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Sun, June 05, 2011 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

A poster carried by the Iranian delegation at a mass procession to Taksim Square in downtown Istanbul, on the night of May 30. Right: Ayatollah Ghaemmaghami, the head of the Iranian delegation. The poster features the Hezbollah logo, a photograph of Hassan Nasrallah, and a citation (in Turkish) from a speech given by Nasrallah in Bint Jbeil after the IDF’s withdrawal from Lebanon: “As far as the Islamic nation is concerned, defeatism is over. Israel is weaker than spider webs”.

Iranian Delegation shows solidarity with the “Marmara Shaheeds” and Freedom Flotilla 2 to Gaza

An Iranian delegation participated in events held by the IHH in Istanbul on the anniversary of the Marmara flotilla, focused on fostering the myth of the “Marmara shaheeds”. The Iranian delegation raised the flags of Iran and Hezbollah, and held meetings with IHH activists and radical Islamist elements affiliated with it.

Overview

As part of the media campaign intended to build support for the upcoming flotilla, IHH and its allies from Turkey and elsewhere held a week of events in Turkey on the anniversary of the Mavi Marmara incident. Those invited included delegations and activists from all over the world involved in or sympathizing with the flotillas campaign. They took advantage of their stay in Istanbul to participate in the propaganda activities and hold meetings with IHH activists.

Of particular note was an Iranian delegation whose members took advantage of their stay in Istanbul to show support for the flotillas campaign, emphasize Hezbollah’s place among the organizations fighting against Israel, and hold meetings with the IHH and its Islamist allies. The delegation, headed by Ayatollah Seyyed Ghaemmaghami, was involved in an attempt to contribute to the mythic narrative around those killed on board the Mavi Marmara, using the image of an Iranian youngster who had sacrificed himself in the war against Iraq. The foreign visitors included guests from Israel, such as Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel (who had taken part in the Mavi Marmara flotilla) and Muhammad Zaidan, head of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel.

One of the main events took place in Istanbul — a mass procession held on the night of May 30-31, attended by tens of thousands of Turks and foreign delegations, including the one from Iran. The procession moved along İstiklal Avenue to Taksim Square in downtown Istanbul. The mass rally held there included speeches by IHH leader Bülent Yıldırım and representatives of the foreign guests. The procession participants carried posters with photographs of the nine Mavi Marmara shaheeds and chanted slogans against Israel and for Islamic solidarity, such as “Wait, Palestine, Mavi Marmara is coming”, or “Islamic solidarity is standing against the Zionist blockade” (IHH website, Hürriyet, May 31, 2011).

The participation of the Iranian delegation in the IHH campaign

One of the foreign delegations that took part in the procession along İstiklal Avenue was a delegation from Iran, headed by Ayatollah Seyyed Ghaemmaghami, which had come to Istanbul to participate in the IHH campaign. The ten-member delegation was given a welcome by IHH activists at the Istanbul airport, where they raised a large poster with photographs of the nine people killed on board the Mavi Marmara. During its stay in Turkey, the Iranian delegation visited the IHH headquarters in Istanbul and met with the organization’s activists. It also met with the families of the Mavi Marmara victims.

Left: A poster with the Hezbollah logo (left) carried at the Istanbul airport at the Iranian delegation’s welcoming ceremony. On the right is the poster featuring the photographs of the Mavi Marmara shaheeds (www.velfecr.com, June 1, 2011). Right: The welcome given to the Iranian delegation by IHH representatives at the airport. In the background is a poster showing the Mavi Marmara shaheeds, with text that reads “We shall fly the flag of our shaheeds everywhere” (www.velfecr.com, June 1, 2011).

The Iranian delegation was headed by Ayatollah Ghaemmaghami, an Iranian cleric and a head of an association dedicated to the commemoration of an Iranian youngster named Hossein Fahmideh, who became an icon after blowing up an Iraqi tank in a suicide attack during the Iran-Iraq War. The aim was to draw a parallel between the Iranian myth surrounding Fahmideh and the myth of the Mavi Marmara shaheeds, which the IHH is busily spreading among the Turkish public as part of its anti-Israeli PR effort.

Prior to the departure of the delegation, the Iranian association launched a blog and a Facebook page calling for interested people to take part in the Iranian delegation to Turkey, under the slogan “We shall meet with the Marmara Shaheeds”. There is a possibility (based on publications in Iranian blogs) that the Fahmideh commemorative association works under the auspices of Iran’s Martyrs Foundation, established to assist the families of those killed and wounded in the Iran-Iraq War.

During the procession which passed through İstiklal Avenue on the night of May 30, members of the Iranian delegation carried Iranian flags and a poster that drew a parallel between the Iranian shaheed and the youngest of the Mavi Marmara shaheeds. The poster featured the flags of Iran and Turkey and the photographs of the two martyrs: the 19-year-old Furqan Doğan, killed on board the Mavi Marmara,^[1] and the 14-year-old Mohammad Fahmideh, the Iranian boy killed in the Iran-Iraq War. The caption on the poster read “We shall meet with the Marmara Shaheeds”.

Another poster carried by the delegation members featured the Hezbollah logo and the photograph of Hassan Nasrallah, as well as a citation (in Turkish) from a speech given by Nasrallah “As far as the Islamic nation is concerned, defeatism is over. Israel is weaker than spider webs” (www.velfecr.com, June 1, 2011).

Left: The Iranian delegation walking to Taksim Square alongside IHH activists (www.velfecr.com, June 1, 2011). Right: An Iranian poster carried at the procession, with images of Mohammad Fahmideh, the youngster who became an icon in Iran, and Furqan Doğan, the youngest martyr killed on board the Mavi Marmara. The text on the poster reads “We shall meet with the Marmara Shaheeds” (www.velfecr.com, June 1, 2011).

The Iranian delegation’s meeting with an Islamist journalist who headed the Turkish delegation to the Nakba Day events in Jordan

One of those who welcomed the delegation was a journalist named Nureddin Şirin, known for his anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic, and anti-Western views, and affiliated with the IHH. On Nakba Day, Nureddin Şirin headed a group of Turkish Islamist activists that went to Jordan, some of whom, in our assessment, were IHH activists. The group confronted with the Jordanian security forces and some of its members were injured.^[2]

Nureddin Şirin also headed a delegation of activists who had taken part in the Mavi Marmara flotilla. The delegation was invited by Iran’s President Ahmadinejad to attend the anniversary of the Islamic revolution in February 2011 (MEMRI, February 18, 2011).

Left: Ayatollah Ghaemmaghami and Nureddin Şirin meeting the father of Furqan Doğan, the youngest person killed on board the Mavi Marmara (www.velfecr.com, June 1, 2011) Right: Nureddin Şirin welcoming Ayatollah Ghaemmaghami (www.velfecr.com, June 1, 2011)

Left: The Iranian delegation visiting the graveyard where the Mavi Marmara shaheeds are buried. The flags of Turkey and Palestine can be seen on the tombstones. Right: Ayatollah Ghaemmaghami, the head of the Iranian delegation, on his visit to Turkey (zeynebiye.com)

Iran’s solidarity with the flotillas and convoys campaigns

Iran is actively involved in attempts to delegitimize Israel and shows solidarity with the flotillas and convoys campaigns. However, it takes pains to avoid directly and openly taking part in the campaigns. One of the reasons is that the organizations and networks promoting the delegitimization campaigns in Western countries are concerned over the possibility that Iran’s direct involvement may put them at odds, politically and PR-wise, with the governments and public opinion of their respective countries. On the other hand, the IHH, with its radical Islamic orientation, has no qualms about having contacts with like-minded elements in Iran which, in our understanding, work with the full knowledge and blessing of the Iranian regime.

One expression of Iran’s sympathy for the IHH can be found in an August 2010 interview given by Yazdan Karimi, an Iranian researcher referred to as “expert on Palestine affairs”, to Fars News Agency, which represents the conservative bloc and is closely affiliated with Ahmadinejad. Following on the heels of a several-week visit to Turkey, the interview dwelt at length on the IHH and its background, and included a biased, distorted account of the fighting on board the Mavi Marmara.^[3] In the interview, the Iranian expert stressed Khomeini’s influence on the methods employed by the IHH, and concluded by saying that the members of IHH believe in Khomeini’s famous saying: “If every Muslim pours out one bucket of water, Israel will be swept away in the resulting flood.” According to the Iranian expert, this quote could be seen in the hall where, in late July 2010, a memorial service was held for the shaheeds of the Mavi Marmara.

One practical illustration of Iran’s support for the flotillas and convoys campaigns and an example of the Iranian regime’s attempt to use it for the promotion of anti-Israeli and anti-American propaganda was the “Asian convoy” affair (December 2010). The passage of the convoy, which had departed from India and was crossing Iran on its way to the Gaza Strip, was used by the Iranian regime for an anti-Israeli and anti-Western propaganda campaign. The convoy, which arrived in Iran on December 7, 2010, was given a welcome by the president of Iran and other top officials. The issue of the humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip (the stated purpose of the convoy) was neglected during the ceremonies, with the emphasis placed instead on slamming Israel and praising the Iranian regime. For example:

a. Feroze Mithiborwala, the convoy leader, had high praise for the Iranian regime. He stated that Iran had actively supported the idea of organizing a convoy, which came up following the flotilla to the Gaza Strip (May 2010). He also said that the convoy intended to take a stand against “Zionism, whose goal is to establish hegemony in the world and in Asia in particular” (Press TV, Iran, December 13, 2010).

b. During their stay in Iran, the convoy activists took part in anti-Israeli propaganda displays produced by the Iranian regime: American, Israeli, and British flag burning “ceremonies” at Palestine Square in the center of Tehran; a speech given by Feroze Mithiborwala at a special Iranian parliament session in which he referred to the U.S. president as an “Israeli agent”; chants of “death to Israel” shouted by the convoy activists in four languages during a parliament session, etc.

c. Iran’s President Ahmadinejad played a key role in the propaganda campaign. Speaking at a welcoming ceremony given to the convoy activists at Tehran University, he called for the “liberation” of Palestine from the “bloodsucking Zionist occupiers” and referred to Israel’s existence as an “insult to humanity”.

Left: American and British flags burned at a welcoming ceremony held for the convoy activists at Palestine Square in downtown Tehran (IRNA, December 14, 2010). Right: President Ahmadinejad giving a speech to the Asian convoy members (Mehr News Agency, December 13, 2010).

Left: burning an Israeli flag. The name “Egypt” appears on the bottom left poster, which possibly condemns the Egyptian regime (i.e., the Mubarak regime). Right: members of the Asian convoy at Tehran’s Palestine Square (Mehr News Agency, December 13, 2010).

Notes:

[1] Furqan Doğan, 19, with Turkish-American dual citizenship, was the youngest victim killed on board the Mavi Marmara. According to the Turkish daily Radikal, he wrote about wanting to become a martyr in his diary.

[2] See the June 02, 2011 (ITIC) article: “Turkish Islamist Delegation uses Violent Methods during anti-Israeli Propaganda Activities”.

[3] For details, see the September 23, 2010 (ITIC) article: “Iranian Expert: IHH is a Jihadist Organization”.