In an article on the Saudi news website Elaph, Kurdish journalist Nizar Jaff accused the Iranian leaders of hypocrisy, saying that they shed crocodile tears over the war in Gaza and deny having any hand in it, when the fact is that they are the force behind Hamas in Gaza, behind Hizbullah in Lebanon and behind the militias in Iraq. Iran, he adds, started the war in Gaza in order to draw attention away from the popular protests within its own borders, while playing on the religious sentiments of the people in the region. These people must understand that the solution to their problems lies in opposing the Iranian regime and overthrowing it, he concluded.
Nizar Jaff (Image: Alyoum8.net)
The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
"The leaders of the Iranian regime have placed themselves in a difficult and complicated position, which is like a red-hot furnace. At the same time, the Western countries have also placed themselves in a difficult [situation by taking] the dubious and vague position of trying to appease the Iranian regime and aligning with it on the war in Gaza, even though there is plenty of testimony and proof that Tehran is involved [in this war].
"Between these two infuriating positions, [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei and [President Ebrahim] Raisi shed crocodile tears, and the Western capitals issue statements of solidarity [with Gaza], saying that the situation must be addressed but taking no clear and open stance that explicitly clarifies that the Iranian regime is the one that ignited the fires of this war. [Nor do they clarify that] there is no choice but to address the issue and contend with it precisely from this perspective.
"Anyone who follows the statements and positions of the leaders of the Iranian regime about the war in Gaza finds that they are riddled with contradictions and display open hypocrisy of every kind. This is especially conspicuous when they stress that the Iranian regime has nothing to do with the deliberate attacks on the American bases in the region, which were perpetrated by the proxies of this regime. The one pulling the strings of these proxies is the Iranian regime itself.
"We do not know who the leaders of the Iranian regime think they are fooling with this false claim. Do they expect us to believe that Hizbullah has a will of its own and that its decisions are independent, when its secretary-general, [Hassan Nasrallah himself], has described himself as a soldier of Khamenei and when all the means at his disposal were donated by Iran? [Do they expect us] to believe that the Iraqi Badr militia [is independent] when its commander, Hadi Al-Ameri, took part in tours and attacks against the Iraqi Forces [in the Saddam Hussein era] and is on the payroll of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, etc., etc., and there is plenty of more proof and examples. Do they expect us to believe this regime [when it claims] that it does not arm its proxies and use them as agents to carry out its decisions and orders?
"Gaza is being destroyed, and, due to their involvement in this, the leaders of the Iranian regime appear sometimes as peace-lovers, as saints who weep over what is happening and call for an immediate ceasefire, and at other times as rapacious birds of prey that issue warnings and threaten to employ their proxies – the same ones they claim are independent and are sovereign in deciding whether to take part in this war or not. But the truth, which the mullahs of Tehran are surely well aware of, is that what [the famous Syrian poet] Nizar Qabbani wrote – 'he who starts a fire extinguishes it' – is not really the case. [The truth is] that he who starts a fire will be consumed by it or at least will sustain some burns. This is what prevents the Iranian mullahs and their proxies from taking the initiative and [officially] joining this war. They know that the outcome will certainly not be in their favor.
"I do not know how long the Muslim street, and especially the Shi'ite street, will continue to be deceived by the flagrant hypocrisy of the Iranian regime. This regime was and is pursuing a specific agenda, which exploits the religion and the [Shi'ite] sect to attain goals and objectives, and especially to save [Iran] from own its deep crisis, from the domestic anger [against the regime] and the popular Iranian resistance [against it] that has reached a climax, in particular after the latest uprising that lasted months and pushed the regime into a very tight corner. This regime is certainly willing to bet on anything, including on its proxies, in order to ensure its survival…
"The method of the Iranian regime – [a method] of distracting the peoples of the region, especially by playing on religious and sectarian sentiment and even using the herd mentality – is the method that was used by the Europeans in the 20s and 30s of the previous century. This method is gone for good. But when will the peoples of the region recognize this truth, and realize that the root and the source of their current unresolvable problems is the hypocritical conduct of the hypocritical regime in Tehran? [When will they realize that] the only solution to this is to contend with this regime and replace it by backing and supporting the Iranian people's legitimate struggle for freedom and change[?] Any other solution is just jumping from the scorching sand into the fire."
[1] Elaph.com, November 1, 2023.
