VEVAK i (Farsi: Vezarat-e Ettelaat va Amniat-e Keshvar) is the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (abb.: MOIS) of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its principal occupation is intelligence but unlike the CIAits rough American equivalent
VEVAK also functions much like the FBI; in effect
VEVAK operates very similarly to the Soviet Unions KGB. Within
VEVAK there is a department whose primary purpose is the
dissemination of disinformation.
ii Iran regularly uses its diplomatic personnel and nationals abroad to further the objectives of the MOIS.
iii Iranian diplomats are trained in a very similar fashion as were those formerly in the USSR. And they must pass Islamic loyalty tests and be vetted for their Islamic loyalties as well as loyalties to the regime. No Iranian diplomat" is assigned abroad until his credentials pass rigorous inspection by VEVAK.
This essay seeks to unmask a suspected agent of VEVAK working as a researcher in two of Americas premier institutions of higher learning Harvard and MIT. It intends to refute his assertions made recently.
About two weeks ago The National Interest published an essay entitled How Iran Became the Middle Easts Moderate Force"iv by an Iranian former diplomat Dr. Mansour
Salsabili v.
Salsabili claims that the Islamic Republic of Iran under the current rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani has changed radically since its founding in 1979 by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Rohallah Khomeini having matured politically so that today it should be considered moderate" and rational". Lets see whether his case holds up or not.
Salsabili begins his essay by stating Yet three major indicators highlight a deep development in Iranian politics in the region. These signposts include Irans constructive regional military presence; its peaceful and balancing role in resolving politico-cultural issues within the UN and regional venues; and its highly educated and modernized society that guarantees the irreversibility of the other two developments."vi Dr. Salsabili are you serious? Iran is stoking the fires of war throughout the entire regionvii. In Yemenviii in Lebanonix in Syriax in the Palestinian territories (both Gazaxi and the West Bankxii) in the Sudanxiii and in Iraqxiv.
Iran is building an empire"xv by using its Shiite proxiesxvi and Hamasxvii to attack its targets.
Dr. Salsabili: do you inhabit an alternate universe? Just where is Iran resolving politico-cultural issues within the UN and regional venues"? Ali Khederyt
he longest continuously serving American official in Iraq and special assistant to five American ambassadors to Iraq and senior adviser to three commanders of U.S. Central Commanddoesnt seem to think that Iran has acted in the way Salsabili suggests; indeed he says just the opposite: the U.S. needs to curtail Irans destabilizing regional hegemonic ambitions and its drive toward developing a nuclear weapon."xviii
As regards its highly educated and modernized society that guarantees the irreversibility of the other two developments" I grant that Dr. Salsabili is correct in saying that Iran has a highly educated and modernized society" but given the fact that Iranian youth and society in general find themselves under increasing pressure from the regime to adhere to strict Islamist practicexix I question the viability of his statement.
Salsabili claims that Iran is the only nation that is aligned with the United States in opposing the Islamic State.xx However Jordanxxi is involved in attacking the IS and the Kurds both in Syria and in Iraq are bearing the brunt of the ground war against IS.xxii Irans IRGC Qods Force officers have been leading the Iraqi militias in the battle for Tikritxxiii but that offense stalled and needed the U.S. to step in and take it over.xxiv So too Egypt xxv has attacked IS in Libya. Is Iran the sole partner" of the U.S.s attempt to eliminate the Islamic State? Nope.
In his third paragraph Salsabili claims that the Islamic Republic of Iran has retreated from its original goal of spreading the Shiite revolution beyond its borders to create a Shiite empire throughout the Middle-East and beyond and now only wishes to defend its own borders. Given Irans recent boasting of having
conquered four Arab capitalsxxvi it seems that Salsabili is out of step with the
Supreme Leaderxxvii or just downright disingenuous.
In his fourth paragraph Salsabili continues his completely twisted presentation of history claiming that Iran has acted moderately and cooperatively with the United States in a variety of situations over the last two decades. He says: Take for example Irans tacit cooperation with the United States during the Afghanistan campaign against the Taliban its calming and controlling of Shiite extremists in Iraq its role as a middleman between Azerbaijan and Armenia compelling the Assad regime to join the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and dismantle its chemical arsenal its firm stance against the ISIS extremists in Syria and Iraq and its avoidance of radicalization on a range of regional issues from Chechnya to the Bahrain uprisings. The professional behavior of the Iranian and the U.S. navies in the Persian Gulf over the last two decades is another example of the possibility for harmony and cooperation in the region."
Lets begin with the question of cooperation against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Eric Parks
report for CENTCOMxxviii Iranian Weapons Smuggling Activities in Afghanistan" demonstrates that Iran has provided Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs) to the Taliban; its been quite some time since Iran had a
major feudxxix with the Taliban so the lie has been put to Salsabilis claim about cooperation there. As regards calming and controlling Shiite extremists in Iraq" Clay Wilsons
report to Congressxxx Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan: Effects and Countermeasures" would appear to disarm Salsabilis claim when it says: Since October 2001 improvised explosive devices (IEDs roadside bombs and suicide car bombs) have been responsible for many of the more than 3000 combat deaths in Iraq and many of the more than 240 combat deaths in Afghanistan. … Department of Defense (DOD) officials have also charged that Iran may be supplying new IED technology to insurgents in Iraq."
xxxi So too it is reported that Admiral Mike Mullen Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Iranian-backed Shiite militias
are killing our troopsxxxii in Iraq with sophisticated weapons that include lethal armor-piercing versions of IEDs and rocket-boosted mortars. Need I say more? As regards making peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Geoffrey Greshs
reportxxxiii Coddling the Caucasus: Irans Strategic Relationship with Azerbaijan and Armenia" indicates that Iran has sided with Armenia against Azerbaijan and the burgeoning
Azerbaijan-Israel relationshipxxxiv certainly hasnt improved Azeri-Iranian relations. So another assertion rejected. Compelling the Assad regime to join the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and dismantle its chemical arsenal"the facts would seem otherwise as a
2014 reportxxxv indicates. Well what about Salsabilis suggestion of Irans avoidance of radicalization on a range of regional issues from Chechnya to the Bahrain uprising"? Chechnyaguess again as Con Coughlin
reportedxxxvi a decade ago. Well maybe Bahrain? Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional Research Service recently
wrote:
xxxvii Bahrains primary foreign policy concern has been Iran. Bahraini leaders with some corroboration from U.S. and other statements blame Iran for providing material support to hardline violent factions in Bahrain. Bahrain has supported Saudi and UAE criticism of Iran not only for its purported activities against Bahrains government but more broadly for Irans unqualified support for pro-Iranian Shiite movements and governments in the region."
Maybe Salsabili might be correct that the professional behavior of the Iranian and the U.S. navies in the Persian Gulf over the last two decades is another example of the possibility for harmony and cooperation in the region." Naval history scholar David Crist testifies that following an April 2011 incident between an IRGC speedboat and the British HMS
York the U.S. Navy suggested that a hot-line be set up between the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and the Revolutionary Guard in Bandar Abbas (Iran) to help defuse any accidental incident arising at sea. Iran refused to discuss the proposal saying: The only reason for conflict in the Persian Gulf is the presence of the U.S. Navy. If they leave there is no conflict."
xxxviii
Suggesting that Irans support for
Hezbollah and
Hamas in their struggle" against Israeli occupation forces" is only part of a universal Muslim concern for Irans Palestinian brothers sidesteps the issue. Israel maintains control over parts of the former Jordanian West Bank; the former Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip is now under the aegis of the Muslim Brotherhood- associated
Hamas not the State of Israel. Irans belligerent support of
Hamas has already been noted above.
Claiming that Khamenei is mellower than Khomeini isnt saying much; besides the Supreme Leader hasnt issued a
fatwa against the activities of the
Qods Force or against the perpetrators of the
Charlie Hebdo massacre. President Rouhani simply provides Khamenei with convenient window dressing"were still waiting to hear the Supreme Leader say that the massacre was a violation of Islamic law.
And yes the youth of Iran today are very different from their parents who backed the Islamic revolution in 1979 but the youth are not in control of the government nor do they have the guns as was demonstrated so sadly in the failure of the Green Revolution" of 2009.
Dr. Sansabili requests an end to sanctions and respect for legitimate technological needs". A saner approach to his demands would require verifiable inspections upon demand and proof of Irans changed attitude towards its regional neighbors Israel and the United States. As long as the regime refers to one as the Little Satan" and the other as the Great Satan" Iran has not changed its behavior or its attitude to the West. Rewarding it in any way at this point is plain and pure capitulation. Sunset clauses at this point are simply putting an extended-time fuse on an Iranian nuclear bomb. No thanks! And the current proposed treaty doesnt even take up the question of Irans development of ICBMs.
My deduction is that Dr. Salsabili works as an agent for
VEVAK given his essay despite his professed interest in non-proliferation. But whether he is or isnt his conclusions should be rejected completely.
i For a detailed report on
VEVAK see: Federal Research Division Irans Ministry of Intelligence and Security-VEVAK: A Profile"
Library of Congress December 2012
https://fas.org/irp/world/iran/mois-loc.pdf. Additional articles on
VEVAK can be found on the web site of
Americans for Democracy in the Middle-East. See Press Reports" at
www.ADME.ws where the following articles by this author are listed:
Disinformation Campaign in Overdrive: Irans VEVAK in High-Gear"
Global Politician September 4 2007 Irans VEVAK Disinformation Inc."
Global Politician September 17 2006 and Irans Foreign Agents of Disinformation:
More About VEVAK"
Global Politician November 14 2006.
Irans Foreign More About VEVAK
ii Clair Lopez Raymond Tanter et. al. " White Paper--U.S. Policy Options for Iran: Sham Elections Disinformation Campaign Human Rights Abuses and Regime Change"
IPC Iran Policy Committee June 30 2005
http://www.iranpolicy.org/uploadedFiles/ShamElections_RegimeChange_Jun2005.pdf. See p. 7 and the
IPC reports endnotes #1 and #2 on p.23.
iii Ibid. See its endnote # 3.
iv Mansour Salsabili How Iran Became the Middle Easts Moderate Force"
The National Interest March 20 2015
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-iran-became-the-middle-easts-moderate-force-12451.
v Dr. Salsabili is currently a visiting scholar at the MIT Center for International Studies where he conducts research on establishing a WMD-free zone in the Middle East as well as a research associate at Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Governments Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs where he serves as an Associate for the International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/experts/2438/mansour_salsabili.html accessed March 28 2015. See also:
http://www.moderndiplomacy.eu/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=user&id=319:drmansoursalsabili accessed April 5 2015.
vi Mansour Salsabili
op. cit.
vii Riyadh Mohammed How Iran Is Taking Over the Middle East"
The Fiscal Times March 18 2015
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/03/18/How-Iran-Taking-Over-Middle-East.
viii Steve Inskeep Is There Evidence That Yemeni Rebels are Backed By Iran?"
NPR Radio March 27 2015
http://www.npr.org/2015/03/27/395698502/iran-saudi-proxy-war-touches-on-other-issues. See also: Nussaibah Younis The Saudi-Iran powerplay behind the Yemen conflict"
The Guardian March 27 2015
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/29/iran-saudi-arabia-yemen-conflict Brian Bennett and Zaid al-Alayaa Iran-backed rebels loot Yemen files about U.S. spy operations"
Los Angeles Times March 25 2015
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-us-intelligence-yemen-20150325-story.html#page=1 and Bruce Reidel Saudi anguish over Iranian gains" Gulf Pulse
Al-Monitor March 23 2015
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/saudi-iran-border-security-yemen-oman-is-houthi-zaydi.html.
ix Jonathan Masters and Zachary Laub CFR Backgrounders: Hezbollah (a.k.a. Hizbollah Hizbullah)"
Council on Foreign Relations January 3 2014
http://www.cfr.org/lebanon/hezbollah-k-hizbollah-hizbullah/p9155.
x Will Fulton Joseph Holliday and Sam Wyer Iranian Strategy in Syria"
The Institute for the Study of War May 2013
http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/IranianStrategyinSyria-1MAY.pdf.
xi --- Iran confirms military aid to Hamas sending long-range missile technology"
RT News November 21 2012
http://rt.com/news/iran-hamas-aid-missile-256/.
xii Mehrdad Moarefian and Amir Toumaj Iran News Round Up - November 25 2014"
AEI Critical Threats November 25 2015
http://www.criticalthreats.org/iran-news-round-november-25-2014 (See section Official statements: Khamenei hailed the Iranian nuclear negotiations team and reiterated call to arm Palestinian resistance groups" especially bottom of the section presenting statements from the Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei)
xiii Al Arabiya with Agencies Sudan-Iran ties eyed as Israel says Khartoum aids Gaza arms smuggling via Egypt"
Al-Arabia. October 25 2012
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/10/25/245938.html.
xiv Martin Chulov Qassem Suleimani: the Iranian general secretly running Iraq"
The Guardian July 28 2011
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/28/qassem-suleimani-iran-iraq-influence See also: Michael B. Kelley Irans Military Mastermind Is The Leader Of Lebanon Syria Iraq And Yemen"
Business Insider December 5 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/ali-khedery-talks-qassem-suleimani-2014-12.
xv Abdullah al-Thuweini Tehran official: Baghdad is capital of new Persian empire
al-Araby March 10 2015
http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2015/3/10/tehran-official-baghdad-is-capital-of-new-persian-empire.
See also: Jonathan Spyer The Middle East: In the Shadow of the Gunmen"
PJ Media April 4 2015
http://pjmedia.com/blog/shadow-of-the-gunmen/ or
http://www.meforum.org/5161/mideast-shadow-gunmen.
xvi Jonathan Spyer & Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamim How Iraq Became a Proxy of the Islamic Republic of Iran"
The Tower Issue 21 December 2014
http://www.thetower.org/article/how-iraq-became-a-wholly-owned-subsidiary-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/.
xvii See note 10 above.
xviii Ali Khedery Lost in the Middle East"
Politico Magazine August 12 2014
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/5-ways-to-save-the-middle-east-109957.html#.VRiOS-EYGoZ. See especially page 3 Section 5: Identify your enemiesand confront them".
xix Elliot Friedland Fact Sheet: Human Rights in Iran"
The Clarion Project 2014 (?)
http://www.clarionproject.org/sites/default/files/Human20Rights20in20Iran20-20Factsheet.pdf and
David Menashri Reform Versus Radicalism in the Islamic Republic" in
Current Trends in Islamist ideology
Vol. 10 Hudson Institute Washington DC October 18 2010
http://www.hudson.org/content/researchattachments/attachment/1289/menashri.pdf. See especially pp. 67-70.
xx Salsabili
op. cit.. See his second paragraph.
xxiAlastair Jamieson and Ziad Jaber Jordan Tells ISIS That Revenge Airstrikes Are Just The Beginning"
NBC News February 6 2015
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/jordan-tells-isis-revenge-airstrikes-are-just-beginning-n301366. See also: Micah Halpern The Cold War Between Jordan and Syria Heats Up"
New York Observer February 11 2015
http://observer.com/2015/02/are-jordan-and-syria-burning-for-a-fight/.
xxii Sylvia Westall and Raissa Kasolowsky Kurds battle Islamic State in Syria U.S.-led coalition jets strike"
Reuters March 14 2015
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/14/us-mideast-crisis-syria-northeast-idUSKBN0MA0C120150314 and Jane Arraf Kurdish president weighs broader role in Islamic State fight"
PBS March 11 2015
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/kurdish-president-islamic-state-fight/. See also: Dilar Dirik The other Kurds fighting the Islamic State"
Aljazeera September 2 2014
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/09/other-kurds-fighting-islamic-stat-2014928753566705.html and Vivian Salama and Bram Janssen Westerners join Kurds fighting Islamic State group in Iraq"
AP February 4 2015
http://news.yahoo.com/westerners-join-kurds-fighting-islamic-state-group-iraq-070100956.html.
xxiii Jack Moore Tikrit Offensive Stalls Due to Hundreds of ISIS Explosives"
Newsweek March 23 2015
http://www.newsweek.com/iraqi-offensive-tikrit-slows-due-thousands-isis-explosives-316060.
xxiv Luis Martinez and Alexander Mallin Tikrit Offensive: Iranian General Steps Out U.S. Steps In"
ABC News March 26 2015
http://abcnews.go.com/International/tikrit-offensive-iranian-general-steps-us-steps/story?id=29930338.
xxv David D. Kirkpatrick Egypt Launches Airstrike in Libya Against ISIS Branch"
The New York Times February 16 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/world/middleeast/isis-egypt-libya-airstrikes.html?_r=0. See also: Holly Yan Egypts President: Its time for an Arab coalition against ISIS" CNN February 23 2015
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/23/middleeast/isis-crisis/.
xxvi Davud Doud The Rise of the Iranian Empire"
The Tower Magazine Issue 23 February 2015
http://www.thetower.org/article/the-rise-of-the-iranian-empire/.
xxvii See notes 11 and 14 above.
xxviii Eric Parks Iranian Weapons Smuggling Activities in Afghanistan" CENTCOM/Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization 2010 (?)
https://info.publicintelligence.net/JIEDDO-IranWeaponsSmuggling.pdf.
xxix Wikipedia 1998 killing of Iranian diplomats in Afghanistan"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_killing_of_Iranian_diplomats_in_Afghanistan.
xxx Clay Wilson Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan: Effects and Countermeasures"
Congressional Research Service Library of Congress August 28 2007
http://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS22330.pdf.
xxxi Ibid See Report Summary".
xxxii David Wood Iranian Weapons Killing Our Troops in Iraq U.S. Says"
The World Post July 7 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/07/iranian-weapons-iraq-us-troops_n_892399.html.
xxxiii Geoffrey Gresh Coddling the Caucasus: Irans Strategic Relationship with Azerbaijan and Armenia"
Caucasian Review of International Affairs Vol. 1 (1) Winter 2006 pp. 1-13
http://www.cria-online.org/1_1.html.
xxxiv Gallia Lindenstrauss Israel-Azerbaijan: Despite the Constraints a Special Relationship"
INSS Strategic Assessment Volume 17 No. 4 January 2015 pp. 69-79
http://www.inss.org.il/uploadImages/systemFiles/adkan17_4ENG_7_Lindenstrauss.pdf.
xxxv Associated Press at the United Nations Syria discloses four secret chemical weapons facilities UN says"
The Guardian October 7 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/07/syria-secret-chemical-weapons-facilities-un-says.
xxxvi Con Coughlin Teheran secretly trains Chechens to fight in Russia"
The Telegraph November 27 2005
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/1504038/Teheran-secretly-trains-Chechens-to-fight-in-Russia.html.
xxxvii Kenneth Katzman Bahrain: Reform Security and U.S. Policy"
Congressional Research Service February 20 2015
http://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/95-1013.pdf See Summary".
xxxviii David Crist
The Twilight War: The Secret History of Americas Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran The Penguin Press New York 2012 p. 360.
