A Message for Mike Pompeo
How the former Secretary of State has discredited himself among the Iranian people
Iran has erupted in protest once more. The media tends to focus on the socioeconomic causes of Iranian protests, obscuring the ground reality that Iranian people are protesting because they hate living under a brutal tyranny which has been in power for 43 years. Furthermore, the chants in these protests as usual are pro-Pahlavi, once more underlining the unrivalled popularity of Reza Pahlavi as the only unifying national leader.
None of this, however, mattered to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. For the third time in nearly a year, he’s addressed the sinister political cult Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK). Only this time he went even further, visiting the cult’s concentration camp in Albania and photographed with cult leader Maryam Rajavi. Of course, Pompeo likely isn’t aware that prisoners have more rights than those living under the rule of the MEK, who also haven’t disclosed the fate of Massoud Rajavi either.
I’ve gone through this a couple of times on my blog, but the need to do this in a time like this is as great as ever. The Iranian people need the support of all freedom-loving people around the world, and making irresponsible choices is unforgivable. Above all else it is unforgivable for a person of the standing of Mike Pompeo to do this. As a CIA man and Secretary of State, he surely would be aware of what Iranians think and the situation on the ground.
In fact, what Pompeo has done is unforgivable because of the magnitude of stupidity involved to accept anything from this sinister cult, in face of all available evidence of its sinister nature, crimes and extreme unpopularity among Iranians globally. The fact that they have no support inside Iran and have had no role in the current uprising, the fact that they are despised by all Iranian opposition movements. Politicians need to take into account the following:
The sentiments of Iranian-Americans and the wider Diaspora
The unrivalled popularity of Reza Pahlavi and the desire of Iranians to return to constitutionalism once the regime is overthrown
Testimonies from defectors from the MEK documenting with consistency its abusive cult practices
The RAND Corporation paper outlining much of what has been discussed here
For Pompeo especially, there’s also this. Iranian-Americans I know tend to vote Republican. They do so for historical and current reasons, which need no explaining to my readers here. Pompeo may be a viable candidate in the 2024 elections for whatever office he may choose to run for, or perhaps be appointed to a foreign policy role in a future Republican administration (there’s a realistic chance of the GOP regaining the presidency then). To alienate voters this way would have to come at a political cost not only for him, but anyone else stupid enough to do this.
I yield to nobody in my championing the real struggle of the Iranian people. I urge you all to support them, and to recognise Reza Pahlavi as the only one who can lead them. I also urge prominent people to meet with Reza Pahlavi and the many venerable patriotic activists I know. Because that’s the only honourable thing to do here.
Thank you for letting world know the truth about oppressed Iranian people who have fought for freedom in past 4 decades.