In an article published in the Wall Street Journal on April 16, Michael Ledeen urged the US administration to overthrow the Islamic Republic establishment by inciting unrest during the upcoming presidential election in Iran.
Iran’s 11th presidential election will be held on June 14. The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election.
Iran’s mission to the UN sent a letter to the Wall Street Journal in response to the article, blasting Ledeen’s “vilifying” and “misleading” remarks about the Islamic Republic.
“For the past 34 years, ever since the Islamic revolution overthrew a US-backed monarchical dictatorship, Iran’s new representative political system has been consistently vilified in the US media,” the letter read.
According to the letter, Ledeen supports an “interventionist approach” toward the Islamic Republic without “any respect for Iran’s sovereignty and national rights” and he fails to see the legitimacy of Iran’s establishment due to his “deep-seated animosity.”
“Iran’s political system… is based on regular, competitive elections and checks and balances among the branches of government,” the letter said.
Iran’s mission also slammed Washington’s hostile approach towards Iran, evident in measures such as removing the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from the State Department’s blacklist on September 28, 2012.
The MKO has carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.
Out of the 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, some 12,000 have fallen victim to the acts of terror carried out by the MKO.
The MKO opened an office in Washington, one block from the White House, on April 11.