Iran in Focus

By the recent testing of its medium-range missile, Iran has demonstrated that it is not worried about the restrictions imposed by America, and that America has been unsuccessful in preventing its weapons development projects. Once again America has announced new sanctions. It does not have any other choice. This is a presidential election year, and for President Barack Obama, surrounded on all sides and beaten by the economic downturn, it is a priority to register a dramatic success on the foreign policy front. The American army is about to return from the Af-Pak war front with its tail between its legs and it has also been unsuccessful in ending the deadlock in Iraq. If there is any hope left, it is in Iran.

America’s main concern is Iran’s atomic weapons and missiles. Iran is the owner of a huge oil reserve and American diplomacy has long revolved around the oil-gas axis. During the early days of the cold war in Iran, the CIA intervened brutally for a regime change. America was also responsible for strengthening the tyrannical regime of the Shah in the siege of the then Soviet Union. America kept the flames burning in the Iran-Iraq war for almost a decade. The dictatorship of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi also remained strong due to American support.

The United States claims that the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s Islamic revolution is what sparked the enmity. It is also true that the American embassy hostage situation created quite an international crisis. However, the roots of this enmity run quite deeply.

In West Asia, America has embraced Sunni Arabs, whose enmity has been continuing with the Shiite Persians and Iranians. Arabs are barbaric in the eyes of Iranians, and cannot be compared with Iranians, who are heirs to a culture that is thousands of years old. It is true that the Arab world cannot match the scientific research and technological developments that have happened in Iran, although there was a time when Egypt was able to carry this pride. Iran is linked with the geopolitical reality of South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia. Additionally, it is recognized as the cultural capital of Shiite Muslims worldwide. America’s difficulty is that in trying to solve this complicated issue in a hurry, it is constantly making the mistake of oversimplification.

There is another myth that needs to be debunked. Americans continually remind us that Iran was progressive during the Shah regime, and Mullahs have returned it to the medieval conservative period. It cannot be forgotten that during that period the contribution of the ordinary Iranian in the Western version of modernization was very limited. Whether it was education or expensive fashion, only the ruling class experienced these joys. If Iran’s modernization had reached the ordinary people, then the rebellion under the leadership of Khomeini against the ruler Shah would not have been so easily successful. Today’s Iran is much more democratic than it was during the Shah period. If anyone has flared the Jihad mentality there, then it is America, who has brought together the whole country to confront foreign attack by using a religious slogan.

The root of America’s misunderstanding is that it can influence the timing of any developments as it wants — either through direct intervention or through a medium. Both ways have been tried in Iran. Sometimes, in an “accident” a scientist associated with its nuclear program is killed or becomes the target of a crazy murderer. New sanctions are imposed constantly on Iran, or it is threatened that Israel will attack and destroy its nuclear facilities. During the elections, social media was used in new ways to destabilize the legally elected government.

America has also attempted to alienate India and other countries from Iran. Unfortunately, India has fallen into this trap. By ignoring its historical relations and not voting in favor of Iran on America’s insistence, India has needlessly upset Iran. It is meaningless to suggest that it has done so on its discretion or for national interests, because Iran has been helping Pakistan’s atomic programs. The truth is that in this dangerous smuggling, our primary economic partners have been China and America itself. As far as Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism are concerned, America’s friend Saudi Arabia is responsible. It has been responsible for exporting the aggressive Wahhabi Islam, which has made our lives difficult.

As far as Iran is concerned, the nature of Islam has always been generous there, conciliatory, spiritual-mystical. All Sufis that have made our culture rich came to India from Iran itself. Iran appeared spontaneously in language, food, dressing, buildings and many other places in India. For the security of our national interests, it is very important for us to immediately stop perceiving things with an American eye.