Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

The National Press Club hosted 3 speakers for a discussion today on Iran. Featured speakers included two members of the European Parliament—Portuguese member Paulo Casaca, and Scottish member Straun Stevenson, as well as strategic policy counselor and author Alireza Jafarzadeh.

Casaca kicked off the discussion by warning leaders not to take the rhetoric of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a grain of salt. He said that the United States and Europe have largely been ignoring statements made by Ahmadinejad and compared them to threats made by Osama Bin Laden in 1998 when, he said, no one was paying attention. Casaca touched on Ahmadinejad's recent trip to Iraq where he met with the leaders there and noted that violence came to a standstill for the 48 hours of his visit insinuating that Iran is largely responsible for the conflict there. He also issued his support for the most recent United Nations' sanctions against Iran.

Stevenson began by referring to government of Iran as “Islamofascist.” He called the Iranian government “the most evil regime on the face of this Earth” and said that Iran was responsible for the extensive security measures taken in airports and other places following the 9/11 attacks. He said that Iran is now acquiring missile launchers capable of sending rockets to cities in Europe and said that appeasement measures with Iran have “gone crazy.” He expressed support for anti-Ahmadinejad dissidents and called for the West to collaborate with “pro-democracy” groups such as the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI). Stevenson said that a military attack on Iran would be “catastrophic” and said that instead, the West should work to support political dissidents and students in Iran demonstrating against what he called “fascist Mullahs.” He also supported sanctions against Iran but said that their needs to be more done.

Jafarzadeh, who recently published a book on Iran and “the coming nuclear crisis,” spoke very critically of the Iranian government. He expressed heavy doubt in their denials of pursuing nuclear arms. According to Jafarzadeh, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has yet to inspect Iranian facilities and other locations where he said were openly known to be used for atomic research. Like the other two speakers, Jafarzadeh said that he supports sanctions against Iran but wanted to see the sanctions coupled with political pressure.