Iran Policy Committee

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The Iran Policy Committee (IPC), formed in January 2005, is a pressure group meant to influence US government policy towards Iran. IPC is made up of former White House, State Department, Pentagon and CIA officials [1]. In September 2010 it was revealed by LobeLog that through 2006 IPC shared an address, accountants, and some staff with multiple organizations that either fronted for or had direct ties to the Iraqi National Congress, "even sharing staff members with those groups. Some of those ties have continued through today."[2]

Views and activities

On the grounds that Iran poses a threat to US National Security, the IPC advocates that the US should favor "regime change" through a process of "destabilization" and "coercive diplomacy", while keeping the full military option open. Suggested policies include economic blockades, military support of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) or the MEK, and precision strikes of selected targets within Iran. They describe this as "providing a central role for the Iranian opposition to facilitate regime change". [3] In a speech to a rally on 19 January 2006 organized by Council for Democratic Change in Iran, an MeK front group, Tanter said the revolution in Iran will not be one of the nonviolent “color revolutions” likes those in central Europe. “To say that the only route in Iran is the non-violent route of Gandhi and King is to misunderstand the nature of the theocratic regime in Tehran.[4].”

According to Rightweb:

Launched in 2005, IPC's main modus operandi is to hold a press conference, typically at the National Press Club, at which it releases the findings of its latest “white paper.” On January 11, 2007, a day after President George W. Bush announced his “surge” strategy for Iraq, IPC held a press conference at the National Press Club to announce the release of its latest paper, “How to Make the Surge Work: A Complementary Political-Military Plan for Iraq.” ...Less than a week earlier, on January 5, 2007, IPC held a press conference at the National Press Club at which it claimed to provide convincing evidence of Tehran's role in fomenting violence in Iraq. Under the headline “New Intelligence Points to Iran Destabilizing Iraq,” the conference showcased the work of Alireza Jafarzadeh...IPC's Tanter followed up Jafarzadeh's remarks to push for the involvement of the MEK in U.S. operations in the region.
Earlier IPC white papers on Iran have included: “U.S. Policy Options for Iran and Iranian Political Opposition,” September 13 2005; “U.S. Policy Options for Iran: Sham Elections, Disinformation Campaign, Human Rights Abuses, and Regime Change,” June 30, 2005; “U.S. Policy Options for Iran,” February 10, 2005; and “What Makes Iran Tick,” May 10, 2006.[5]

A Neocon Dissent

While the organization does not shy away from endorsing violence to achieve regime change in Iran, they have been criticized by neocons for not being hardline enough. The neocon hawk Michael Rubin has criticized them for working with the “Monsters of the Left: The Mujahedin al-Khalq.” He was rebutted by the IPC's Clare Lopez for vilifying MEK: “While the MEK's wartime actions [attacking Iran during the Iran-Iraq war] undeniably alienated some Iranians, the group's survival and ability to organize itself, and collect and disseminate key intelligence about Iran's top-secret nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction programs clearly attest to an extensive base of support inside the country today. The MEK's broad level of support among the Iranian Diaspora is obvious in regular and large-scale demonstrations, for instance, in New York City to protest the September 2005 appearance of Iran's terrorist president [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad at the United Nations and on January 19 in Washington, DC to urge referral of Iran to the UN Security Council, where seas of hundreds of waving placards with photos of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi are always prominent features..[6].”

Principals, directors, and personnel

[8] [9]

Politicians or academics promoting IPC

US Congressmen/Senators promoting IPC

European Parliamentarians promoting IPC

Featured Iranians

Affiliations

Other resources

External Links

Contact

Iran Policy Committee
3700 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Suite 507, Washington DC 20016
Phone: 202-333-7346
Fax: 202-333-4126 (fax)
Web: www.iranpolicy.org (NB: the original website and offices of IPC were run out of the Nuclear Control Institute)

Notes

  1. ↑ Iran Policy Committee, Mission Statement, Accessed 21-March-2009
  2. ↑ Ali Gharib and Eli Clifton, "Neocon Iran Policy Committee Tied To Disgraced Iraqi National Congress", LobeLog, 10 September 2010
  3. ↑ Iran Focus News Iran policy group outlines new approach in dealing with Tehran, Iran Focus, 14-February-2005, Accessed 23-March-2009
  4. ↑ Iran Policy CommitteeProfile, Rightweb, Accessed 23-March-2009
  5. ↑ Iran Policy CommitteeProfile, Rightweb, Accessed 23-March-2009
  6. ↑ Iran Policy CommitteeProfile, Rightweb, Accessed 23-March-2009
  7. ↑ Claire M. Lopez, IAN biography, International Analyst Network, (Accessed: 9 December 2007)
  8. ↑ U.S. Policy Options for Iran Document, Iran Policy Committee, New York Times, 10-February-2005, Accessed 23-March-2009
  9. ↑ Iran Policy Committee, IPC Scholars and Fellows, Accessed 23-March-2009
  10. ↑ Iran Policy CommitteeProfile, Rightweb, Accessed 23-March-2009
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