Published: October 11, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Crossfire War - Tehran FM Conference Justifies War Against Vatican - Rome
By Willard Payne
Crossfire War - TEHRAN WATCH - Eurasia Theatre: Tehran/Rome; Iran Foreign Ministry Conference Justifies War on Vatican - Rome - "Elaborate a Strategy of Action Against Catholicism"
Night Watch: TEHRAN - Iran's Foreign Ministry held a conference in Tehran to justify war against the Vatican - Rome - Italy - Europe - West. This is apparently in response to Pope Benedict XVI speech at Regensburg University, Germany in September where he mentioned that Islam has usually spread through war and invasion. That is obviously true with Islam's invasions of North Africa, Europe through Spain and even into Persia (Iran). But evil is often insulted by the truth so Tehran held a conference to claim that it is the Vatican that wants war with Islam. [
AKI]
Two of the speakers were former Iranian Ambassadors to Rome. Hojatolislam Mostafa Brujerdi who stated the Pope wanted war because he fears the spread of Islam into Europe and Italy. The other former Ambassador was Hojatolislam Seyyed Hadi Khosrowshahi who said the Pope's speech was "not the start of a new crusade, but the continuation of the first war between Christianity and Islam, a war which has never ended." Another speaker was the Director of Iran's Islamic Encyclopedia, Mohaghegh Damad, who advocated that Iran should seek "to elaborate a strategy of action against Catholicism."
I suspect that he and the Foreign Ministry were not devising ways of more convincing preaching, after all this was held at the Foreign Ministry, which wants to negotiate with Rome and the West from a position of strength and that can only be achieved with a military victory. Tehran's response really has nothing to do with the Pope's speech but with the importance of the Rome Conference on Lebanon registering with Iran's government. As crossfirewar.com said at the time, Rome is back and at the center of Europe's military re-entry into West Asia (Middle East) through Lebanon. Italy is a major contributor of military units with UNIFIL.
Tehran suspects Rome and Europe are not eager to do so for humanitarian reasons but instead for political - economic ones, to restore Europe as the main economic presence in Beirut banking circles as they were for more than a century. Tehran had Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri assassinated in February 2005 because he had begun to work with the West. Though the Pope's speech is not the main reason for Tehran's elaborate offensive strategy against Italy, the Pontiff's speech did not help the situation any. It has added more religious theorizing for Iran's clerics and scholars to engage in. Other than war planning and deceiving the enemy, that is their favorite activity.
As an added indication of Tehran's displeasure they have cancelled the planned visit of former President Mohammad Khatami that was to have been made on the 25th. I suspect Khatami is the real leader of Iran's foreign policy, the Jihad, since the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not a cleric as is Khatami. Right after Iran's election last year Khatami was given a new title, head of the Association of Combatant Clerics, even though he still presents himself as a philosopher and humanitarian. I am sure he can easily rationalize and philosophically lecture as to why Islam should wage war on the Vatican - Rome - Italy - Europe - West. [AKI]
Night Watch Information Service
http://www.crossfirewar.com
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