It did not come as a surprise when it was revealed on Thursday that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has hatched a plot to topple the popular system of the Islamic Republic. The fact is that the CIA has tried every subversive measure to overthrow the Islamic government ever since the revolution culminated in victory in 1979.

The agency may have been encouraged to step up its anti-Iran plots by its successful experience in 1953, when it managed to stage a coup against the government of prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq in cooperation with the British intelligence service.

However, what the CIA has ignored is that the present conditions in Iran are quite different. The Iranian people made great sacrifices to overthrow the despotic imperial regime and establish a democratic Islamic system instead. They are also prepared to make any sacrifices to defend their favorite government in the face of all hostile plots, as they did during the eight years of the Iraqi imposed war.

This agency may also have been encouraged by factional disputes between some government officials and organs. But again it has ignored the fact that in the face of any plots against the Islamic Republic, all officials give priority to national rather than their factional interests. This was clearly shown by the recent parliamentary legislation allocating a budget to counter the subversive acts against the Islamic Republic funded by the United States. Although the majority and minority factions are most of the time engaged in disputes over certain issues, the two factions gave a unanimous vote for the bill, while chanting "Down With the U.S."

The plots against independent governments that refuse to submit to the U.S. hegemony serve to expose to the world the true face of the U.S., which poses as an advocate of democracy and human rights but in reality has no respect for the rights and sovereignty of independent nations.