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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Washington, DC – National Iranian American Council (NIAC) President Trita Parsi released the following statement regarding the revelation of an alleged plot by Iran to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States: Iranian Americans share with all Americans a deep commitment to keeping our country safe, and the actions of the individual indicted in the alleged plot in no way reflects the views of the broader Iranian-American community. The National Iranian American Council joins with Iranian Americans across the United States in rejecting political violence and condemning terrorism. While further information is needed regarding the alleged plot against the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., if today’s allegations are true, NIAC strongly condemns this deplorable act. The vast majority of Iranian Americans have made the United States of America their home due to their differences with the government of Iran, specifically due to its human rights violations and repression. Acts of terror are anathema to the Iranian-American community and everything it stands for. No other community in the United States has suffered more under than the Iranian government than ours. This alleged terror plot takes place at a time when tensions in the Middle East have reached a boiling point. In the midst of a rapidly changing Middle East, Iran, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are jockeying for influence throughout the region in Egypt, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Syria, and elsewhere. According to the Wikileaks, Saudi Arabia has pushed for the U.S. to bomb Iran. The Saudi government, in turn, accuses Tehran of instigating revolts on its soil. Moreover, over the past years, several Iranian scientists have been assassinated in Iran. Tehran accuses Israel and the U.S. of being behind these killings. If today’s allegations are true, this means that regional rivalries may have spilled over onto U.S. shores. What is clear is that the Middle East region is a powder keg that could go off at any moment. Without serious efforts to defuse and deescalate the dangerously accelerating tensions, we are on the precipice of a major war in the region. If the alleged Iranian action was aimed at provoking the U.S., the Obama administration should be careful not to walk into such a trap. A war with Iran would be devastating to U.S. interests and to the people of Iran. We must work to prevent such a disastrous outcome. |
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