Allah/Houthi movement in Yemen has “Maritime chokepoint” that has targeted Israeli territory and commercial and naval vessels. Said A Congressional Research Service report released this month.
“In January 2024, the Biden administration announced that it would redesignate the Houthis as a Specially Designated International Terrorist,” the report states.
While promoting terrorism against foreign countries, Iran routinely violated the human rights of its own people during President Raisi’s era.
In 2022, Martha “Zina” Amini died in the custody of Iran’s “morality police,” as previously stated in this column.
In its 2022 report on human rights in Iran, the State Department stated, “On September 13, police detained Ms. Amini, who was visiting Tehran from her home in the Kurdistan Region, on suspicion of wearing an “inappropriate hijab”.” Ta.
According to reports, she was “beaten to death while in the custody of the morality police.”
“Authorities claimed that Amini suffered from a ‘heart problem’ while in custody and was pronounced dead on September 16,” the statement said. “Photos later circulated showing Amini lying in a hospital bed with apparently severe facial injuries.”
Last year, Iran detained Amini’s father and imprisoned her family’s lawyer and a journalist who covered her story.
“According to Iranwire, on September 16, the first anniversary of Mahsa Zina Amini’s death, Amini’s father, Amjad Amini, was temporarily detained by the authorities and was unable to visit his daughter’s grave or leave his residence. It was forbidden.” Said Department of State Report on Human Rights in Iran 2023.
“In October, the Kurdish Human Rights Network reported that Saleh Nikbakht, a lawyer for the family of Mahasa Zina Amini, was sentenced to one year in prison for anti-regime propaganda activities,” the State Department report said. There is.
“In October, journalists Niroufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who first reported on the death of Mahsa Zina Amini, were sentenced to 13 years in prison and 12 years in prison, respectively,” the State Department said in a statement. . “According to the government’s judicial news website, they were charged with collaborating with a ‘hostile U.S. government,’ colluding against national security, and disseminating propaganda against the regime.”
What did President Joe Biden’s State Department say when Mr. Raisi, the president of this tyrannical, terrorist-supporting regime, died in a helicopter crash?
“The United States would like to express our official condolences over the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir Abdullahian, and other members of their delegation in a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran,” ministry spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. I will make a statement.” “As Iran elects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their fight for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Biden’s State Department refrained from stating that Raisi was one of the people responsible for denying the rights and freedoms of the Iranian people. was justly criticized House Republicans agreed.
Terrence P. Jeffrey is an investigative editor at the Daily Caller News Foundation. To learn more about Terrence P. Jeffrey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit his Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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