Regarding "A Third Way to Address the Iranian Threat" by Michael Ledeen (op-ed, April 17): For the past 34 years, ever since the Islamic revolution overthrew a U.S.-backed monarchical dictatorship, Iran's new representative political system has been consistently vilified in the U.S. media. Mr. Ledeen's article dismisses many important facts regarding Iran's democratic internal politics and distorts the facts about today's Iran. He misleads by making false comparisons with the wrong models and advocating an interventionist U.S. approach toward Iran without showing any respect for Iran's sovereignty and national rights. It is therefore hardly surprising that the author's deep-seated animosity toward Iran prevents him from understanding the historical legitimacy of Iran's political system which is based on regular, competitive elections and checks and balances among the branches of government. The author fails to mention that even recent outside polls clearly show that the vast majority of Iranian people solidly support the country's peaceful nuclear program, and he blames the Western governments for the unjust sanctions.
The so-called opposition supported by Mr. Ledeen is, in fact, discredited in the eyes of Iranian people, because of its violent history and cordial ties it had with Iraq's deposed dictator Saddam Hussein who used them as his fifth column in his invasion of Iran during the 1980s. By removing this cultic group from the terrorist list, the U.S. government has once again proved its double standard with regard to terrorism that opens the way to such unreasonable views.
Counselor
Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the U.N.
New York
Alireza Miryousefi
News ID 184664
