Khatami - fomenting violence in other countries is 'treason'

By Cernig

Former Iranian president and comparative moderate Mohammad Khatami has made an interesting public statement, saying exporting violence to other countries is "treason" against Islam and Iran's 1979 revolution.

"What did Imam (Khomeini) want and what did he mean by 'exporting the revolution'? Taking up arms and causing explosions in other countries and establishing groups to carry out sabotage in other countries? Imam was strongly opposed to these behaviors," Khatami told students in northern Iran on Friday.

"This is the biggest treason to Islam and the revolution."

The accepted Western line is that his remarks are aimed, as the AP writes, at "country's hard-line rulers are engineering unrest abroad". However, I find it equally as likely that he is issuing a public warning to Quods Force or other commanders who might be lining their own pockets at the nation's expense, through arms sales or demanding payment for training miliatiamen in Iraq, that they better cut it out before the State is forced to take steps to curtail their activities by international pressure.

Comments

[Kevin]

You might be right. One problem facing Iran is what is essentially a state within a state, and the Quds have essentailly become the biggest corporate welfare project there under Ahmadinejad's watch (what he understands to be "privatization" is quite different than our understanding in the West).

Once this Leader dies, Iran may have a "stand down" moment with the IRGC. We'll see what happens , I guess.