Iran today has two systems of justice, revolutionary-Islamic and ordinary, two or three parallel armies, several legal or para-legal legislatures and a jumble of political and police authorities. What normal country has three former presidents who can’t obtain passports to travel abroad? And dozens of former high officials in jail, plus while an ex-prime minister and a former speaker of parliament under house arrest without charge? Since Rouhani became president, more than 1,700 people have been executed in murky circumstances; dozens of journalists and scores of human-rights activists have been thrown into prison and many newspapers shut down. Some normality. The list of the Islamic Republic’s problems with other countries, including its neighbors, is thicker than the Tehran phone book. A few examples: It has severed diplomatic ties with 22 nations, half of them Muslim-majority countries, and has seen its diplomats expelled from countries as far apart as Argentina and Australia. Directly or via agents, it has seized hostages from some 30 nations, including South Korea and Italy, not to mention America. It has assassinated 117 people in 20 nations, from the Philippines to Turkey to Germany. After 20 years of negotiations, it rejects a legal framework for the Caspian Sea. All other nations on the sea — Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan — have agreed on a formula. Having torn up pre-revolution agreements on sharing border-river waters with Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkmenistan, the Islamic Republic refuses new accords. It has rejected action with Iraq to reopen the Shat al-Arab waterway and allow Basra (in Iraq) and Khorramshahr (in Iran) to resume functioning as major ports. It refuses to implement a pre-revolution agreement with Kuwait on offshore oilfields, threatening military action if “the other side” signs contracts with foreign companies. Establishing normal relations requires compromise and the recognition of other nations’ legitimacy. Yet the Islamic Republic deems no other UN member, including the 56 Muslim-majority countries, truly legitimate. As long as Iran remains a cause, not even “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei can normalize ties with America or anyone else. Even if Rouhani signs something to ease sanctions, it will be an act of makr, aka “tricking the Infidel.” Allah himself is called the best of all tricksters.” nypost/2014/10/09/the-fantasy-of-normal-ties-with-iran/
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 05:08:26 +0000
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