Time and time again, we heard that the U.S. shouldn’t inject itself into Iran’s internal affairs during the post-election unrest, because it might de-legitimize them and make them look like foreign agents and strengthen the regime through nationalism. I argued in a recent article for Pajamas Media that the opposition did not want to formally ask for U.S. help, but was trying to get our attention through actions like apologizing for the 1979 embassy takeover.
Now, the spokesperson for Mousavi’s organization has blatantly requested more political support from the U.S. and more aggressive measures to financially strike at the Revolutionary Guards.
To Obama’s credit, the opposition does say it supports the decision to use diplomacy to handle the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, but cautioned that the regime’s political survival depends upon its nuclear program and that dialogue would fail.
“If they agree not to pursue a nuclear bomb and start negotiations, they will lose their supporters,” Mr. Makhmalbaf said at a lunch hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Definitely dialogue is better than war. … But can you continue your dialogue without any results?”
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