NCRI – The incident on Sunday, January 6, in the Strait of Hormuz, entry to the Persian Gulf, when the Iranian regime threatened to blow up the American vessels, raised alarm in the world about the threat to peace and security posed by the clerical regime.
"We’re coming at you and you’ll explode in a couple minutes." This was the kind of threat radioed by the Revolutionary Guards sailing the speed boats according to a Pentagon official.
This could have easily escalated to a major conflict in the most sensitive area in the world. But why is the regime provoking such conflicts?
"The Iranian regime, faced with rising public discontent and anti-government demonstrations in Iran is in need of show of force more than ever before. The regime’s strategy since the appointment of Ahmadinejad as its President has been to cover up its weaknesses and isolation at home by creating crises," said Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chair of the NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee. He added,
"This incident shows that the clerical regime is the most urgent threat for peace and stability in the region. So long as this regime is in power in Iran, the threat of war and catastrophe looms on the horizon for the region."
Mohaddessin reiterated that the policy which led to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) exercise in the Strait of Hormuz was outlined by Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of the regime, in a speech in the city of Yazd on January 3.
Khamenei said, "What could reduce the enemy’s danger is your show of force, not your show of weakness. Your show of weakness would embolden the enemy. What could possibly prevent and stop the enemy’s arrogance and despotism is that they would sense that you are strong. If they feel that you are weak, they would do anything they like without any restraint."
Mohaddessin said, "The widespread demonstrations and protests across Iran on the one hand and the fear and lack of morale among IRGC commanders on the other have created a major crisis within the clerical regime. The regime is now desperately trying to hide its weakness."
The incident in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday coincides with the rising repression in the country. In less than ten days into the New Year at least 23 people were hanged many of whom in public according to state-run media in Iran.
The resignation of Yahya Rahim Safavi, the former Commander in Chief of the IRGC, last September highlighted the faltering state of the regime. The IRGC acts as the pillar of the religious dictatorship which dominates, in addition to the whole military structure of the country, the main political decision-making body, Supreme National Security Council, the key economic establishments, repressive apparatus in the country and export of terrorism.
Considering the whole picture with respect to the regime, the threat to the American vessels was nothing but a hollow show of force to raise morale within the regime and justify brutal suppression in the country. It is only a battle for survival on behalf of the regime and this will continue for as long as it remains in power.
