Pressure has mounted against the Islamic Republic over the past week, with more calls from Western capitals to not only back supporters in their demands for regime change, but isolate Iran’s regime further to address its belligerence.
Before the sheer brutality of the regime’s men – their unhinged determination to exact revenge on those who dare defy their hold onto power, the world’s voices have risen in condemnation, urging governments to meet the growing threat of a regime, whose propensity for violence and terror has proven unnerving.
As it were, the old narrative of containment and normalisation no longer holds. How can it when a regime commits its guns and its men to the persecution of its own nationals – defying the very sanctity of human life.
Much can be said indeed of a system of governance which rationalises the murder of children and oppression of religious and ethnic minorities.
As the regime scrambles for control within, Iran has also looked without, to shore up support, a move we have yet to fully assess if we are to pre-empt any further escalation of violence in the region.
In Musandam (a governorate of the Sultanate of Oman), which lies but a stone throw away from Iran proper, local activists and community leaders have rung the alarm, warning that over the past few weeks there has been a great influx of armed men, from well-known terrorist outfits- namely IRGC, Hezbollah, Houthis and Hamas.
If such movements are not unheard of in Musandam, Muscat has over the years offered Iran cover for its military exercises and training, such a mobilisation of force at this current juncture led many to ponder over Iran’s future plans.
With runways being built in Syria for Iran’s Kamikaze drones, at striking distance of the State of Israel, and news Iran is furnishing Russia with not only drones but surface-to-air missiles to bolster its war efforts in Ukraine, military movements in Musandam could speak of a coordinated efforts to foment regional chaos and force Western powers to dial back their criticism.
With new fronts opening up, visibility remains our best line of defence – it may be time to assess Iran’s military capabilities and account for the regime’s expansionist agenda, should we wish to meet the threat head on. Apathy will only embolden the regime further.