America’s Double Standard

Wherever Iran turns, it brings war, destruction and terror. Iran's mullahs consider what Iran spends on arms in the region to be just one of the costs of jihad, according to Shiite Twelver principles. Reports from Western monitoring, analysis and research estimate the amounts spent by Iranian mullahs on war activities to expand their reach in the region as follows: $700 million on Hezbollah in Lebanon, $150 million on militias in Iraq and $100 million on the Muslim Brotherhood-inspired Hamas. As for the Houthis, they say they will continue to make war until the Joe Biden administration resuscitates the nuclear agreement with Iran, so the total comes to $1 billion.

The question raised by the situation is this: Where did the Iranians get all this money, despite being under economic sanctions and unable to export oil, despite domestic spending needs as well? Insiders say that the lion's share of Iraqi oil revenues go to Iran, the Iraqi people are left with only the crumbs and the Iraqi government cannot touch this subject or investigate it. Iranian militias in Iraq are prepared to complicate matters for Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi if he dares try to address this issue.

In addition, the 20% religious tax imposed by Ja’fari Shiite legal tradition ultimately feeds the treasury of the supreme leader in Tehran; this, by the way, is a huge amount. The total is not known exactly, except that the taxes go to converting Sunnis around the world to Shiite law, and to terrorist activities to protect the Khomeini Revolution in Iran. The Americans know about this source of Iranian funding, which is used to support Iran’s ideological wars, like the wars now underway in certain Arab regions, where the Iranians boast control of the major cities. These funds also go toward winning converts in African and Asian countries and funding Sunni Jihad terrorist movements that support the Iranian project, such as al-Qaida or Islamic State. The important question raised in this context is why the Americans are using all their power and information to cut off sources of Sunni terrorism while they overlook and remain dead silent about cutting off Shiite sources of funding.

I hate the justification that interprets political phenomena from a partisan standpoint, but I see no justification other than American foul play for this double standard of preferential treatment of Shiites and discrimination against Sunnis. This position will ultimately lead to strengthening and nurturing radical Sunni thinking, whose sources of funding are being cut off and besieged in an effort to eradicate it.

This flagrant double standard will force American allies in Sunni countries into a difficult position and potentially create a fertile environment for extremism, which relies on a culture of hate. Some of the American actions that contribute to this position include the way the United States handled the aftermath of its occupation in Iraq. The George W. Bush administration handed the country to Iran’s mullahs, allowing them to shape its internal power according to the Iranian agenda. Additionally, Americans have turned a blind eye to Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi's efforts to bomb Iraqi opposition rallies in Paris, which, had they succeeded, would have been one of the largest crimes conducted in Europe since World War II. Although the perpetrator of the crime was a diplomat and the crime was a pure act of terrorism, European politicians held back, intending to curb the implications. Are the Americans even aware of the results of this biased and irresponsible behavior against the Sunni communities, who together represent more than 90% of the Islamic people?

If we are all to avoid regretting our mistakes, the Americans must reconsider the biased view that allows the Iranian ogre to expand at the expense of Sunnis.