ANALYSIS: Congress is taking the lead on Iran policy

A visit by a high-profile delegation of American Senators to Albania, home to members of the Iranian opposition, is sending major signals and messages to Tehran about growing consensus in Washington over the necessity to adopt regime change policy in the face of the mullahs’ belligerence.

The Senate delegation consisted of Senators Roy Blunt, Vice President of the Republican Conference, and member of the Appropriation, Select Intelligence, Rules and Administration, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation committees; John Cornyn, the Majority Whip, and a member of the Judiciary, Select Intelligence, and Finance committees; and Thom Tillis, a member of the Armed Services, Judiciary, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs committees.

The delegation met with Iranian opposition Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Tirana, discussing recent developments in the Middle East and Iran’s menacing role.

“Maryam Rajavi thanked the Senators for their decisive position vis-à-vis the Iranian regime, especially the adoption of a new resolution which imposed sanctions on the clerical regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for human rights abuses, the ballistic missile program, and the export of terrorism. She expressed gratitude for the efforts of the U.S. Senate, particularly Senator Blunt, regarding the protection of thousands of MEK members in Camp Liberty, Iraq, and their safe relocation to Albania,” according to a NCRI statement.

Destructive meddling

Back in July 2014 several senior American figures, including Senator Blunt, staged a Senate briefing strongly condemning Iran’s destructive meddling in its western neighbor, Iraq. Characterizing the Iranian regime as part of the problem and not the solution, Senator Blunt emphasized on his demand for the PMOI/MEK members’ urgent and speedy transfer from Camp Liberty – a ransacked and deserted former US base near Baghdad International Airport west of the capital – to countries abroad in an effort to save their lives.

Senators John McCain and Jeanne Shaheen, joined by then Senator Carl Levin, former chairman of the Armed Forces Committee, issued a strong letter to former Secretary of State John Kerry seeking “protection of Camp Liberty and to expedite the resettlement of the Camp Residents to countries outside Iraq, including the United States.”http://bit.ly/2v1Dr1q