The truth behind the bomb discoveries & terrorists arrested in Tehran

July 2016

Recently Iran on a number of occasions announced the discovery of ready-to-explode bombs in Tehran and arrested a number of individuals in this regard. These reports were provided in a very vague nature, saying the details would be delivered at a later time. However, no details were ever provided. On June 29^th an airplane was ground in Tehran airport and passengers were departed as authorities cited a possible bombing plot. The plane was allowed to take off after all the cargo was inspected.

In a few other cases throughout the month of June Iran announced a number of ISIS members intending to infiltrate deep into Iran were arrested.

What was the truth behind the arrest of these ISIS members or terrorists, or the bomb discoveries? Why has ISIS never carried out an attack in Iran despite Tehran launching attacks against ISIS in Syria and Iraq? Are Iran’s security forces that strong that ISIS has no means to carry out attacks in Iran? Or is the truth something completely different?

Recently the Iranian people have been voicing their dissent regarding their involvement in Syria and Iraq, arguing they themselves are living in poverty and the regime is spending too much money in the wars in Syria and Iraq. Tehran argues it’s meddling in Syria and Iraq is necessary based on the fact that if they don’t fight in these countries they will be forced to fight in Tehran. It appears this argument no longer convinces the Iranian people.

The Iranian people are tired of sleeping hungry at nights while their country’s wealth and money is being wasted in the wars of Syria, Iraq and other countries. Major dissent is brewing in this regard.

Iran has adopted a new method to resolve this issue by announcing the arrest of terrorist elements intending to detonate bombs in Tehran and other major cities, creating a climate of fear in Tehran and therefore justifying its involvement in other countries in its so-called war against terrorism. In other words, all these arrests and bomb discoveries are fabricated scenarios aimed at resolving domestic issues and quell any possible popular protests.

Another accusation raised constantly against Iran these years is why is ISIS staging attacks in various countries including Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Turkey, yet there has yet to be a single attack in Iran?

The reason is quite clear. Iran, Syria and former Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki are the true founders of ISIS, and during these years Iran has not only refused to take any serious measure against ISIS, in fact all of its measures are in line with facilitating the expansion of ISIS. This group feels no threat from Iran, and in other words Iran is considered the Godfather of ISIS. This is exactly why to this day Iran has yet to witness any ISIS attack on its soil.

To shed more light on this issue the following is a short summary of the formation of ISIS in Syria and Iraq:

The Iranian regime carried out a very comprehensive plan in the first three months of the Syria civil war to save Assad from ultimate defeat: it allowed ISIS and al-Qaeda to literally roam free on Syrian soil. In this regard around 2,500 extremist al-Qaeda and Islamist prisoners in Assad’s prisons were released and they were indirectly provided with arms. The tactic used by the Quds Force in Syria was that these ISIS and al-Qaeda extremist would receive messages to attack a base. When a small number of these elements would attack Assad troops would evacuate the base and place it at their disposal, therefore providing a large amount of weapons and ammunition in their hands. With al-Qaeda and ISIS never knowing the Iranian regime and Assad were providing them with arms.

These extremist forces were strengthened to a point that the US and Europe came to believe if Assad was overthrown ISIS and al-Qaeda would come to power in this country. Therefore they overhauled the moderate Syrian opposition “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) and the war was practically turned into a fight against ISIS and al-Qaeda, pitting Islamic extremists against Syrian government. Finally they made the US believe if Assad is overthrown ISIS and al-Qaeda will come to power.

Obama, who had designated Assad’s use of chemical weapons as a red line to stage airstrikes against Bashar Assad, reached this conclusion after seeing ISIS and al-Qaeda gaining strength that any airstrikes against ISIS will play in favor of ISIS and al-Qaeda. Therefore, despite the fact that Assad had used chemical weapons and crossed his red line, Obama took no action at all. Therefore, as a result of the cooperation between the Iranian regime, Assad and the US, the moderate Syrian opposition lost the chance of overthrowing Assad, and moreover ISIS and al-Qaeda gained hegemony on the ground. Down the road ISIS gained the upper hand against the al-Nusra Front and the FSA.

In further developments in Iraq, while receiving his orders from Iran’s Quds Force, Maliki began his crackdown against Sunni provinces and staging waves of arrests and killings. Thus, he practically forced the peaceful revolutionary tribes into an armed movement and the main beneficiary was ISIS, being able to take advantage of the lack of organization amongst the tribes and recruiting their forces.

Due to its organizational power ISIS was able to recruit the tribal forces and quickly re-establish its hierarchy despite the fact that their numbers in Iraq were very limited. However, in the fall of Mosul in 2014, where the main fighting was conducted by the revolutionary tribes, ISIS was able to implement its hegemony and through its criminal measures it placed everyone under its own dominance. As a result, in a very short period the tribes who had lost all hope in Maliki’s government saw their only refuge in ISIS and were easily recruited.ISIS gained major control over the Sunni provinces of Neinawa, Anbar, Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahadin. Therefore, after Syria the Quds Force in Iraq effectively took the moderate opposition out of the equation and left ISIS alone on the ground. This left The US forced to accept Shiite militants in the fight

Conclusion: The term “ISIS: Made by Iranian regime & Maliki, with US cooperation” finds its place and meaning. Unfortunately, I must say that Mr. Obama and experienced American politicians suffered a severe setback from the Iranian regime and currently the US has entered the war against ISIS that has no prospect in sight. Now we understand the exact reason why Obama says there is no strategy in the war against ISIS.

Considering the above explanations, on one hand the main reason ISIS is not carrying out attacks in Iran, while the regime continuously claims of being at war with this group, becomes ever clearer. On the other hand, we understand the logic behind the claims raised by Tehran these days regarding the arrests and discovering bombs. Unfortunately on June 29^th U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Iran’s presence in Iraq in the war against ISIS is helpful. These remarks seem to be aimed at maintaining Iran in consent after not gaining anything from the nuclear agreement signed with the international community.

In the midst of anti-ISIS operations staged in Iraq’s Sunni areas, Iran-backed Shiite groups in Iraq, along with their Quds Force advisors, are committing horrific crimes against the residents of liberated cities. This is the exact will of the Iranian regime as it pushes the Sunni community towards ISIS to avenge the crimes committed by ISIS. This also plays into the hands of ISIS.