Money. Power. Influence. Total domination over the political process. These are the main goals (assets) pursued by the Axis of Tyranny led by China, Russia and Iran – however, there is a very much appreciated asset which is quite often underestimated (or even ignored): history. Specifically about the Islamic Republic of Iran, History is fundamental in the craft of its geopolitics – their system of alliances and strategic operations/intel centers are defined based on each and every country’s historical importance for the Ayatollah regime. For the radical corrupt Tehran-regime, future is (a reformulated do-over of the) past; and past is the key to future.
The Ayatollah regime is based on perennial absolute truths, as dictated by the Ayatollahs: the modern tools and geopolitical trends are means to restore a theocratic vision of Iran’s Persian past. The alliance of tradition (perennialism) and modernization moves the Iranian Ayatollahs Grand Strategy: this is precisely why Iran is betting high on acquiring knowledge from European and US universities, mobilizing agents linked to IRGC/QODS FORCES to infiltrate research centers in strategic areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Aeronautics, Nanotechnology and Health Sciences. History and knowledge are among the reasons why Iran has such a strong presence in Portugal – this Iberian country (i) has a historical meaning to Iran, as well as to some of its regional allies; (ii) offers an unique geopolitical position to be well within the European Union and close to both the UK and Morocco; (iii) allows to get access to European Union and United States funds and scientific programs (think about FULLBRIGHT program), considering Portugal’s belonging to the European Union and diplomatic relations with the United States; (iv) gives the chance to work discreetly, with lower risk, taking into account Portugal’s highly centralized power and family-based ruling class. Let’s not forget, additionally, Portuguese connection with Africa (namely, the Portuguese-speaking African countries, organized in CPLP- Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries) and Latin America (especially Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela).
It is a given fact that Portugal, during the World War II, played an important role in terms of espionage and counter-espionage due to its geopolitical location – crucial to influence the future of the “Atlantic World”. Another important historical amenity that gives Portugal a high value for the Islamic Republic of Iran is the Iberian country’s old(est) alliance with the English Crown (the Windsor Treaty was signed in 1373, by English King Edward III).
Thus, Portugal is exactly the place Iranian picked to recruit assets, to make money and people flow to undertake their strategic ops and to meddle in European (and American) politics. One clear example is (as the world is watching now) what is happening in the Portuguese Universities: students and scholars are being recruited to study in strategic UK universities so that they can “join the Iran-Russia-China Popular Brigade” to pursue the “Axis of Tyranny” global goals. Let’s see one example that clearly illustrates this worrying Iranian-Chinese taking over a western democracy like Portugal to tear down their main international foes.
SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of LONDON: a central target of Islamist activity in Europe-Africa to dominate the GLOBAL SOUTH
The Iranian regime has long flagged its desire to revenge what they perceived as British plots against the Ayatollahs Islamic Revolution. Iranian officials have targeted one University in particular: the SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) of the University of London. This School was founded in 1916, as a way to equip the British diplomats and general officials of basic cultural, economic, political, diplomatic knowledge about Africa and Asia. It was simultaneously an academic and practical skills school so to respond to the Empire’s (and then Commonwealth’s) structural challenges, fostering understanding to maintain the basic pillars that sustained such diverse political reality.
However, the understanding of the Iranian Ayatollahs regime is quite different: from their perspective, SOAS has been a school to train British spies to operate (mostly) in Iran, to sabotage the Islamic Revolution on behalf of the “Zionists and Americans”. Therefore, the Iranian regime is hell bent on turning the tables against the UK (and the US, because, as the former Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs said, the Brits are “puppets of the Americans…think about the Five Eyes”). How so? By recruiting and infiltrating – through a planned and long-term operation – Iranians assets at SOAS to spy on British targets and execute subversion actions from within. SOAS students and researchers are hired – or recruited as volunteers – by charities, cultural associations or supposedly human rights defenders associations
. The majority of these legal entities are just cover-ups for pro-Iranian regime activities coordinated from Tehran and Germany, mostly from the cities of Frankfurt and Hamburg. Geopolitics is happening at SOAS –understanding what is taking place at the school thereof allows us to get a better grasp on the threats which put our free democratic societies in distress. Besides uncovering how islamists groups and China are building a strategic geopolitical space between the Iberian Peninsula (and, more broadly, the Pan-Mediterranean) and the UK (North Atlantic/North Sea), with private agents (young activists, digital militias, cultural associations, charities…) , being able to reach out to official public power centers. Schools – Universities, Colleges and even lower education centers – have become official academies of revolutionaries to advance Iran and China’s global projects. Whether we like it or not, regional spheres of influence are being created with different goals – while the Islamic Republic of Iran aims to bring the ummah together (“policy of UNITY”), the Chinese Communist Party’s main goal is to become the hustler of a new world order, dictating the terms of a brand new international framework, one that is completely consistent with its imperialist totalitarian ambitions.
SOAS, Portugal and Mozambique: Iran’s digital militias supported by generous scholarships to operate in the GLOBAL SOUTH
Why Iran’s strategy includes both Portugal and the UK? Why have they built a “bridge” of activists revolutionaries between Portugal and the UK, besides the aforementioned strict geopolitical reasons? There are a couple of reasons to justify the Iranian Ayatollahs modus operandi.
Firstly, the special Portuguese connection with Africa: Portugal managed to keep a very cordial and friendly – even though with intense squabbles every now and then – with its former colonies in the African countries. This is very attractive to the Iranian regime – Portugal (a country which is part of major international organizations, benefiting from the freedom of movement policy within the European Union space, with a former PM acting as UN top official) has become instrumental for Iranians to expand their footprint in the so-called GLOBAL SOUTH ((replicating the long established Russia’s policy and the modern Chinese strategy).
Secondly, critical assets of Iranian regime in Portugal dominate Portuguese Universities and Research Centers, cultural associations and foundations. The Portuguese is to a great extent a medieval state with a growing modern society – which is a perfect match to the Iranian project of (ummah )UNITY through Islamic traditional values put forward by cutting-edge technology. Modernity is as good (or tolerable) as it helps exporting the Islamic Revolution worldwide. Far-left and the Iran-backed anti-semitic group BDS Movement is very well infiltrated in key high Portuguese Universities roles. Let’s not forget Portugal is one of the parents of the Erdogan-Qatar-Iran project named United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.
Additionally, there is a special African Portuguese-speaking country that is absolutely crucial to understand this Iranian project of using Portugal to influence UK (and US) politics: Mozambique. Mozambique is a singular country: it is simultaneously a former Portuguese colony (it was part of Portugal until 1975) and a member of the UK-led Commonwealth. The Iranian strategy of weaponizing SOAS and Portuguese groups, bringing them together, reached its pike during Graça Machel’s years as President of SOAS – precisely because that historical bond between Portugal and Mozambique.
Graça Machel was Samora Machel’s(the late communist leader of Mozambique, supported by the Soviet Union for many years) wife – years later, she married again with Nelson Mandela, the iconic inspirational leader of South Africa. Graça Machael is an extraordinary and charismatic woman, fighting (and winning) several battles for advancing the cause of respect for human dignity across the globe. She is a member of the ELDERS (a group of formal political leaders from different countries who pledge to work for the advance of Peace) and a consultant to the Brussels-based NGO INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP.
Recently, she has been very vocal against Israel, while very soft on Putin’s Russia and the Iranian Ayatollahs regime. She insisted on the world’s moral failure for not sufficiently condemning Israel – assertion that defies the evident fact that worldwide media spends hours and hours bashing on Israel and its leaders. She declared she was very proud that South Africa assumed a role of international leadership by filling a complaint against Israel in the International Court.
What about Vladimir Putin and the invasion against Ukraine ordered by him, killing thousands and thousands of Ukrainian innocent children, women and other vulnerable people? Welll, in this case, Graça Machel is not so straightforward – in fact, she praised Mozambique for having abstained in the UN Resolution condemning Russia for its barbarian and illegitimate war against Ukraine. The invoked argument to justify such duplicity of standard is Mozambique’s sovereignty and a dubious theory about the real (unknown) reasons which might have been behind the war – this sounds very much like the lies Putin’s propaganda has been pushing to deceive people.
Summoning up: Graça Machel thinks that the International Community must be tougher on Israel which is defending itself against terrorist organizations like HAMAS and HEZBOLLAH, both backed by Iran and its allies, following a murderous HAMAS terrorist against innocent Israeli civilians – Russia, on the other hand, according to Graça Machel, the former President of SOAS, deserves the International Community’s understanding and commiseration.
More: Russia deserves commiseration because that is the more convenient reality for Mozambique’s sovereign interests. So, Mozambique promoting its sovereign interests by being complicit to Russia’s murderous operations against innocent Ukrainians just to fulfill Putin’s totalitarian and imperialist ambitions is – for such a renowned HUMAN RIGHTS (!) activist such as Graça Machael – pretty acceptable and even commendable; however, Israel protecting its very existence and the safety of the Israeli People is unacceptable and something close to the “apartheid”. Again, the ludicrousness of this so-called “human rights activists” is on full display. With all due respect, only a fool would buy this nonsensical narrative.
Furthermore, Graça Machel – as some of her fellows at “THE ELDERS” and The International Crisis Group, some with links to SOAS – has been pushing hard for the Iran deal and the removal of the United States sanctions against the Iranian Ayatollahs regime. In 2022, Machel asked the Iranian regime to seize the moment – the coexistence of a new US Administration and an European Union’s establishment eager to drag the United States to a new policy of entente with the corrupt Tehran’s regime would represent an unique opportunity for the Ayatollahs regime to gain international legitimacy.
The ELDERS met with HAMAS in as far back as 2010.
South Africa, Mozambique, and Tanzania are strategic geopolitical spots for the Axis of Tyranny (China, Russia and Iran and their proxies). Not by chance, Qatar invested in Graça Machel’s Foundation in Tanzania as a soft power tool to augment Qatari (thus, Iranian) influence in the region. as part of their Grand Strategy to dominate the “GLOBAL SOUTH”. Here again, Portugal is instrumental to make the bridge between (continental) Europe and Africa.
Surprisingly – and shockingly – Graça Machel and the folks at SOAS and THE ELDERS ignore what is happening in Machel’s hometown MOZAMBIQUE, namely in CABO DELGADO, where ruthless, barbarian and inhumane jihadists (ISIS and MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD) are implementing their reign of terror. These scholars from SOAS prefer, however, to focus on “the domestic internal, social and political causes” to explain (or excuse?) the islamist terrorism taking place in Mozambique. The same narrative is being applied to Israel: the HAMAS terrorists (now branded as “equality fighters”) are just reacting to a “regional correlation of forces which is very oppressive to them”, killing innocent Israelis is nothing more than a “desperate cry out for help”. Two different cases, the same structural narrative that, ultimate and objectively, legitimizes terrorism against innocent people to advance totalitarian, anti-Freedom, hateful ideologies (as well as the dark interests embedded in them).
It would be very helpful to effectively advance Peace and Security around the world – especially in Africa – if the very wise Graça Machel and the people at “SOAS/The ELDERS” dedicated one tenth of the time they spend attacking Israel (and key United States allies) to firmly denounce ISIS; MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD and other islamists groups backed by IRAN/QATAR. Young activists are being given generous scholarships from the Qatar businessman and foundations based in Portugal to study in SOAS, as well as other UK universities such as King’s College and Queen Mary University.
