Fearing Détente With Israel, Leftist Group Prepares To Call Iran ‘Repressive,’ ‘Brutal’

Arab states that established, or are considering establishing, relations with Israel – suddenly their human rights records became important.

Washington, October 19 – An association of advocates for more accommodating American policy toward Teheran has begun to develop and assemble materials in case of a positive shift in Teheran attitudes toward the Jewish State, following the increasingly-likely downfall of the Ayatollah regime – materials that will, for the association’s first time, criticize the country for human rights abuses, sources within the group disclosed Thursday.

The Qatar-backed Middle East Policy Forum has consistently pushed for outcomes congruent with Iranian hegemonic ambitions and has downplayed Teheran’s violent repression of demonstrations for decades. However, aides to several senior MEPF figures told reporters that the possibility of Iranian reconciliation with Israel – with or without the collapse of the Islamic Revolution regime – will necessitate a new rhetorical line that, consistent with the group’s reaction to ongoing Israel-Arab normalization, will suddenly give robust attention to Iran’s mistreatment of its citizens and its malign activities throughout the region.

“There’s a growing chance that the Khamenei administration won’t last,” acknowledged a MEPF staffer who declined to give his name. “For one thing, he’s just plain old, and there are all sorts of rumors regarding his health. There’s no guarantee of a smooth transition to a successor, if he even designates one. So right there is one point of instability. We have to be ready to react to a different faction in Iranian society emerging as dominant, which means a shift on Israel, in which case human rights in Iran suddenly matter.”

“Then there’s the decreasing odds of an overthrow,” the staffer continued. “Demonstrations against Khamenei haven’t dwindled. More than a year into the current wave, they’ve only gained steam. This despite violent crackdowns and continued enforcement of unpopular hijab laws. The people of Iran are a lot more pro-Israel than the regime would ever admit, and regardless of how repressive the Shah was, that was a long time ago and the current leadership’s unpopularity means popular agreement with anything the leadership opposes – such as the Shah’s close ties to Israel.”

MEPF will continue, for now, to disseminate pro-regime analysis and talking points; the funding mandate from Doha still requires such a position. Analysts nevertheless have begun to prepare themselves for a shift, once the Ayatollahs fall and the Forum must find new ways to shoehorn reflexive anti-Israel assumptions into new geopolitical situations.

“We’ll be fine,” assured the aide’s superior. “Just look at our work on the Arab states that established, or are considering establishing, relations with Israel. Suddenly their human rights records became important to us. We’ll follow the same playbook with Iran, should it become necessary, however unfortunate the fall of such a bastion of progressive values might be.”

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