Overlooked WikiLeak: Iran uprising captured the imagination of Arab populations in the region

Putting aside Wikileaks and its damaging consequences as well as the suspicious ability of a “nobody” to gain access to volumes of heavily guarded classified documents in a short period of time and live to tell about it, the leaked documents about Arab thought regarding the regime in Tehran is quite enlightening.

Obviously, Arab leaders find the Islamic Republic of Iran a threat, because it is a Shiite theocracy with a deep pocketbook committed to completing the Islamic domination of the world by forcefully subduing not only non-Muslims but Sunni Muslims (majority of Arabs).

Therefore, the recent Wikileaks documents stating majority of Arab leaders believe the mullahs in Tehran are dangerous was not news for those knowledgeable of the region. It is also highly possible that the Wikileaks had the blessing of certain officials hoping to green-light an attack on Iran by winning support from a global population under economic duress. Deception, misinformation, disinformation, and lying for national interests are ancient methods made modern and more effective by the digital revolution. Wikileaks’ revelations in that regard are not new, but have succeeded in embarrassing the U.S. government.

There was news via Wikileaks on the Arab people’s view of the Islamic Republic and the national Iranian uprising that began in June 2009. It goes without saying that Arab countries suffer from complete lack of human civil rights in every realm imaginable. The Arab world has an average 55 percent literacy rate — a situation quite attractive to its tyrannical leaders. After all, lack of education and push for fundamentalism are the only way to imprison and control people.

According to the recent Wikileaks documents, the 2009 Iranian national uprising dominated the Arab media. The Arab viewership spiked as the street protests in Iran escalated after its bogus presidential election. The Arab population is highly engrossed “in watching the drama in Iran unfold.” This is a phenomenal since originally the majority of Arabs viewed the Islamic Republic leaders with admiration as opposed to their own corrupt governments assuming as they did that the rhetoric from Tehran was genuine.

The leaked documents reveal that after witnessing “the forceful reaction by the Iranian people” in rejecting the regime in Tehran, the Arab communities appear to have awakened to the realities of the theocracy in Tehran. The Iranian national revolution against the regime has shattered the false image that the Arab people had of the Islamic Republic. Despite their unwavering lack of support for Western policies in the region, the view of ordinary Arabs in the streets now is to question the motivation of the clerics in Tehran and their gross crackdown of Iranian opposition and civilians.

Although the Arab leaders fear the Islamic Republic and urge the West to attack Iran not only to subdue its threatening global Shiite plan, but to encroach on Iranian national interests (for example, their illegal push for changing the ancient name of the Persian Gulf to Arabian Gulf), they are silent about other concerns. Obviously they are also afraid of implications for their countries if the theocracy in Tehran were toppled by the Iranian people!

The people in the region understand that internal corruption and the lack of human civil rights stem from religious bullying supported by their inept and self-serving leaders, who benefit financially from oppressing the masses. Arab terrorist organizations such as Al Qaida fueled by Arab regimes have spread the same fears, injuries, and disgust among the Arab people as the clerics in Tehran have with the Iranian people. If the Iranian people can overcome the clerical regime in Tehran, then perhaps the Arab people can stand up to their unwanted governments as well.

The Arab people are intensely watching the events in Iran unfold, not because they are amused, but because somewhere deep in the human subconscious lies the need for freedom of thought and choice. The Arab people are watching Iranians closely, because the day is coming for them to stand up as the Iranian people have to gain their human civil rights from their own despotic and corrupt governments.

Real and positive change in the region must occur from within those communities and not from the outside. Hence, interest and emotions are shown by the Arab people towards the Iranian national struggle, but not for Western policies in the region.

The Arab governments are no friend to the Western world, because they do not foster the same mentality or culture among their people. Iranians, on the other hand, have a history of tolerance and pursuit of happiness that goes back to their Aryan Zoroastrian philosophy. Prior to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iranians had achieved great political strides in terms of secularism and equality. The fear of the Arab regimes is two-fold: They do not want a powerful Shiite Iranian state in the region, and they do not want the Iranian people to topple this unwanted theocracy and inspire the Arab populations in the process!

According to former Iranian diplomat and president of Azadegan Foundation Dr. Assad Homayoun,

“it would be the height of folly for Arab and Israeli leaders to advocate attack on Iran. It would be calamitous and will catapult the entire region to chaos, bringing harm not only to Iran, the Persian Gulf states, and Israel, but U.S. vital interests too. The least effect would possibly be the rise of oil prices from $300 to $400/barrel. The only solution is the Iranian people, who have shown since 2009 that they are ready, willing, and able to topple the unwanted clerical regime. But they need the support of the international community to electrify them.”

Whatever the unknown motivation or support for Wikileaks may be, its revelations can potentially be helpful to the Arab and Iranian peoples. The regimes may be antagonists, but the peoples may share common desires. The revelations of Wikleaks should also push the American people to support U.S. policymakers, who understand the long-term gains in backing the national revolution of the Iranian people. The benefits of a secular, democratic Iran realized at the hands of the people will have a tsunami effect across the Middle East and Central Asia. It will change the course of history and human civilization as we know it today.

Sheda Vasseghi is a member of the Board of Azadegan Foundation and persepolis3d.com. She is a regular contributor on Iran’s affairs.

This Article published in the Free Press     this is a courtesy copy to the original article.