(Gatestone Institute) Dr. Majid Rafizadeh - Some argue that Iran's sanctions relief would push Iran towards moderation in dealing with the U.S. and Israel, as well as scaling down Iran's expansionist and hegemonic ambitions. The realities on the ground suggest otherwise. As Tehran's revenues are rising, anti-American and anti-Semitic rhetoric by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is escalating. At the end of the day, the key decision-makers in Iran's political establishments are Khamenei and the senior cadre of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. As long as the Supreme Leader is alive, one should not expect Iran's reintegration into the global economy to moderate the country, or that its anti-American, anti-Semitic sentiments and fundamentals of foreign policy will change. The writer, an Iranian-American political scientist and Harvard University scholar, is president of the International American Council.
2016-05-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive