“Standing up to the Hypocritical Canadian Officials Who Supported the Iran Deal”
Unlike many Iranians abroad, I do not travel back and forth to Iran, do not do business with the Islamic Republic, and do not hold a valid Iranian passport. As such, I have no vested interest in the survival of this cancerous regime.
I am a Canadian with an Iranian heritage, not an Iranian with a Canadian passport living in Canada merely as a “guest”. I wish to cut off the hands of the Islamic Republic agents and into Canada and do not promote or defend the Islamic Republic’s policy or ideology. My loyalty is to Canada not to an antiquated regime governed under seventh century medieval laws. I stand on guard for Canada while speaking out against human rights violations and terrorism by the Islamic Republic.
New sanctions by the White House against the occupying regime in Iran, and broadening them, including much larger chunks of the Iranian economy linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), will help weaken the Islamic regime inside and destabilize the regime’s power in the region.
Not long ago, Canada’s Liberal Senators and PM Trudeau’s appointed Senators opposed Bill S-219, Non-Nuclear sanctions against the Islamic Republic in Iran, which was only about sanctions and monitoring Iran regime’s malign activities. In a letter to Senate Canada, I had invited them to watch this video by Dennis Prager that answers 5+1’s Iran Nuke deal’s biggest questions: Was the agreement a good or bad deal? Would it make it harder or easier for Iran to develop nuclear weapons? Would it make Iran and its terror proxies stronger or weaker?
Sadly, the government of Canada removed sanctions against the Iran regime and still plans to have diplomatic relations with a regime with a covert terrorist agenda.
Then and today, many in Iran including, Zoroastrians, Sunni Muslims, Bahai’s, Christians, Jews, Atheists, LGBT, Ethnic Minorities, Journalists, Poets, Rights Activists and especially women, are still facing these horrors, imprisoned for speaking out, or attempting to live in a manner against Iranian Islamic tyranny and ideology. They are systematically raped and murdered by those who are full of darkness and lost in a dogmatic and barbaric way of life.
In my opinion, politicians who support this criminal regime and enforce relaxing of the sanctions, inadvertently have their hands in the blood of hundreds of thousands of Iranians who have been executed, murdered, imprisoned, tortured, and raped.
Still now, even abroad, political dissidents such as myself, are threatened all over the world by this criminal regime, which thanks to the former US President’s controversial ” Iran NUKE DEAL”, is gaining greater strength and plotting world jihad and our demise. I cannot emphasize enough about The Leading State Sponsor of Terrorism, a reality seemingly denied by the former Obama U.S. administration.
The Islamic Republic, via the leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) threatens to assassinate Iranian political dissidents and anyone who is a threat to them. Brigadier General Hossein Salami, Iran’s deputy commander of IRGC, stated that Islamic Republic in Iran would place their fighters in America and other western nations and kill all political dissidents and enemies abroad.
“We warn the enemies of Islamic Republic of Iran: Do not make this mistake again as the revolutionary forces will chase them and kill them anywhere in the world. For chasing our enemies, we do not have any limit or red line and our armed forces have proved this in the last few years.”
I have frequently asked the Liberal government of Canada whose motto is only opening Canada’s doors to refugees and those who escape poverty, why is Canada planning to have diplomatic ties with Iran; their politically immune Iranian diplomats could easily terrorize the Iranian dissidents?
This matter is of great urgency for me, my fellow dissidents, and for all citizens living in North America! The bullied today can easily become you tomorrow. You don’t want to know the immorality of their intimidation.
Instead of adding the IRGC and the Supreme Leader’s financial empire to the sanction list, and strongly enforcing those sanctions, the Liberal Government of Canada betrayed her only neighbor and great ally by removing sanctions against the Iran regime and providing $100 million in finance for a deal between Montreal-based multinational aerospace and transportation company,Bombardier Inc., and Iran’s Qeshm Free Zone Organization, an IRGC corporate.
The problem right now on the issue of sanctions and economic engagement is that Canada is engaging with an incredibly corrupt regime — a regime that controls the wealth of Iran-Canada should have developed a comprehensive order of sanctions against those Iranian officials who have violated the human rights of the Iranian people over the last four decades. Since Iran’s ballistic missile program is a threat in the region and to the whole earth, we, the Iranian dissidents encourage Canada and the USA to form an international coalition to pressure and force the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease its pursuit of long-range ballistic missiles.
North American Coalition must confront the IRGC’s malicious behavior in the region, on all fronts, and by every means possible and available. The majority of Iranians no longer support the regime and we desire Canada to support the pro-democracy Iranians whose goal is to replace the Khomeinist regime of Tehran with a secular and democratic government.
The time is now for Canada and EU to stand with the United States and support the plight of Iranian people instead of holding secret discussions with the terrorist, corrupt and theocratic regime in Iran.
Note: In the wake of Canadian politicians reaching out to the Islamic Republic of Iran, there was a worrisome meeting organized by the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iran-Canada Business Council in Montreal on March 28, 2017. Mehdi Karbassian, Iran’s deputy minister and a member of IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps), was invited as the Canadian group’s “honorary” guest to speak at their Iran Focused Forum in Montreal.
The goal of the meeting was to promote Canadian investment in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a totalitarian dictatorship that systematically oppresses their people and commits massive human rights violations, and terrorist activities across the Middle East and region.
For me, as a Canadian of Iranian origin, this was not an innocent meeting on business opportunities, but rather was part of a larger trend of Iranian infiltration into Canada that seeks to empower the Islamic Republic in North America at the expense of members of the Iranian diaspora who speak out against the regime. They seek to empower the Iran lobby by presenting the Islamic Republic merely as another country to do business with and to silence us for being opposed to giving funds to a totalitarian dictatorship.
According to a report in Canada Israel Jewish News, this development comes after Canadian Liberal MP Majid Jowhari met with Iranian parliamentarians in order to discuss advancing Iranian-Canadian relations. Canadian MP Majid Jowhari met with Iranian MP’s Alim Yarmohammadi, Yonathan Betkolia, Mehrdad Lahooti, and Ali Bahraini. According to the report, the Iranian delegation was in Canada to meet with officials at the International Civil Aviation Organization, which is headquartered in Montreal.
Photos on Lahooti’s Instagram account showed they also visited the International Air Transport Association and CAE Inc., a Montreal company that specializes in aviation, defense and security training and flight simulation products, which is all trade that helps to empower Iranian aggression across the Middle East. The meeting came after Montreal’s mayor and former Liberal MP Denis Coderre visited Iran in order to meet with Tehran’s mayor. Tehran’s Mayor Bagher Galibaf is an infamous IRCG member and he made some secret deals with Coderre.
Karbassian has been traveling across the world promoting the economic interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He succeeded to get Russia, India, and Italy to invest in the Iranian mining industry, which is another type of investment that helps to encourage Iranian aggression in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. Now, he possibly wants Canada to follow in their footsteps. These investments help to empower the regime by ensuring that they have the funds to stay in power and implement their terrorist agenda domestically, in the Middle East, and across the world. For this reason, I opposed this development and stood against this meeting in Montreal.
The tragedy of indulging the current Iranian government with a Canadian relationship has nothing to do with Canada’s stance on the death penalty for criminals. No, it’s far more dire! This issue at hand is the massacre of Iran’s innocent citizens–by the very government with which the Liberal Government of Canada plans to open a dialogue–for nothing more than ideological non-compliance.
Imagine a country where its citizens are ruled not by freedoms and the equality of secular laws, but by twisted interpretations of a patriarchal theocracy. What is the benefit to Canada in trying to understand a political regime that views tolerance as weakness, and kindness as surrender?
Iran has not demonstrated respect for the UN. Curiously, they seem to look at the international community like a tormentor would look at naive children, placating their worries with their patronizing platitudes, understanding that there will be no repercussions or accountability attached to their future behavior. And, understandably so, Iran doesn’t fear Canada’s anger or shunning. They (rightfully) know that Canadians place a higher regard on “niceness” than on “justice” or “integrity”. Who can blame their high-handed approach and their eagerness to “own” us, given their Situation Analysis on our current government mindsets?
I asked these questions during the Iran related initiative on Bill S-219, Sanctions against the Islamic republic:
1. Would the Islamic Republic in Iran permit Christians to build Churches in Iran, stop imprisoning converts from Islam, allow Sunnis to build mosques in Tehran, allow Jews to build synagogues there, and leave the Baha’is alone to peacefully bury their dead, to worship according to their faith, to continue their education in universities, and to freely have their businesses running; all without political or social repercussions?
2. Would the Islamic Republic in Iran allow women to have equality with men and choose to wear the hijab (or not) instead of wearing a state forced hijab, without political or social repercussions, and allow women to watch games live at the Stadiums?
These are merely litmus-test questions to determine whether Iran is acting in good faith. A negative answer to either question lets you know their true colors and feelings towards even the most basic of human rights, and that they are merely toying with “gullible” Canada.
Iran’s current President, Hassan Rouhani, dubbed the Nuke deal “evident victory”. This was no accident of speech. The deal, said Rouhani, was “the greatest diplomatic victory in Islamic history.” Not just Iranian history, but Islamic history.” Why would Canada want to be publicly seen as condoning that? Canada is a country, not a religion.
It’s certainly disturbing for peaceful Canadians to learn that Iran’s terrorist leader Ali Khamenei’s followers pray for “Death to “arrogant” America and Death to Israel!” That is extremely offensive to North Americans and to our vibrant and diverse Jewish communities. How unsettling that the Canadian government wants to ignore this kind of racial intolerance to the Jewish religion and to the Christian religion! They don’t support freedom of religion. Why would Canada want to condone that?
When Khamenei jubilantly crowed about the nuclear agreement, he stated unapologetically that the U.S. and its allies had been “forced to accept and stand the spinning of thousands of centrifuges and continuation of research and development in Iran, and it has no meaning but the Iranian nation’s might.” This should terrify Canada, not entice her, to want to reopen the conversation for a relationship!
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s position is offensive and oppressive to women and girls, to ethnic minorities, to Jews, to North American free society, and to our biggest allies and protectors, the US. Canada should rethink this foray into a dangerous and intolerant relationship.
To cap things off, the Iran regime’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei advertises Iran’s terror support. “Hezbollah and its pious youth,” he told the Union of Islamic Pupils’ Associations, “are shining like the Sun and they are a source of honour for the Muslim world.” All this when Tehran should be on its best behaviour, if only to advance its sanctions-busting, militarist objectives. Nor has Canada been spared the ayatollahs’ untoward attentions.
Due to Canada’s weak immigration vetting system, the Islamic Republic in Iran has been very successful in infiltrating Canada and advocating for its survival from our Canadian soil. In the years to come, the government of Canada can NEVER say they were not warned about anti-Canadian activities funded by the Islamic Republic in Iran through the so called ‘reformists” apologists. How appeasing these Iranian pro-nuclear and pro-terror mouthpieces benefits Canadians remains a puzzle to me and my fellow dissenters.
“The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose and it will defend itself.” St. Augustine
