Iran's Deadly Ambition (27 page)

56
.
   
Scott Peterson, “Behind Syrian Regime, a Familiar US Adversary: Iran,”
Christian Science Monitor
, May 30, 2014,
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/0530/Behind-Syrian-regime-a-familiar-US-adversary-Iran
.

57
.
   
As cited in “Iran Military Chief: ‘We Will Support Syria to the End,’ ” Agence France-Presse, September 5, 2013,
http://www.businessinsider.com/iranian-military-chief-we-will-support-syria-to-the-end-2013-9
.

58
.
   
See, for example, Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, “Rouhani Meter 100 Days Report,” media release, November 19, 2013,
http://munkschool.utoronto.ca/blog/rouhani-meter-100-days-report/
.

59
.
   
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, “IHRDC Chart of Executions by the Islamic Republic of Iran—2012,” January 3, 2013,
http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/publications/1000000030-ihrdc-chart-of-executions-by-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-2012.html
.

60
.
   
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,” IHRDC Chart of Executions by the Islamic Republic of Iran—2013,” April 9, 2014,
http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/publications/1000000225-ihrdc-chart-of-executions-by-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-2013.html
.

61
.
   
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, “IHRDC Chart of Executions by the Islamic Republic of Iran—2014,” January 7, 2015,
http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/publications/1000000425-ihrdc-chart-of-executions-by-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-2014.html
.

62
.
   
“Javad Larijani: ‘Be Grateful’ for Iran’s High Execution Rate,”
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, March 5, 2014,
http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2014/03/larijani-executions/
.

63
.
   
See Alistair Sloan, “Who Are the ‘Political Prisoners’ in Saudi and Iran?” Middle East Monitor, April 30, 2014,
https://www.middleeast-monitor.com/articles/middle-east/11203-who-are-the-political-prisoners-in-saudi-and-iran
.

64
.
   
“40 Percent of Political Prisoners in Iran Are Kurds,” BasNews, September 14, 2014,
http://basnews.com/en/news/2014/09/14/40-percent-of-political-prisoners-in-iran-are-kurds/
.

65
.
   
Colum Lynch, “Ban to Iran: Free the Journalists, Political Prisoners,”
Foreign Policy
, September 19, 2014,
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/09/19/ban_to_iran_free_the_journalists_political_prisoners
.

66
.
   
Michele Richinick, “Detained ‘Washington Post’ Journalist to Stand Trial in Iran,”
MSNBC.com
, January 14, 2015,
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/detained-washington-post-journalist-stand-trial-iran
.

67
.
   
Freedom of the Press 2013: Middle East Volatility amid Global Decline
(Freedom House, n.d.),
http://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/iran#.VCIrCF4irwI
.

68
.
   
Thomas Erdbrink, “Iran’s Judiciary Closes a New Pro-Government Newspaper,”
New York Times
, February 20, 2014,
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/world/middleeast/irans-judiciary-closes-newspaper.html?_r=2
.

69
.
   
As cited in Maha Mehrgan, “Iran’s Liberal Media Continue Decline under Rouhani,”
Asharq al-Awsat
(London), May 14, 2014,
http://www.aawsat.net/2014/05/article55332248
.

CHAPTER III: IRAN’S OWN “WAR ON TERROR”

  
1
.
   
Susan Crabtree, “FLASHBACK: Obama: Al Qaeda Is on ‘a Path to Defeat’; Calls for Resetting Terror Policy,”
Washington Times
, May 23, 2013,
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/23/obama-al-qaeda-is-on-a-path-to-defeat/?page=all
.

  
2
.
   
Jessica D. Lewis,
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Resurgent: The Breaking the Walls Campaign, Part 1
, Middle East Security Report 14 (Institute for the Study of War, September 2013),
http://www.understandingwar.org/report/al-qaeda-iraq-resurgent
.

  
3
.
   
Bassem Mroue, “Syria and Iraq Al Qaeda Merger Annulment Announced by Ayman al Zawahiri,” Associated Press, June 10, 2013.

  
4
.
   
“Expert: ISIS’ Declaration of Islamic State ‘Poses a Huge Threat to
Al Qaeda,’ ” CBS DC, June 30, 2014,
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/06/30/expert-isis-declaration-of-islamic-state-poses-a-huge-threat-to-al-qaeda/
.

  
5
.
   
See “Sunni Rebels Declare New ‘Islamic Caliphate,’ ” Al Jazeera (Doha), June 30, 2014,
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/06/isil-declares-new-islamic-caliphate-201462917326669749.html
.

  
6
.
   
See J. M. Berger, “The Islamic State vs. Al Qaeda,”
Foreign Policy
, September 2, 2014,
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/09/02/islamic_state_vs_al_qaeda_next_jihadi_super_power
.

  
7
.
   
Spencer Ackerman, “ ‘Apocalyptic’ ISIS beyond Anything We’ve Seen, Say US Defence Chiefs,”
The Guardian
(London), August 22, 2014,
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/21/isis-us-military-iraq-strikes-threat-apocalyptic
.

  
8
.
   
Jim Sciutto, Jamie Crawford, and Chelsea J. Carter, “ISIS Can ‘Muster’ between 20,000 and 31,500 Fighters, CIA Says,”
CNN.com
, September 12, 2014,
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/11/world/meast/isis-syria-iraq/
.

  
9
.
   
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Counterterrorism, “Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” in
Country Reports on Terrorism 2013
, April 2014,
http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224829.htm
.

10
.
   
Martin Chulov, “How an Arrest in Iraq Revealed Isis’s $2bn Jihadist Network,”
The Guardian
(London), June 15, 2014,
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/15/iraq-isis-arrest-jihadists-wealth-power
.

11
.
   
Ian Johnston, “The Rise of Isis: Terror Group Now Controls an Area the Size of Britain, Expert Says,”
The Independent
(London), September 3, 2014,
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-rise-of-isis-terror-group-now-controls-an-area-the-size-of-britain-expert-claims-9710198.html
.

12
.
   
Arash Karami, “Iran Interior Minister Says Advisers Sent to Iraqi Kurdistan,”
Al-Monitor
, August 26, 2014,
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/iran-sends-advisers-kurdistan-region-iraq.html#ixzz3CTppCln9
.

13
.
   
Babak Dehghanpisheh, “Iran’s Elite Guards Fighting in Iraq to Push Back Islamic State,” Reuters, August 3, 2014,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/03/us-iraq-security-iran-insight-idUSKBN0G30GE20140803
.

14
.
   
“Iran ‘Backs US Military Contacts’ to Fight Islamic State,” BBC
News, September 5, 2014,
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29079052
.

15
.
   
Jesse Byrnes, “Secy. Kerry Says Iran Can Help Defeat ISIS,”
The Hill
, September 19, 2014,
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/218391-iran-can-help-defeat-isis-kerry-says
.

16
.
   
Jay Solomon and Carol E. Lee, “Obama Wrote Secret Letter to Iran’s Khamenei about Fighting Islamic State,”
Wall Street Journal
, November 6, 2014,
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-wrote-secret-letter-to-irans-khamenei-about-fighting-islamic-state-1415295291
.

17
.
   
Michael Doran and Max Boot, “The United States Should Not Cooperate with Iran on Iraq,”
Washington Post
, June 17, 2014,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-united-states-should-not-cooperate-with-iran-on-iraq/2014/06/17/f3144b9c-f63e-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html
.

18
.
   
For a detailed overview of Iran’s terror infrastructure, see Ilan Berman,
Tehran Rising: Iran’s Challenge to the United States
(Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005), 3
–
30.

19
.
   
See, for example, Robert Baer,
See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism
(New York: Crown Publishers, 2002).

20
.
   
Scott Modell and David Asher,
Pushback: Countering the Iran Action Network
(Washington, DC: Center for a New American Security, September 2013), 8,
http://www.cnas.org/files/documents/publications/CNAS_Pushback_ModellAsher_0.pdf
.

21
.
   
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Counterterrorism, “State Sponsors of Terrorism Overview,” in
Country Reports on Terrorism 2013
, April 2014,
http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224826.htm
.

22
.
   
Modell and Asher,
Pushback
, 28.

23
.
   
For more, see Kayhan Barzegar, “Iran’s Foreign Policy in Post-Taliban Afghanistan,”
The Washington Quarterly
37, no. 2 (2014),
https://twq.elliott.gwu.edu/sites/twq.elliott.gwu.edu/files/downloads/Barzegar_PDF.pdf
.

24
.
   
Iranian Influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan
(American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War, 2012), 79,
https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/IranianInfluenceLevantEgyptIraqAfghanistan.pdf
.

25
.
   
Joshua Hersh, “Afghanistan Trade Deal with Iran Complicates U.S. Aims,”
Huffington Post
, May 9, 2012,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/afghanistan-trade-deal-iran_n_1504062.html
.

26
.
   
Iranian Influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan
, 79.

27
.
   
“Afghan-Iran Trade Volume Hits $5b,”
Afghanistan Times
, December 30, 2014,
http://www.afghanistantimes.af/news_details.php?id=4011&&cid=1
.

28
.
   
Alireza Nader et al.,
Iran’s Influence in Afghanistan: Implications for the U.S. Drawdown
(Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2014), 9,
http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR600/RR616/RAND_RR616.pdf
.

29
.
   
Iranian Influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan
, 85.

30
.
   
Ibid.

31
.
   
See, for example, Sanjay Kumar, “Tehran’s Designs on Afghanistan,”
The Diplomat
, May 23, 2013,
http://thediplomat.com/2013/05/tehrans-designs-on-afghanistan/
.

32
.
   
Jawed Ziarayjal, “Herat Police Chief Blames Iran for Insecurity,” Tolo News, August 3, 2014,
http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/15814-herat-police-chief-blames-iran-for-insecurity
.

33
.
   
U.S. Department of State, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, “State Sponsors of Terrorism Overview,” in
Country Reports on Terrorism 2012
, May 2013,
http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2012/209985.htm
.

34
.
   
Lara Setrakian, “Petraeus Accuses Iran of Aiding Afghan Taliban,” ABC News, December 16, 2009,
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Afghanistan/gen-petraeus-iran-backing-iraq-militias-afghan-taliban/story?id=9346173
.

35
.
   
Maria Abi-Habib, “Iranians Build Up Afghan Clout,”
Wall Street Journal
, October 26, 2012,
http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204076204578078564022815472
.

36
.
   
Ibid.

37
.
   
Sumitha Narayanan Kutty, “Iran’s Continuing Interests in Afghanistan,”
Washington Quarterly
37, no. 2 (2014): 142,
https://twq.elliott.gwu.edu/sites/twq.elliott.gwu.edu/files/downloads/Kutty_PDF.pdf
.

38
.
   
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Office of the President, “Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai Meets Iran’s Vice President,” September 30, 2014,
http://president.gov.af/en/news/36978
.

39
.
   
Interviews with Israeli officials, in discussion with the author, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel, September 2014. Interviews conducted in confidentiality, and names of interviewees are withheld by mutual agreement.

40
.
   
Adam Ciralsky, “Did Israel Avert a Hamas Massacre?”
Vanity Fair
, October 21, 2014,
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2014/10/gaza-tunnel-plot-israeli-intelligence
.