Didn’t we bury populism? Zombies can rise up from their graves!

 By Mehrdad Torabi

Populists are like zombies. They have thirst for blood; they are impulsive, act without really thinking, and they talk. One cannot expect diplomacy from an authoritarian.

Authoritarianism, exceptionalism, imperialism, we fight; we fought populists, we hit them hard, and yet they sometimes try to rise up from their graves.

Let me speak a bit more clearly. Not that internal affairs in the United States don't matter, but one needs to also recognize the exogenous variables affecting domestic politics.

Without resistance, Palestinian rights would be undermined, democratic elections in Venezuela would be subordinated to an American puppet regime, Syria would face a never-ending cycle of occupation and terror, Iran would become a target for American warmongers, and so forth.

If these were realized, America would be great again, and Trump would be in his office today. We defeated populism.

Populists, in a row, were defeated to join other warmongers of the US whom, along with their ideological fanaticism, the will of the great resisting nations has buried in the graveyard of history.

They may seem powerless today in the United States, but extremism is highly contagious, especially when the media mediate to provide them (extremists) with a supporting radical milieu.

Mike Pompeo’s thirst for power made him tweet about Iran’s foreign minister to exploit different perspectives of Iran’s politics for the purpose of justifying an act of assassination which was carried out in violation of international law.

Iran’s frustrations concerning the nuclear deal are understandable; US economic terrorism has been a war of attrition. Indeed, resistance works like an intricate machine with tremendous friction so that things that are easily planned on paper can be executed only with great effort. Uncertainty, confusion, fatigue, error, and countless other imponderables all interfere. But that doesn't mean the Islamic Republic will submit to external pressure. Friction, even if it is created by physical forces, always has a psychologically inhibiting effect.

But the difficulty is not how to overcome friction. The entire difficulty lies in this: to remain faithful in action to our values and principles. In fact, we have become stronger, and we will become stronger still over time. With the strength of our faith, all united in hearts, we, Iranian guardians, the great nation of Iran, are determined to bring down the Global Arrogance to its knees, and we will.

Today, Iran is among the nine countries with satellite capability, among the five pioneers of nanotechnology, among the top petrochemical powers, among the four in developing technology to prevent or cure blood clots, among the 16 in terms of scientific level, and is third in steel production growth, among other rankings, all of which were achieved under sanctions. Sanctions provided an opportunity for a revolution, a scientific-industrial jolt. Our great achievements would not be possible by subordinating our economy to the liberal order. We have reduced our dependence on oil and the West. Iran has emerged from this economic terror campaign with an economy more resistant to outside pressure and thereby insulated from future US sanctions. The difficulty is not how to overcome friction, but how to absorb it to further strengthen willpower, like receiving frictions of maneuver to make oneself ready for combat.

Iran is determined to expand its legitimate ballistic missile program as well as leading the resistance. It will not allow its conventional defensive capabilities to be compromised, restricted, or undermined. The JCPOA remains an end in itself, is not renegotiable, nor is it variable or associable. The US will find no other alternative but to end its economic terrorism and acknowledge Iran's position of power in the region. That's how you hunt zombies.