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A Raw Deal for Iran's Dissidents

(New York Daily News) Saeed Ghasseminejad - Iranian dissidents are increasingly worried that - with the nuclear deal signed and business prospects looming - the West will give Iran a pass on human rights. But now is when the West most urgently needs to support dissidents. Otherwise, a decade from now, when restrictions on Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs are lifted under this deal, the West will confront the same militant and terrorist-sponsoring regime that rules Iran today - now with nuclear arms. Heshmat Tabarzadi, who spent the better part of the last 15 years in prison, wrote that "these days, after the mullahs achieved the agreement they needed, pressure on civil society is increasing." In the last two decades, Tehran has moderated its policies only under pressure; resuming its aggression when that pressure is relieved. Last week, Iran tried to assassinate the leaders of two major Kurd opposition groups and executed a political prisoner convicted of "waging war against God." The bottom line for the West: Abandoning Iranian dissidents to appease Tehran is bad policy. The nuclear deal will not encourage the regime to mend its ways. To the contrary, it feels vindicated in its actions by the flow of dignitaries and foreign delegations coming to Iran to hail the deal. The writer, a former student activist in Iran, is associate fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2015-08-18 00:00:00
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