The recent assassination attempt in Spain of former-First Vice President of the European Parliament (EP) Alejo Vidal Quadras was Tehran’s latest effort to silence its international detractors. During his 15 years in the EP, Quadras was an adversary of the Iranian Regime. In his current position as Chairman of the International Search of Justice Committee, Quadras has constantly been writing and speaking out against Iranian atrocities within the country and its global exportation of terrorism. Still conscious after being shot in the face, Quadras stated, “I have only one enemy and that is the Iranian Regime.”
Ever since the 1979 Revolution, Iran has been the enemy to all people not committed to its brand of religious fundamentalist extremism. Under the supervision of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) brigadier general, who later emerged as an Iranian defense minister, Hezbollah conducted the 1983 Beirut Barracks bombing which resulted in the deaths of 241 American and 58 French service-members. The IRGC was responsible for the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia which killed 19 and injured 500 American service-members. In 2018, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) dispatched a European sleeper cell to bomb a National Council of Resistance of Iran rally attended by tens of thousands outside Paris. It may have succeeded if not for the combined diligence of Belgian, French, and German police.
As documented by the US Department of Defense in 2019, the IRGC was directly involved in 608 American service-member deaths in Iraq. More recently Iran’s MOIS launched an all-out cyber-attack on Albania, which had provided sanctuary to a 2,000-member Iranian dissident element which had been trapped in Iraq following the American-led invasion in 2003. Within America, the FBI was successful in thwarting Iranian plots to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US and former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
Meanwhile, the US State Department has been bending over backwards to appease Iran, providing tens of billions of dollars to the rogue nation. Both the Obama and Biden administrations share responsibility for this fiasco. Not until last month’s Hamas attack on Israel has there been even the slightest awakening within the White House and State Department.
The Hamas attack was intentionally so brutal that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had no other choice than to respond with strong force. Being that Hamas is Sunni Muslem, Iran is willing to sacrifice them while engaging in disinformation operations to make Israel appear as the aggressor. Once Israeli forces were engaged in fighting Hamas to the south, Iran intended to use the disinformation campaign as justification for Shia Hezbollah to attack from the north. As in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Iran’s intent was to “Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.”
Iran’s strategy ran into three problems. First, except for some American college campuses and select US congressional representatives (e.g. Tlaib), the disinformation campaign did not achieve the success Iran expected. Second, Iran’s belief that a country led by a former commando was not going to protect itself 360 degrees was a major mistake. Third, President Biden's decisive response, deploying two carrier groups and announcing unequivocal support for Israel, surprised everyone. The USS Carney’s October 19th successful engagement of the drones and missiles launched against Israel by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen proved the American Navy came for a fight.
The biggest surprise to the world, especially Iran, was Biden making fast, firm, and aggressive decisions. It was a passing moment, much like someone with Alzheimer’s having a temporary return to reality. Biden’s more recent stumbling comments concerning the Middle East are fulfilling everyone’s original expectation.
Iran has taken pause concerning Hezbollah. The terrorist organization has not been ordered into combat to the extent that was intended. If Hezbollah gets torn apart, which Israeli Defense Forces and the U.S. military will certainly do, then Iran's jihadist enforcement of Lebanon and protective shield for Syrian dictator Assad is gone.
Why the attempt to start a regional, if not world, war merits analysis. Perhaps this is a combination of many factors: drawing attention away from citizen unrest and anti-government demonstrations in Iran, wishing to stop the continuing success of the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab nations, expecting the US to take a weaker stance, believing the next U.S. president will be stronger so Iran has to act immediately, seeing nuclear weapons development is further along than American and European analysts assessed, trying to bleed off Western resources for Ukraine to counter Putin’s offensive launch which has now commenced; Iran thinking it was in a stronger position than what has proven to be true, and several other possibilities. One fact is true beyond question: the religious extremists ruling Iran have always been determined to prevent the Oslo Accords for peace between Israel and the Palestinians from working.
As Iran continues to lose this round of expanding Middle East anarchy, it will continue its terrorist attacks on innocent victims and assassination attempts against people dedicated to exposing the truth. As validated by the attempt on Alejo Vidal Quadras' life, it has already begun – or never stopped.
Colonel (Retired) Martin served as Senior Antiterrorism Officer for all Coalition Forces in Iraq and is a member of the International Search of Justice Committee.