Solution to Iran problem can come from within

The recent victory of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran, or PMOI/MEK, in being removed from a US list of terrorist groups may offer a different and novel alternative in dealing with the Islamic Republic, writes British MP

Until now, the international community looked to the United States to take the lead in the diplomatic impasse regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions. However, the results were not the best by any stretch of the imagination. The policy adopted by Washington and Brussels vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic was to impose sanctions on Iran, something that failed to bring about the desired results. The carrot and stick approach of sanctions imposed by the United Nations and the western countries against Iran and in turn rewarding it with incentives if the mullahs adhered to pressures from the west turned out to be a huge failure.

Iran continues to do what it wants to do regardless of the effects that sanctions may have on the country. There are three major dossiers in contention between Iran and the west. First is the nuclear issue, a subject that monopolised the west's attention with Iran. Second is Iran's support of terrorism and rogue regimes such as the support for Damascus. And third is Iran's heavy investment in research and development in the internet and the world wide web, with nefarious intent, such as hoping to infect western computer systems with harmful viruses that could eventually destabilise western defence systems.

Indeed the options available in dealing with Iran seemed limited and the results they promised were equally dismal. Mainly the choice was to either try to change the mullahs' behaviour through armed foreign military intervention, a prospect that promised disastrous outcomes, or increasing the status quo by giving in to the mullahs. However, suddenly the political landscape in Iran changed drastically last month when the US state department reversed a 15-year ruling, removing the MEK from its list of terrorist organisations. This change opens the way for the MEK to start focusing on bringing about changes inside Iran.

The timing for that change is right as the Iranian people are once again becoming restive, and despite the massive repressive measures taken by the Iranian authorities after the 2009 popular uprising that shook the foundation of regime, a major anti-government demonstration broke out once more on October 3 when Iranians took to the streets once more. This time the demonstration began over economic issues, but quickly turned anti-government with chants against Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, and against Iran's support of the Syrian regime, breaking out among the crowds.

It was not for lack of trying but despite the Iranian regime's failure to quell the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran through the massacre of some 120,000 of the organisation's activists in Iran and the launching of a massive campaign demonising the MEK, the mullahs still failed to achieve their objective. That was to create the myth that there exists no Iranian solution to the Iranian crisis and the west is stuck with choosing between the two above-mentioned policy options. The intent was to prevent any western policy to shift towards a democratic change by the Iranian people and their organised resistance.

The prevailing appeasement policy by the west during the past 25 years has provided impetus to the mullahs' campaign and contributed heavily to the mischief concocted by these mullahs. The delisting, which has given a new life to the MEK, has been in the words of the Iranian resistance leader Maryam Rajavi, "the most significant blow to the mullahs' foreign policy for the past 30 years". This was all the more evident in the mullahs' harsh reaction to the delisting that has continued throughout the past few weeks.

What does this change of status accomplish? It enables the MEK to focus its time and resources on bringing the change in Iran and this is exactly what rattles the mullahs. More importantly, it allows for change in Iran to come about through an Iranian solution, rather than any foreign military intervention or appeasement of the current regime. It allows change by the people of Iran and the Iranian organised resistance. As Mrs. Rajavi stressed during a recent speech to the European Parliament, "the Iranian resistance neither wants money nor weapons from the west". The west can expedite or slow down the process for democratic change in Iran.

It is time for a change of policy by the west. We should recognise the Iranian resistance and identify with a policy of regime change with the aim of establishing a democratic form of government in Iran. Given the options at hand, that should not be too difficult now.

David Amess is a Conservative member of parliament and a leading member of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom