Publish date30 Aug 2016 - 10:35
Story Code : 243327

The National Day against Terrorism in an Insecure and Turbulent Region

by: Hossein Gharibi, Senior Expert on Terrorism
The National Day against Terrorism in an Insecure and Turbulent Region
August 29 in Iran is reminiscent of a horrendous terrorist operation as a result of which the country’s elected popular president and his prime minister, who had been trusted and appointed by the Iranian parliament, were martyred. That operation, however, was not the sole terrorist incident of those days because only two months earlier, 72 Iranian officials and other prominent figures had lost their lives in a similar operation.

The killing of these personalities in addition to the assassination of about 17,000 people and thousands of others who were injured in terrorist operations have turned the Islamic Republic of Iran into one of the most prominent countries that have been victims of terrorism in the world. At the same time, Iran has turned into one of the world’s most experienced countries in terms of fighting against terrorism as the country has had to deal with some of the most complicated violent terrorist groups, which enjoyed vast foreign support.

Iran considers terrorism as a threat to regional and global peace and security and has incessantly taken position against instrumental use of terrorism on ground of short-term political considerations. Assassination of Iran’s nuclear scientists by terrorists hired by Israel was a good example, which did not elicit the least amount of serious reaction from big powers, especially the United States, in condemnation of such terrorist operations.

What we are currently witnessing in the region, unfortunately, is the realization of those black days against which Iran had issued predictive warnings since many years ago. A glance at terrorist incidents, which have taken place over the past year, would prove rapid spread of terrorism from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Turkey and especially Syria, Iraq, North Africa and even to Paris and Brussels. About 30,000 foreign terrorists from more than 100 countries are continuously pouring into the Middle East region, especially Syria.

Although the organization of the Daesh terrorist group is falling apart in Syria and Iraq, there is still the risk that members of this group would go to different regions of the world and cause more massacre and insecurity there. Regional and transregional countries must, therefore, make a strategic decision to put a final stop to violence and extremism. The first step in this direction would be addressing the extremist Salafist and Takfiri ideology at its roots and preventing further spread of violent extremism through the region. The next step could be formulation of a collective cooperation plan in this regard. Today, Iran is the most secure country in the most dangerous region of the world. As a result of vast experiences that the country has gained over the past four decades, Iran is currently supporting its neighbors in their fight against terrorism and in doing so, is also honestly and smartly cooperating with international institutions and organizations, which are actively fighting terrorism. Fighting terrorism cannot be limited to slogans while it must not be used as a temporary tool to achieve short-term political goals too.

The fight against terrorism calls for a multifaceted and multilayered strategy combined with appropriate methods for correct implementation of that strategy in various fields. As argued by independent international experts, Iran has very successful track records in this regard and is ready to help regional countries in rapid eradication of terrorism by sharing its experiences with them. Iran’s Supreme Leader has correctly noted that “if the threat of terrorism and insecurity is not handled in a real and correct manner, its remedy would become more difficult in the future and no country would remain immune to this threat.” Therefore, in order to remain immune to this widespread scourge, international cooperation is not simply an option, but a must.

Courtesy of Iran Review
KD
https://taghribnews.com/vdcauenu049nye1.tgk4.html
Your Name
Your Email Address
Security Code