That means it’s February 11, the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
FDD senior fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht has an op-ed in Thursday’s New York Times. Among the important points he makes:
A democratic revolution in Tehran could well prove the most momentous Mideastern event since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. . . .
President Obama has nothing to lose by moving away from engaging Ayatollah Khamenei and toward a vigorous engagement with the Iranian people’s quest for popular sovereignty. Rhetoric, sanctions aimed at cutting off Iran’s gasoline imports and intelligent covert aid to dissidents should be harnessed to the democratic cause. . . .
And if the clerical regime cracks, Mr. Obama will get credit. In no other endeavor, foreign or domestic, is the president likely to earn as much.
FDD executive director Mark Dubowitz has a new piece in Foreign Policy in which he argues that
“smart” sanctions are those that can cripple the Iranian energy sector — the lifeblood of the men who rule Iran.
And over at Pajamas Media, FDD freedom scholar Michael Ledeen writes:
I believe that the Iranian regime has assembled the largest armed force in history to protect it from the Iranian people’s righteous indignation on Thursday the 11th. There will be hundreds of thousands of police, revolutionary guards, Basij, and people bused in from the countryside to Tehran.
Additionally, the regime is shutting down communications, especially in Tehran. Iranian Tweeters say internet is largely gone, and cell phones are not working.
Thursday morning in Washington and New York, Claudia Rosett and I will both have more on Iran and its unhappy anniversary.