Ghosts of Iranian Terror Past & Future
By Aaron Mannes
Last week I posted about the AMIA bombing and what it tells us about the Iranian regime.
I write often about AMIA because it is the starkest example of Iranian international terror. Iran and Hezbollah reached around the world and murdered Jewish civilians - strictly because they are Jews. This is the epitome of terrorism, even more than the Marine Barracks bombing or even the many Iranian-backed Embassy bombings (these may better be understood as acts of war - and should have been treated as such.)
But as I wrote recently on my blog The TerrorWonk:
Ghosts of Iranian Terror Past
The Buenos Aires bombings were a particularly bloody and long-range operation but it was not, an isolated instance of Iran combining diplomacy and terror. Hezbollah was founded by the Iranian Ambassador to Damascus, Ali Akbar Mohtashemi (google “Father of Hezbollah” and his name is the most frequent.) In 1985-6 a series of bombs in Paris were linked to the Iranian Embassy. When French authorities tried to question Wahid Gordji, a translator at the Iranian Embassy in Paris an armed standoff ensued (ultimately Gordji was questioned briefly and then permitted to flee to Iran.)
To read the full post describing some of Iran's past international terror activity.
Iranian international terrorism may not be completely relegated to the past, unfortunately - as I discussed in this post:
Ghosts of Iranian Terror Future
Although there are signs that Iran is tamping down violence in Iraq there are also worrying signs that Iran is ramping up for another round of international terror. Israeli intelligence has noted that Iranian Embassies are in Venezuela and Nicaragua have over 30 staffers each - far out of proportion to the scale of relations between these countries - and is expanding its diplomatic presence throughout the region. The Iranian presence in Nicaragua has become so extensive that Iran’s Ambassador in Managua actually gave an interview denying there were any Pasdaran in Nicaragua (a sure sign that they are in fact there.) There have also been a number of incidents in the United States with the Iranian mission at the UN. Every country uses its Embassy for a bit of espionage. But the Iranian tradition far exceeds the norm. Considering the long involvement of Iranian diplomats with terrorism, US military claims of Iranian diplomats engaged in inappropriate activities in Iraq should be given some credence.
Click here to read the complete post.
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