TEHRAN – In the midst of the 2022 wave of unrest in Iran, the U.S. State Department put forth a diplomatic plan against Iran that aimed to achieve what can be called a Guaido-styled regime change in Iran. 

But the Iranian case included 14 Guaidos instead of one. 

The Tehran Times has obtained a document detailing a U.S. State Department plan to significantly increase diplomatic pressure on Iran amid the 2022 Mahsa Amini commotion in Iran. 

The plan, formally called “Stop Talking to Them,” outlines the steps the U.S. was expected to do during the unrest. More specifically, five major steps are mentioned in the plan, which was devised under the direction of former U.S. envoy for Iran Rob Malley. 

The ultimate goal of the plan was delegitimizing the Islamic Republic of Iran on the international level. According to the plan, the first step the U.S. should do is to facilitate the expulsion of Iranian diplomats especially from Europe and the United Nations. 

During the unrest, this step was repeatedly recommended by the most hawkish parts of the Iranian opposition groups in the West. 

The next step builds on the first one. It entails the introduction of people from the opposition to replace the diplomats expelled. To this end, the U.S. State Department received a list of 14 influential individuals all of Iranian descent but living in the West. The majority of those on the list are women but it shockingly excluded some of the opposition’s most renowned female mouthpieces. 

The Tehran Times will give further details on the second step soon, including the 14 persons who were supposed to assume the role of Juan Guaido.

The third step was meant to complement the previous one. It called for inviting the diplomats of other countries to leave Iran. This step was also pursued by the Iranian opposition during the unrest but wasn’t implemented as no foreign diplomats departed Iran over the unrest. 

The fourth step is the most egregious one that is unbecoming a superpower because it called for limited physical and propaganda attacks against Iran’s diplomatic missions abroad. This step also stipulates that the U.S. should encourage the continuation of demonstrations and gatherings against Iranian diplomatic places. 

The most important step is the fifth one, which seems to be the motive behind all the previous steps. It calls for a sudden end to the nuclear talks with Iran. The abrupt end to nuclear talks was intended to hearten the opposition and cause a sudden increase in currency and gold rates.

The five-step plan is another piece of evidence that the United States grossly interfered in Iran’s internal affairs all at a time when it was trying to reach out to Iran for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue.