Tonight’s edition of A Window to the Fatherland will be slightly different from our usual format, as Dr. Mohsen Sazegara will present the program and the guest is Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh.
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
What is your opinion about the US-led attack on Syria?
Dr. Sazegara:
As far as I know the US National Security Advisor John Bolton and President Trump himself supported the idea of hitting 20 targets in Syria which included the bases where the Iranian and Hezbollah forces are stationed, but the Defence Secretary James Mattis had opposed this and at the end they only attacked three targets.
The debate that you started last week touched on the possibility of a war between Iran and Israel in Syria. Although the spokesperson for the US State Department has not yet made any comments about it, it appears that the attack on the Hezbollah positions have been quite serious.
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
An Iranian ambassador was saying on the Al Alam TV that the regime’s ultimate aim is the destruction of the state of Israel.
However, the Israelis have said that they will be the ones who will decide about the time and place of a war with Iran and at this moment of time they are only rejecting the presence of the Iranian forces in the Golan Heights. They seem to be in agreement with US and Europe in targeting the Hezbollah forces at this stage but there is not such agreement in place as yet about Iran.
Dr. Sazegara:
What is your opinion about the proposed dispatch of Saudi Arabian forces to Syria and Egypt?
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
Egypt’s position visa vi Syrian conflict has been one of moderation in tone and has not called for the overthrow of the Syrian regime as they used to face the same enemy. If Egypt dispatches any military force to Syria it will be with the intention of brining some stability to that country.
However, the Saudis had already agreed to pay the cost of the US forces to stay in Syria and the announcement by Donald Trumps that he wants the US forces out of Syria has now forced Riyadh to think of sending its own army into that country.
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
What is your view on the news that Khamenei and Eshagh Jahangiri have decided to close down their account on the messaging app Telegram?
Dr. Sazegara:
The Russians have already blocked Telegram app, but the Iranian regime faces more than 40 million users of this popular app and any attempt to block or filter it will have a major backlash for it.
Instead of trying to respond to the economic and social demands of the Iranian people after the last December uprisings across the country, the regime is trying to block Telegram, as it is simply incapable of addressing the numerous socio-economic problems of the nation.
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
What do you think of the comments of Zahed Hoosh about turning the city of Qum into the Vatican of Islam?
Dr. Sazegara:
In Europe the confiscation of the lands and wealth of the Church led to the curbing of its political power and I am sure the Iranian people will one day do the same to the power of the mullahs in Iran.
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
What do you think of Rouhani’s comments when he said that the Iranian national army has never been implicated in any corruption case?
Dr. Sazegara:
That is true. In addition, the Iranian national army has not been involved in any criminal activity against the Iranian people too. It must be said that Iranian army has no intention or interest in getting involved in the Syrian civil war too. It is a popular and patriotic force and on the side of the Iranian people in any forthcoming change.
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
What do you think about the execution of an Iranian youth while it had been suggested earlier that Khamenei had pardoned him.
Dr. Sazegara:
I do not know if Khamenei had done such thing. However, this regime is made up of several gangs and interest groupings and each one of them has its own rules and I would not be surprised if they ignore Khamenei’s orders too.
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
Do you think the protest movements in Iran have fizzled out, or if they will be coming back in a much bigger size?
Dr. Sazegara:
The fate of this regime will be similar to that of the former Soviet Union. The infighting among the corrupt mafia-type gangs within the establishment and the economic bankruptcy, coupled with the ongoing nationwide protests will decide the fate of this regime.
However, in civil rights movements two factors paly very important roles for their success; one is that the majority of the people come to the conclusion that this regime cannot solve their problems, as they demonstrated during their recent uprisings; and the other factor is that the regime can no longer impose its rule and continue with crackdowns, which in our country is carried out by the Revolutionary Guard.
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
And who would replace this regime in the event of its fall?
Dr. Sazegara:
Some of our friends say that the process of the downfall of the regime has already started and all we need to do now is to unite all our opposition forces to join our people to once forever stamp it out of our country.
Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh:
Stay with us for this edition of A Window to the Fatherland and share it with your family and friends.
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