TEHRAN – Last year, Iran faced a wave of unrest that involved many instigators. A document obtained by the Tehran Times shows that the Biden administration was one of them.

The document was prepared with the participation of former U.S. envoy for Iran Rob Malley, whose mysterious dismissal made global headlines. 

The death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 ushered in a months-long period of unrest that impacted almost every aspect of life in Iran. It caused protracted insecurity, currency fluctuations, and societal divisions, to name a few, leaving millions of people in Iran worse off in some aspects of life. This is not to mention those who lost their lives – whether security forces or ordinary people - during the unrest.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, Iranian authorities did their utmost to calm down society and heal the wounds of unrest. A major step in that direction was the declaration of a general amnesty that included all those who were arrested in the unrest. 

Iranian officialdom acknowledged grassroots grievances that contributed to the outbreak of unrest. In addition, high-level Iranian officials warned about foreign hands. But while many pieces of evidence were presented in relation to foreign meddling, many in the West chose to pooh-pooh the idea of foreign meddling. 

In the midst of Iran’s 2022 unrest, the U.S. State Department, with the participation of Rob Malley, devised a strategy to further fan the flames of unrest and prolong it.  The Tehran Times has obtained a detailed document that shows how the Biden administration strategized, formulated, and implemented an aggressive Iran policy in the midst of the 2022 unrest. The document, dated November 22, 2022, can be seen as a formal strategy that proved to be a guiding principle for the U.S. in its policy toward Iran in the ensuing months. 

It was prepared by the U.S. State Department and sent to other agencies such as the U.S. National Security Council. 

The document outlines four broad sections for action against Iran, with each one including many subsections. The document proposes that the National Security Council take on a coordinative role in terms of convening small, regular sessions at the level of undersecretaries, channeling Iran-related intelligence, improving inter-agency work, and briefing President Biden on “protests” in Iran on a daily basis.

A major part of the document addresses how the U.S. should support “protestors” in Iran all while increasing sanctions on Iran and isolating it internationally. 

Unlike what many may think, this support is not just in the form of tweets or statements. It far exceeds the conventional ways of expressing support for alleged freedom-seeking protestors. The document includes instructions for the Biden administration to tap into U.S. intelligence muscles by leaking certain intelligence obtained through U.S. spy agencies to help embolden the so-called protestors. The instructions go so far as to nudge the U.S. into targeting Iran’s command and control systems to cripple the country’s cyber capabilities. 

The much-discussed smuggling of Starlink satellite Internet terminals is mentioned in detail in the document, which also includes not-previously-reported efforts by the U.S. to provide people in Iran with VPNs in a bid to get around internet restrictions. 

The U.S. meddlesome efforts are not limited to improving access to news and information, according to the document, but it also includes financial support for those involved in unrest such as setting up strike funds. 

Another part of the document addresses the need to further heap further sanctions on Iranian officials on the pretext of violating human rights. The document calls for human rights sanctions on high-level Iranian officials. 

It also includes multilateral efforts to isolate Iran in international organizations in close collaboration with European allies. 

The document expresses dissatisfaction with Iran’s membership in the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). This part of the strategy was implemented in December 2022, when the U.S. spearheaded efforts to remove Iran from the Commission. 

All in all, the document is another piece of evidence of how the U.S. interfered in Iran’s internal affairs at a time when it was calling for nuclear negotiations with Tehran. 

While the 2022 unrest faded away long ago, the Biden administration apparently continues its efforts to destabilize Iran. Recently, Iranian media reported that the U.S. offered that the Taliban cause insecurity in Iran in exchange for getting their frozen funds in the U.S. If true, this proves that the U.S. strategy to destabilize Iran has not been put on the shelf. 

By Sadegh Fereydounabadi