brief - Iran 911 Case

all, of the United States and other Western hostages in Lebanon . . . .Ex. 13, Patterns of Global Terrorism, p. 44 (1987).Former Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr summed up these observations bysimple citation to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei‘s phrase: ―Victory byTerror.‖ Ex. 11, Banisadr testimony, p. 22.A. The Motives, Strategy, and Tactics Behind Iran’s Terrorist PolicyAs the only country in the Middle East that has existed as a state within stableborders for thousands of years, Iran‘s worldview blends Shiite Islamic ideology andpragmatic nationalism. Baer, The Devil We Know, p. 246. Iranian Shi‘a Islam is steepedin the ancient religion of Persia – Zoroastrianism – which centers on a precept of theduality of good and evil. Thus, Iran calls the United States and Israel, which it considerscolonial or occupying powers and therefore evil, the ―Great Satan‖ 23 and the ―LesserSatan,‖ while Shi‘a Islam is good and must oppose the evil powers. Baer, The Devil WeKnow, pp. 148, 234-38; Ex. 7, Bergman Affid. 24.Iran today considers itself a global power. Its geopolitical goals include Iranianhegemony over the Middle East and its oil. Central to this quest is a near-term objectiveof driving out of the region all colonialist and occupying powers, leaving Iran in aposition to defeat what it has viewed as the corrupt governments of Sunni states, such asSaudi Arabia, and to establish itself as the leader and protector of all Islam. Baer, TheDevil We Know, pp. 198, 238, 242-43, 245. Iran considers itself to be the ―Ommolghora‖—―the heart of the Islamic world‖ and the homeland of Islam. Ex. S-2,23 On November 5, 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini first declared the United States to be ―the GreatSatan.‖ On January 14, 1980, he told visiting Pakistani army officers, ―We are at war against theinfidels. Take this message with you. I ask all Islamic nation, all Muslims, all Islamic armies andheads of Islamic states to join the Holy War. There are many enemies to be killed or destroyed. Jihadmust triumph.‖ Ex. 6, Lopez-Tefft Affid. 60.39