ANALYSIS/OPINION:
About two days after an Orlando gunman carried out the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, the Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement purporting to decry the incident. Speaking via the state-run IRNA, a spokesperson said the Iranian regime “condemns” the attack “based on its principled policy of condemning terrorism and its strong will to seriously confront this evil phenomenon.”
It’s hard to imagine an expression of sympathy more disingenuous. Tehran’s comments must be viewed against a backdrop of its status as the world’s most active state sponsor of terrorism, its steady propaganda against the United States, and its own brand of homophobia that has its origins in Islamic extremism.
Iran is not all talk. The rhetoric about Western “arrogance” and “hostility” has been backed up by the arrests of numerous people who hold both Iranian and Western citizenships. The same goes for journalists, artists and professionals who have any meaningful connections with the West, and for activists the regime deems pro-Western.
More significant is the regime’s long and brutal history of institutionalized homophobia. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once famously declared during a visit to the United States that Iran “does not have any homosexuals.” His laughable bluster was typical of his macho regime.
By contrast, the Orlando condemnation was issued by the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, known to wear a much friendlier face in public than its predecessor. This was most obvious during the nuclear negotiations last July. But neither the nuclear deal nor any subsequent statements justify claims that Mr. Rouhani and his colleagues represent a trend toward moderation.
Indeed, just last week, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that traces of man-made uranium were found at the Parchin facility, southeast of Tehran, indicating that Tehran was pursuing a weapons program.
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