How Iran Uses Terrorism As an Economic Tool Essay

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Terrorism in Iran: Fighting or Helping?Today, the 90 million-plus people of Iran are confronted with a critically important juncture in their nation’s lengthy history which will have profound implications for them and the rest of the world well into the future. The adverse impacts of longstanding crippling economic sanctions by the United States combined with the growing perception by many members of the international community that Iranian leaders have militaristic ambitions in the region and beyond have created a situation wherein foreign investors are reluctant to actively engage with Iran at present (Iran economy, 2021). Against this backdrop, the Iranian people are also confronted with the harsh reality that their country, the birthplace of human civilization, is also home to several international terrorist organizations that threaten the stability of the region and may even precipitate another world war. The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of the current state of terrorism in Iran and an analysis of the Iranian government’s response to these extremist organizations. Finally, an assessment concerning the success of the Iranian government’s response is followed by a summary of the research and key findings concerning these issues and their implications for the future in the conclusion.The current state of terrorismAlthough it was not officially involved with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Iran has been singled out among many Middle Eastern nations as being the source of regional and international terrorism by the American public. This attribution is due in large part to the characterization of Iran as being one of the three pillars of the so-called “Axis of Evil” (with Iraq and North Korea being the others) by the U.S. President George W. Bush in 2002 during his State of the Union Address. Since that time, the United States has been actively involved in shooting wars in the Persian Gulf states and fears of Iran developing a nuclear weapon remain high throughout the West in general and the United States and Israel in particular.Indeed, for far too many Americans, the name “Iran” immediately conjures up visions of turbaned, wild-eyed terrorists who are bent on destroying the United States and its interests at home and abroad, but this is certainly not the case with the vast majority of the freedom-loving Iranian people. There are some violent extremist actors in Iran, however, that have contributed to this misguided image in the United States and much of the international community. At present, the primary terrorist organizations that are operating in Iran include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force, the Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah) and the Kurdistan Workers\' Party; al-Qa’ida (Iran terrorism, 2021) as well as providing safe having for actors from Hezbollah and Hamas (Malakoutikhah, 2020). In addition, the U.S. State Department charges that Iran has sponsored terrorist cells in Syria, Iraq and parts of Gaza (Country reports on terrorism, 2019). In this regard, the most recent State Department report on terrorism in Iran emphasizes that, “Iran used the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force to provide support to terrorist organizations, provide cover for associated covert operations, and create instability in the region” (Country reports on terrorism, 2019, p. 2).These extremist actors operate in different parts of Iran but they are typically located near border regions with neighboring countries to facilitate their regional terrorist activities (Country reports on terrorism, 2019).

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Moreover, these terrorist organizations claim different motivations for their activities that defy easy analysis and explanation, including the humiliation-based thesis described above, with some claiming fundamentally different and opposing religious reasons while others maintain they are actually patriotic national liberation movements (Malakoutikhah, 2020). It should be…

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…is sponsorship of terrorism abroad must involve a fundamental sea change in leadership, one that fully embraces the rule of law and conformance with international norms and standards of conduct in order to effect any real meaningful change. The Iranian government has not only become reliant on terrorism as a means of obtaining the funds it needs to operate at bare bones levels socially, it has become expert in leveraging terrorism as a tool for increasingly its regional influence and presence of the international geopolitical stage. Like North Korea, however, there are no easy solutions to this problem that do not involve large body counts, but it is possible that the Iranian leadership will be more open to negotiating with the Biden administration compared to the dug-in heels stance it has maintained over the past several years.ConclusionThe research was consistent in showing that Iran is not only preventing terrorism at home and abroad, its leadership is actively encouraging its use as a tool for achieving a wide range of political and religious goals that have adversely affected its own populace as well as the entire world. Although the United States and its political and commercial interests are culpable for many of the ills that beset Iran at present, it is reasonable to conclude that when mainstream Americans witness the American flag being burned and stomped on while crowds of Iranians chant “Death to America!,” most wonder, “What the hell did we ever do to make these people hate us so much that they want to kill us?” The research showed that the answer to this seemingly inexplicable question is the faction of the Iranian government that is bent on sowing destruction and discord while reaping the economic benefits of using terrorism as a tool for unjustly enriching some segments of its….....

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