40 Years of Theocracy in Iran: Regional Policy and Global Ambitions

Hosted by MEP Ramona Nicole Mănescu, the AJC Transatlantic Institute co-organized in partnership with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) a conference in the European Parliament entitled "40 Years of Theocracy in Iran: Regional Policy and Global Ambitions."

In the discussion moderated by AJC Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal, Emily Landau, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv, highlighted the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action's (JCPOA) major flaws and criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) apparent unwillingness – or inability – to ascertain the regime’s past and present nuclear activities. Landau also said that Iran with its proxy Hezbollah is in blatant breach of UN Security Council resolution 1701 and that Israel is the only country acting against this.

Michael Doran, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, Washington DC, argued that the West is in a prolonged geopolitical conflict with the Islamic Republic. While this conflict can be managed, it won’t be resolved until the regime is dissolved. Mr. Doran advocated for a containment policy against the regime designed to stop its expansion in the region with the “Hezbollah- model,” i.e. the practice of building up militias under the noses of legitimate governments. Doran also highlighted the need to renegotiate the nuclear agreement so that it would be closer to what the Security Council’s resolutions envisioned.

AJC CEO David Harris concluded the event, stating that at the time the JCPOA was being negotiated, AJC leadership met with U.S. Administration officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli and European officials, and experts on both sides of the argument. Harris recounted how many supporters of the deal predicted the agreement would change the Iranian regime's behavior, which evidently proved to be false. Also, the West appeared too eager to cut a deal. AJC in the end couldn't support the JCPOA as we feared its flaws would ultimately define it, Harris said.

Introduction

MEP Ramona Nicole Mănescu, EPP - Romania

Discussants

Michael Doran, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C.

Emily Landau, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Tel Aviv

Azadeh Zamirirad, Senior Associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin

Moderator

Daniel Schwammenthal, Director at the AJC Transatlantic Institute, Brussels

Closing Remarks 

David Harris, CEO of AJC

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