Ambition and Expansionism of the Islamic Republic: Foundations and Consequences

In today's world, the non-interference of countries and societies in the affairs of other countries and societies is impossible. Even if all borders and channels of transfer are closed, one can still go beyond borders through waves. Jamming and filtering cannot close all openings. Therefore, the current debate is not about preventing interference in others' affairs, but rather about the type of interference. There are also areas like international waters where countries can display their behavior beyond borders. Despite condemning humanitarian intervention and the information and comments from Westerners regarding human rights violations in Iran or the terrorist actions of this government, the Islamic Republic has been actively involved in interfering in other societies and provoking other countries towards confrontation and war. However, the interventions of the Islamic Republic have rarely been humanitarian or relief-oriented, and even after earthquakes or floods in neighboring Muslim countries, the assistance has mostly been symbolic. Despite spending billions of dollars on military interventions (in Syria and Lebanon), the Islamic Republic has no role in the development and education sectors in other countries. Its only apparent educational role has been the establishment of religious schools and providing scholarships to students from other countries for religious education. These efforts do not help other societies. In regional conflicts, instead of intervening to reduce tensions, the Islamic Republic has been a party to the conflict and a firestarter. There is not a critical point in the Middle East today where the Islamic Republic does not have a presence or is not a source of tension. The Islamic Republic's interventions have not led to a reduction in tension or bloodshed in any case. The dream of global management by Ahmadinejad is the same as the dream of Khamenei's Shiite empire and the commanders of the IRGC. The Islamist militarists, with Khamenei at their head, want to control and dominate from Afghanistan to Yemen and from Syria to Bahrain. This dream has been voiced for 37 years by various military, religious, and political officials. Of course, if the officials had the means, they would want to dominate the entire world. Examples of actions and statements from officials that indicate their goals include sending a naval ship to the Mediterranean Sea and then announcing the dispatch of a ship to the shores of the United States, the operation to destroy a model of an American aircraft carrier off the coast of Iran, firing missiles near the Truman aircraft carrier and other military ships in international waters of the Persian Gulf by the IRGC (which has denied this incident), daily statements from IRGC commanders about defeating America and threatening this country, and most importantly, Khamenei's declaration as the leader of the world's Muslims. IRGC commanders have repeatedly stated that they do not want the presence of the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf and have the capacity to sink American ships: "U.S. military officials acknowledged that they spend $13 billion to build an aircraft carrier, but the IRGC can sink it with its rapid capabilities" (IRGC Navy Commander, October 20, 2014); "We can sink an American vessel in 50 seconds" (Etemad, May 5, 2014). The IRGC Navy Commander has gone beyond the Persian Gulf, declaring the IRGC's determination to destroy the U.S. Navy: "Today, Americans and the whole world know that one of our operational objectives is to eliminate the U.S. Navy" (Fars, May 5, 2014). This ambition initially manifests itself in a sectarian framework because the Shiite clergy primarily seeks followers among Shiites. Today, the Islamic Republic stands alongside Shiites (from Twelver to Zaidi) in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, fighting against Sunnis. In North Africa and East Asia, the Islamic Republic has also been engaged in expanding the Shiite population and establishing Shiite institutions. This can be observed in the incidents of Shiite confrontations with the Nigerian government, the spread of Shiism in Malaysia, and recently the Shiitization process in Somalia. The effort to convert Sunnis to Shiism started from Iran and then expanded to other parts of the world. Even the policy of prioritizing enmity with Israel ultimately succumbed to sectarianism. The Syrian civil war has distanced Hamas from the Islamic Republic. Today, the Islamic Republic is at war with Sunnis (governments or Sunni Islamist groups) in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq, not with Israel. The Islamic Republic does not engage in its interventions through diplomacy or development assistance or establishing scientific centers, but rather seeks to exert direct influence. For this reason, the Islamic Republic's intervention is military and religious (propagandistic). Religious bureaucracies (like Al-Mustafa International University), Quds Force, and the Islamic Republic's propaganda institutions (Islamic Culture and Communications Organization, non-Persian language networks of the Islamic Republic's broadcasting) are the channels of action for the Islamic Republic. These organizations expand the influence of the Islamic Republic through terror, military campaigns, bombings on one side and training missionaries, establishing mosques and religious schools, and providing religious programs on the other. The result of these behaviors for Iran is spending more than oil revenues on the ambitions of the Islamic Republic and further destruction of the country. The war in Yemen yields no benefits for Iran. Yemen is a poor country where even influence will not yield any returns, which is why the United States has distanced itself from the internal conflicts in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has also entered the Yemen crisis due to security considerations in its neighborhood. Yemen has neither a strong ally nor a powerful army to pose a threat to Iran or the Islamic Republic in the future. Iran primarily wants Syria for sending weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon, not for long-term benefits from investment or resource exploitation in this country. The Islamic Republic has been supplying Syria with cheap or free oil for three decades. In the 1990s, the Islamic Republic tried to expand its influence in Bosnia-Herzegovina and take advantage of the wartime conditions in that country, but the end of the war marked the end of the illusion of influence in this region. The Islamic Republic's ambitions in Africa and Latin America also declined after the fall of oil revenues at the end of Ahmadinejad's presidency. The Islamic Republic's influence in Iraq resulted from the strategic error of the Bush administration, not from the Islamic Republic's intervention. The Islamic Republic's military interventions in Arab countries have led to further destruction in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq. Only about five percent of Syrian civilians have been killed by ISIS. A larger portion has been killed by Bashar's government and its main supporter. In the last four months, Russia has also joined Bashar and Khamenei in the massacre of civilians in Syria. The Islamic Republic's enmity with the United States has brought nothing but damage to Iran. The provocative behaviors of the Islamic Republic's military officials towards the United States have so far faced restraint from the Obama administration, and they have interpreted this restraint as a sign of weakness, but it is unclear whether the Obama administration or the administration following it can continue this behavior if these provocations persist. It is possible that in the event of a military confrontation between the United States and Iran, the United States may incur some losses, but it is primarily Iran that will see an increase in its destruction.