Obama Openly Embraces Iran’s Opposition

"Just Leave Us Alone," Says Opposition

After months of not-so-secret backing of Iran’s “Green Revolution” opposition, the Obama Administration is moving away from the pretense of covert support and is now openly embracing the opposition as a central part of its strategy.

That strategy, which also includes calls for “crippling sanctions” against the nation, is aimed most directly at trying to get Iran to abandon its civilian nuclear program, and also speculatively as a path to regime change.

Not everyone is happy with this new approach to Iran’s opposition, but perhaps the most visibly upset group is the opposition itself, which is desperately trying to establish itself as a viable domestic opposition group amid government claims that it is little more than a front for the Obama Administration.

America’s funding for the groups is still officially secret, but the support is seriously undermining their standing in Iran, as the Iranian population suffers under the yoke of US-backed sanctions and hears, increasingly credibly, that the pro-democracy activists are being used by the US to undermine stability in the nation.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.