The Iranian regime’s interest in proxy wars ‘is not a sign of its strength’ but a sign of weakness as the mullahs in Tehran stand on shaky domestic grounds, says Bruce McColm, the president of the Institute for Democratic Strategies.
Mr. McColm who in the past has been executive director of Freedom House wrote in The Hill: “In recent years and in the absence of material involvement of the United States in the region, Iran has grabbed the opportunity to fill the power vacuum. The result was an aggrandized picture of Iran’s regional power.”
“The most important reason for the mullahs’ destructive regional policies is that they suffer from serious internal instability. These proxies help the mullahs to conceal their internal instability and regional isolation.”
“In spite of the unimaginable levels of suppressive measures, the Iranian people have shown their dissent whenever they have had a chance to do so. For example, many public gatherings- such as celebrations for a sports victory, religious gatherings, or disputes over the result of an election – quickly turn into protests against the mullahs’ regime. That is why the mullahs are terrified of crowds gathering for any reason on the streets, especially in big cities.”
“At the domestic level, and faced with the rising popular opposition to the dictatorship, the mullahs need a show of extra-territorial power which could easily be materialized through funding and support of terrorist groups. The ultimate goal at the domestic level is a social psychology measure to dishearten a dissident majority.”
Mr. McColm writes “Iran’s vested interest in proxy wars is not a sign of its strength. To the contrary, the regime is extremely vulnerable to any military involvement because the mullahs stand on shaky domestic grounds. The United States needs to consider the mullahs’ internal instability in developing its Iran policy, especially on the nuclear issue. It should stand with the Iranian people in their struggle to topple the current dictatorship and replace it with a democratic, non-nuclear and secular republic.”