Kayhan Editor: U.S. and Allies Trying to Weaken Iran's Regime by Empowering "Moderates"

Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of hardline Kayhan newspaper, claims that an assessment of speeches by U.S. politicians at the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) this week shows America and its allies are afraid of the Islamic Republic’s power. “The Zionists’ lobby in America (AIPAC) has always had hostile positions vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran. But what was discussed in the latest summit had a different color, scent and direction – which needs to be analyzed through regional and domestic dimensions,” he said today in an exclusive interview with Fars News Agency.

He continued: “America and its Hebrew, Western and Arab allies have never been in such a weak and defeated position as they are now. Western Asia has today turned into a window of repeated failures and defeats for America – for the removal of Bashar al-Assad in Syria; for the establishment of a secular government in Iraq; for the annihilation of Ansarullah in Yemen; for the ouster of Hezbollah in Lebanon; for the suppression of intifada in the occupied Palestine; and dozens of other examples of complete defeats they have faced… Israel, which as represented in the two blue lines on its flags claimed territory from the Nile to Euphrates, is today building a wall around itself.” He further claimed that all plots against Iran have failed, but warned that the United States and its allies are now trying to weaken the revolutionary nature of the Iranian regime by empowering “moderates” in the country.

Comment: This annual AIPAC summit was extensively covered in the Iranian media. Both Fars News Agency and Kayhan are among the most prominent hardline media outlets in Iran – the former is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) and the latter is a major conservative stat-run newspaper. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei directly appoints the editor of Kayhan, which is viewed as an official spokesman of the Supreme Leader. Iranian conservatives and the I.R.G.C. have repeatedly expressed the concern that the West is supporting anti-regime elements within the country to topple the regime. As Iran’s May presidential election is approaching, the I.R.G.C. and the Intelligence Ministry have launched an aggressive crackdown against reformist and human rights activists under this pretext.