Israel Matzav: Iranian revolutionaries disappointed with Obama

Iranian revolutionaries disappointed with Obama

There's a fascinating interview with an Iranian revolutionary in the Washington Independent, which includes a couple of videos, and I urge you all to read it. I just want to highlight something at the end.

Ackerman: My last few questions are about the outside world. What do you want from the U.S.? What are you looking to see? Some are saying that the U.S. & its allies could place sanctions on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps; others are afraid that even those sanctions would hurt the Iranian people. What do you think?

Mr. A: It is a hard question. We are amazed by Obama’s actions. He talks of democracy, yet he sends a letter to Khamanei and wants to talk to this government.

Ackerman: So you’re disappointed by Obama’s actions?

Mr. A: Up to now, yes. But we hope that like 1978, when the democrats took power [in Iran after the fall of the Shah], the revolution succeeded. This time, it [will] happen again by persuading Russia and China not to support this regime. They still feel they will control the situation, but when Russia and China turns agains them, they’re going to think of backing off a little

Ackerman: What do you think about sanctions? My sources in the Obama administration say that they’re not having any luck talking to Iran and so now are trying to get the international community, including the United Nations, to support sanctions, particularly sanctions targeting the IRGC?

Mr. A: It is a very good move, provided that the people [aren't] affected very much by these sanctions. It’s already hard for us to send and receive packages lately, for instance. Another thing is that there have been so many arrests. Civil rights are the last thing [the regime] cares about. So besides sanctions, we need international pressures to prevent numerous arrests everyday.

Ackerman: Last question. What’s the most important message you want the outside world to know about the Green movement? Or about Iran and the regime?

Mr. A: Please help us make our democracy.

Ackerman: What do we need to do?

Mr. A: Spread the word, so your governments don’t negotiate any deal with this regime.

The revolutionaries favor sanctions, although they'd rather not be affected by them. There's no discussion here of the nuclear program (it doesn't even come up) and no mention of Israel. Are we taking it on blind faith that the Greens won't turn around and develop a nuclear weapon?

My gut feeling is that the man in the street would drop the nuclear program, but the
leadership would not. We've heard a lot lately that the revolution has gone beyond its leadership. Is that true?

Israel Matzav: Iranian revolutionaries disappointed with Obama