{"id":1364,"date":"2023-07-13T11:19:48","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T09:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/stanzenjelsma\/?page_id=1364"},"modified":"2023-09-23T14:42:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T12:42:00","slug":"the-long-arm-of-tehran","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/stanzenjelsma\/the-long-arm-of-tehran\/","title":{"rendered":"Tehran’s Influence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A story based on a half-year research<\/a> into: ‘to what extent the current protests in Iran resulted from Western Interventions since the twentieth century’.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Espionage, violence, repression, extortion, intimidation and finally the liquidation of Masoud Molavi Vardanjani,<\/a> an Iranian dissident, who was shot dead on a sidewalk of a street in Istanbul. Tehran’s influence has grown<\/a> enormously <\/a>since the founding of the Islamic Republic. For instance, the Iranian government conducts cyber-attacks with some regularity and is the originator of widespread assassination attempts. In addition, the Iranian regime tries to hack the <\/a>phones<\/a> <\/a>and computers of Iranian activists. The regime also controls internet access in Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During protests, the internet in Iran is frequently <\/a>shut<\/a> down<\/a> to prevent the outside world from seeing how things are going there. As a result, Iranians living abroad rarely have contact with friends and family. VPN networks<\/a> are created by countries worldwide and institutions, including the US State Department, to bypass the regime’s internet control. An Iranian studying in the Netherlands also set up such a VPN network during the protests of late 2022. Due to security reasons, the source remains anonymous: “Since the outbreak of the protests, the regime has made the internet inaccessible. As a result, we are unable to communicate with each other or let the outside world know the seriousness of the situation. I created a VPN from the Netherlands where Iranians in Iran can log in. This allows them to still communicate with each other in a roundabout way and the outside world is informed. In the beginning, a few million Iranians were connected to this VPN network. Unfortunately, the government has made it even more difficult. Together with some friends, I am trying to maintain this network. Currently, about 3.000 Iranians are still connected. It is less than in the beginning, but it all counts”.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The regime has so much power inside and outside Iran. It spreads fear, hatred, and division, but behind the scenes, it is steadily building a network of alliances and international relations. The Revolutionary Guard<\/a> has gained influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Yemen, thanks to the Quds Force,<\/a> the part of the Revolutionary Guard that is mainly active abroad. It supports<\/a> the Shiite majority in Iraq and supplies money and weapons to the, in Western view, terrorist organisations, Hamas and Hezbollah. This is in order to increase its influence <\/a>in the Arab world and to spread the ideas of the Islamic Republic, but also to stand strong against the West and their ‘archenemy’ Saudi Arabia. Although a deal<\/a> was recently made between Iran and Saudi Arabia, through China’s mediation, it still must be seen how Isra\u00ebl will respond. <\/a> Isra\u00ebl, meanwhile, also has friendly relations with Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran’s foreign policy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To gain more influence, Terrorism<\/a> is an important tool of Iranian foreign policy. It is used both to promote national interests and to export the regime’s revolutionary ideals. A study<\/a> that investigated Iran’s foreign and defence policy concluded that the Iranian regime; thus, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Strives to discourage or thwart US or other attempts to invade, intimidate or bring about regime change in Iran,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Uses regional conflicts to pursue a broader goal of overthrowing a Middle East power structure, that it claims, favours the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim regimes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Provides material support to regional allied governments and armed groups, including increasingly precise missile systems that enable Iran to project power,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Supports actions against international shipping in the Persian Gulf and Iraq. In addition, the Iranian regime also has people liquidated who oppose the Islamic Republic’s ideology. Some killings even suggested methodical planning. Including the liquidation of Masoud Molavi Vardanjani, the Iranian dissident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n