The cauldron that is the Middle East is simmering. The blaze was kindled in 1962, a year marked by the rise of an obscure and deluded Shi’ite cleric known as Ruhollah Hindi “from India.” He chose the surname Khomeini in 1921 when the shah insisted on last names. His brother, Morteza, who chose Pesandideh – disclosed, “We are originally of Indian descent!” This declaration was published on January 9, 1978, in the newspaper Ettela’at, sparking protests by Khomeini’s adherents and thugs in Qom (considered a holy city in Iran), which resulted in six fatalities.

At the time, Khomeini, acting akin to a foreign agent and a soldier under Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser in Iran, vociferously opposed the shah of Iran. 

OWING TO the intercession of the chief of SAVAK (the Intelligence and Security Organization of the Country) Gen. Hassan Pakravan – the shah, Reza Pahlavi, was conferred the title “ayatollah,” signifying “sign of God,” thus bypassing the customary clerical progression. This abrupt elevation spared him from execution and led to his exile to Iraq.

In Iraq, Khomeini was provided a radio by dictator Saddam Hussein, continuing his diatribes against the late shah, and in 1969, authored Velayat-e Faqih (Jurist) published in Beirut. In this so-called book, Khomeini delineated his strategy for seizing power, proclaiming the Shi’ite mullah as God’s earthly representative and the envoy of an imaginary and non-existent entity known as the “hidden imam,” stating “the jurist is his representative and retains power until his emergence, after which the power will be transferred to him or imam zaman.” In this instance, the mullahs’ charlatanism was derided across the Islamic states, yet it went unexposed, and even global intelligence organizations such as the CIA and Mossad had not perused a copy of his book. This reality, frequently, has been recounted and documented by senior officials within these institutions.

From the time that the late, patriotic shah acknowledged Israel de facto in 1962 until the grim winter of 1979, spanning approximately 18 and a half years, the Shi’ite mullahs engaged in extensive networking, fostering terrorism, and cultivating ties with Palestine, Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Iran’s dictator Saddam Hussein, Cuba’s  Fidel Castro, China’s Mao Ze Dong, the Soviet Union, etc. When Saddam, due to rapprochement with the shah and normalization of relations with Iran, expelled Khomeini from Iraq, he relocated to France. 

Concurrently, the Democrats in the US, under the guise of religious populism epitomized by Jimmy Carter, and the United Kingdom, propelled Khomeini, the veteran Muslim Brotherhood combatant, into the limelight. The majority of the global left-wing media broadcast a fabricated and deceitful interview with Khomeini (orchestrated by Bani Sadr, Yazdi, and Qotb-zadeh) and no inquiries were made regarding the proliferation of baseless and brazen lies about the shah of Iran. 

With nauseating hyperbole, they portrayed a sanctified and fraudulent image of a criminal such as Khomeini, a reality that went unchallenged. The leftist global media (comprising Communists and Marxists) transformed into mouthpieces for Khomeini, and Iran found itself ensnared by his regime. In his rhetoric, when he declared Islam was imperiled, it implied that Khomeini and his regime were under threat. There was no fact-checking!

The malicious ideology of Khomeinism ascended to power in Iran and established the inaugural “government of Allah on Earth,” under the supervision of the notorious terrorist Yasser Arafat and Gaddafi’s representative. Proponents of the Mossadegh era (those who embrace the contrived account of the August 19, 1953 coup, while conceding their cooperation with Britain and the US for a quarter-century until 1979, scheming against the late shah – along with leftist Islamist reformists) orchestrated the seizures of the US and Israeli embassies to ingratiate themselves with Moscow. These populist thugs have continually displayed hostility toward Israel and the US, while demonstrating allegiance to Russia and China, simultaneously advancing the agenda of Islamic terrorism throughout the Shi’ite Crescent.

Flames of the Middle East continue to flare

YET, THE flames of the Middle East continue to flare. The Shi’ite mullahs, in their quest to perpetuate their outlaw and evil regime, refrain from any act of oppression or atrocity within their nation. Abroad, their propaganda apparatus is active, with global leftist media at their disposal. They even disseminate the fabrications of the mullahs’ propaganda machine in English and other languages, or broadcast programs in Persian from BBC London, ensuring that the prevailing sentiment within Iranian society does not lean towards regime change. It appears that neither America nor Europe contemplates the necessity of regime change in Tehran.

The pro-regime reformists, known as Islamic leftists, have inaugurated Masoud Pezeshkian (a populist loyal to Khamenei) as president. It is evident that within the framework of the Islamic Republic’s theocracy or Velayat-e Faqih, no distinction exists between reformists and conservatives; both occupy roles within security (such as the Ministry of Intelligence, MOIS) and military institutions (such as the IRGC and Quds Force), united in their objective to sustain the Islamic Republic’s lifespan and equally culpable in committing atrocities against the Iranian populace.

This past week in the US, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored the threat posed by the Islamic Republic to the global community, yet the American leftists (Democrats) showed no inclination to heed his realistic warnings. Their new electoral contender is Kamala Harris, who formerly served on the Senate Security Committee.

In summary, the track record of Democratic US presidents regarding the Islamic Republic over the last 45 years is dismal. Under Jimmy Carter’s administration, the Islamic Republic of the mullahs in Tehran was born; during Bill Clinton’s tenure, the deceptive “Dialogue of Civilizations” – a product of reformist duplicity –m was marketed.

Under Barack Obama, despite the nationwide Iranian uprising and the ensuing youth massacre, correspondence with Khamenei continued, as if a butcher like Khamenei comprehended the essence of dialogue with the civilized Western world and democracy. A stubborn, war-criminal dictator focused solely on appeasing Moscow and China, with aspirations to annihilate Western civilization, even hastened to aid the Kremlin in the Ukraine conflict.

During Joe Biden’s presidency, his Iran policy also floundered. Like Donald Trump, he labeled the Islamic Republic as the representative of the Iranian people. His primary aim was to resuscitate the moribund JCPOA, and his policy of appeasement only emboldened, intensified, and exacerbated Iran’s belligerence, while showing scant regard for the widespread Iranian movement against religious tyranny. Both Biden and Obama provided artificial resuscitation to the corpse of the Islamic Republic.

Today, whether Harris remains in the White House or Trump makes a return, this 62-year-old inferno will only grow more intense, yet there lacks any serious intent or determination to extinguish it. Until the scourge of radical Islam and Islamic terrorism, originating from the mullahs of Tehran, is eradicated from the Middle East, there will be no prospects for stability, comfort, peace, and security. Whether Harris or Trump assumes power, this harsh reality remains inescapable. 

Should the mullahs, infatuated with Islamic terrorism, acquire nuclear capabilities, 21st-century humanity will face a grave threat that is not easily mitigated.

The writer is a counterterrorism analyst and Middle East studies researcher based in Washington, with a particular focus on Iran and ethnic conflicts in the region. His new book is The Black Shabbat, published in the US. Follow him at erfanfard.com and on X @EQFARD.