How would attacks and/or sanctions affect the human rights situation in Iran?
AE: Sanctions, military attacks and even threats by the US will no doubt strengthen the anti-democratic forces in Iran and roll back all the achievements of the Iranian civil society in recent years in the area of human rights, freedom of press and democracy in general. In fact, George Bush’s State of Union Speech of January 2002 which labelled Iran as part of the axes of evil, only weeks after the reformist government of the popular President Khatami had actually assisted the US in overthrowing the Taliban regime, struck a devastating blow to the Iranian reformists who have lost all elections since then. Felix: How would attacks and/or sanctions affect the region? AE: John McCain, the Republican hopeful for the US presidential elections in 2008 , who supports the military option against Iran to be on the table, was asked this same question. His answer was simple: Armageddon. In fact, Iran is three times the size of Iraq and has three times more population with considerable influence i
