Iranian Dissident Says Iran 'Godfather' of ISIS
A top Iranian opposition leader says Iran's hardline Islamic regime is behind the rise of Islamic State.
Maryam Rajavi told the U.S. House Foreign Relations subcommittee Wednesday that Iranians have dubbed their government the "godfather" of ISIS.
Rajavi is president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which is based in Paris. She is the first member of an Iranian resistance group to testify before Congress.
On top of her concerns about ISIS, she also warns that Tehran wants nuclear weapons so it can foster even more Islamic extremism.
And she argues it's a bad idea for the West to make concessions in the nuclear negotiations with Iran, saying it would embolden its leaders to be even more aggressive in meddling in other nations.
Rajavi says the U.S. and the five other nations in talks with Iran must demand that it completely stop enriching uranium and shut down its nuclear sites, missile programs and other programs.
"None of the sanctions should be lifted before an agreement has been signed that effectively and definitively denies the mullahs the bomb," Rajavi said.
"Otherwise, the regime will spend billions of unfrozen assets to buy weapons, including advanced missiles from Russia," she warned.
