There has never been a day when I have wholeheartedly agreed with Hillary Clinton, until now.
Last week, when Secretary Clinton declared that Iran is moving towards a military dictatorship, I offered her a reserved round of applause. Iran, a long-standing theocracy, has taken bold moves to create a military dictatorship.
Over the past few years, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has created increasingly militaristic policies throughout the nation. These reforms have occurred on both militaristic and social levels.
In the Iranian government, the Grand Ayatollah is traditionally the figurehead of the government and holds the majority of power. President Ahmadinejad has increased his power (consequently reducing the Ayatollah’s power) over the past few years.
This shift in power undermines even the name of the country, the Islamic Republic of Iran, where the religious figurehead traditionally allocates power. Although Ahmadinejad may advocate religious doctrine, his inherent position represents the head of the political government.
“We see that the government of Iran, the Supreme leader [Grand Ayatollah], the president, the parliament is being supplanted and that Iran is moving towards a military dictatorship,” argued Clinton.
Put briefly, the Obama administration suspects the Revolutionary Guard of Iran to be “supplanting the government,” according to the Washington Post. Certainly President Ahmadinejad’s policies over the past few years have attempted to maximize his power while reducing the Grand Ayatollah’s.
These developments surface at a decisive point in Iran’s social stability. The leading opposition movement has continued to spark social unrest throughout the country. Protests and demonstrations have been held not only throughout the country, but also centralized in Tehran. Now more than ever is the time to reach out to these protestors, who support a legitimate cause.
There has been a strong dissent over this issue throughout Ahmadinejad’s government. In fact, many bloggers and some media resources have reported Iran’s flag color has changed from red, white, and green to red, white, and blue, according to a New York Times blog “The Ledge.”
Recent pictures of Ahmadinejad confirm this declaration. Green represents the Iranian opposition movement, and the Iranian government is trying to suppress the opposition in every possible outlet.
I would like to emphasize one particular point: This is an action of the political government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Grand Ayatollah did not commence this national symbol change.
This is just another strong indication that Iran is moving from a theocracy to a military dictatorship. No, this is not meant to be an outcry; rather, it represents a theoretical, logical, and current events-based declaration.
On the military side, Iran continues to pursue antiballistic missiles and their quest for nuclear weapons. According to a recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran may be closer than realized to developing viable nuclear weapons.
Some of the specifics of the report are as follows: “Iran has successfully enriched a small amount of its low enriched uranium up to 20 percent, Iran continues to enrich [uranium] at a steady pace, and the total amount of its enriched versus non-enriched uranium stands at 3.5 percent,” according to Foreign Policy.
Successful nuclear weapons require enriched uranium at roughly 35 percent enrichment. However, if Iran compacts enough of its 20 percent enriched uranium into a bomb, they could still achieve their nuclear dream with ease.
So what can be done? End dialogue with Tehran. Establish hard-line sanctions throughout the international community against Iran. On that same note, boycott Iranian oil- if they have no funds, they cannot finance nuclear programs. Lastly, reach out to the opposition, because they are the only hope of future prosperity in the desolated country.
