On Iran’s protests, Europe must find its voice

In a new op-ed for The Hill, FDD Senior Iran Analyst Tzvi Kahn criticizes Europe’s subdued response to the Iran protests, noting that it reflects a misunderstanding of Tehran’s true nature. In fact, contrary to the EU’s longstanding belief, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani seeks not to reform the regime but to advance the Islamist agenda of its ultimate decision-maker, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

An excerpt from the op-ed follows.

As protests recently began to consume Iran, European capitals were at a seeming loss for words. After several days of silence, Europe’s leaders issued curt statements of sympathy for the protestors — but with a notable tinge of moral equivocation. A European Union statement and Britain’s foreign secretary separately called on “all concerned to refrain from violence.” Germany’s foreign minister urged “all sides” to abstain from bloodshed. What accounts for Europe’s apparent conflation of victim and oppressor?

Read the full article here.