Some of the major actions of the United States that have hurt Iran took place during the twentieth century, before Iran became the Islamic Republic of Iran. Operation AJAX, a covert operation that resulted in a coup d'état in Iran in 1953, overthrew the democratically-elected prime minister of Iran, Mohammad Mossadegh. Mossadegh was a politician who had been involved in Iranian politics since the beginning of the twentieth century, when Iran became a constitutional monarchy and established a parliament. He was the first Iranian to obtain a doctorate degree in law. Mossadegh is most know for his accomplishment of nationalizing Iranian oil. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC, which is now known as British Patroleum) was a British oil company that owned 51% of the Iranian oil that was being drawn from southeast Iran, while the Iranians only received 16% of the profits of their own resource. Mossadegh introduced the bill in Parliament that was eventually passed, to nationalize APOC and give ownership of the country to the Iranians. A month later, he was voted with an overwhelming majority in Parliament to be the Prime Minister of iran. Britain was extremely frustrated by this occurrence and wanted to retaliate against the Iranians. An intervention was proposed, and Britain approached the United States for support. Mossadegh had increasingly strong ties with the Tudeh Party, the communist party in Iran, after the nationalization, which gave the U.S. a reason to get involved. In 1953, the coup was executed by the CIA and MI6, which overthrew and imprisoned Mossadegh. The following years led to a strengthened relationship between the Shah and the U.S., including a large sum of money that was given to Iran after the coup. Ironically enough, the U.S. even helped give birth to the nuclear program in Iran: it established a nuclear research center and equipped Iran with a nuclear reactor along with a continual supply of enriched uranium up until the Revolution in 1979. The Shah was considered a "puppet" of the United States, which angered many Iranians. This corruption, along with the failing economic policies of the Shah, inevitably led to the Islamic Revolution that overthrew the Shah and established the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is the current regime ruling Iran today. The general Iranian dissatisfaction with their current government leads them to put much of the blame on the United States for involving itself in Iranian politics for its own personal agenda. Ironically, again, the Iranian regime the U.S. currently is struggling to negotiate with is the same regime that the U.S. is responsible for creating.
 |
| Mossadegh during his arrest in 1953. |
After the Revolution, Iran was perceived as weak and vulnerable, which led to an Iraqi invasion in 1980 and the beginnings of the Iran-Iraq war that lasted until 1988. The United States supported Iraq, after removing Iraq from its list of "terrorist" countries. It provided Iraq with training, money and weapons. Aside from the fact that the United States help Iraq sustain the longest war of the 1990s against Iran in hopes of an Iranian defeat, it has also been demonstrated that the U.S. was fully in the know about the chemical weapons Iraq had been using against Iranians, including nerve gas, mustard gas, and sarin. Not only had the U.S. been supplying Iraq with materials that were being used to create chemical weapons, but it also provided Iraq loads of information of Iranian troop locations - troops that were to be attacked by Iraqi chemical weapons. 100,000 Iranian troops were victims of these chemical attacks, along with many civilians as well. Saddam Hussein even used these chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurds. The most significant chemical attack against civilians occurred in the Iraqi city of Halabja. The survivors of these attacks continue to live with the results of the chemicals today, as is highlighted by this film, A Skin that Burns. It is for this reason as well that the Iranian regime and people have a mistrust and resentment toward the United States.
The current conflict with Iran is primarily the global concern its nuclear program is causing. What Western news tells the public is that Iran is close to reaching the point where it would be able to develop nuclear weapons. The argument is not that Iran is building nuclear weapons, or that it can build nuclear weapons, but that it should not reach a point where developing nuclear weapons is a possibility. Throughout the global pressures Iran has faced over the years, the former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been stressing that peaceful nuclear energy is the only intention Iran has with its nuclear program. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, states that a nuclear weaponry program goes against the ethical tenets of the religion of Islam. It is worth noting that up until this point there is no evidence to demonstrate that Iran has the intentions of building a nuclear weapon.
As a response to Iran's alleged nuclear initiatives, the United States has spearheaded the international sanctions on Iran that also involve the EU, Japan, South Korea, India, Canada and Australia. These sanctions affect the ability of Iranian banks to make foreign transactions and oil exports primarily. While these sanctions are aimed at punishing the Iranian government in an attempt to halt the nuclear program, their primary effect has been everything but. One of the harshest results of sanctions against Iran is the huge inflation it has caused. In 2010, 1 US Dollar was equal to about 900 Iranian toman, while today in Iran it would be worth 2400 toman. The Iranians have stood and watched as the value of their life savings diminished to what now seems like nothing. The cost of living has increased and families have had to cut back. Those students who have been studying for years with the hopes of attending university in Europe or the United States now have been told that their families cannot afford the costs of doing so. Access to medicine is very difficult. The sanctions have affected trade and the ability to import medicines is very limited. As for as alternative options, the medicine and drugs in Iran are known to not be reputable and not only are significantly low in quality compared to foreign medicines, but they are also known to cause side effects that can even be worse than the original need. Sanctions have affect women's ability to access birth control, victims of chemical weapons or of serious disease to access treatment, and even those who have pain to access a basic Advil or Tylenol. Last year in November, the first civilian died as a result of sanctions. A 15-year-old boy, Manouchehr Esmaili-Liousi died of haemophilia because he could not obtain the medicine he needed. In addition to these harsh effects of the crippling sanctions, there are also other major difficulties posed by sanctions. Iranian immigrants cannot receive money transfers from their families in Iran. Some bank accounts of Iranians in America and Canada have been closed. One Iranian-American in Georgia was refused service in an Apple store, because the employee claims that it is against U.S. policy to sell her an iPad. The pain and anger at the U.S. from the past if anything has only been exacerbated, and it would seem that the U.S. has hurt the prospects for peace and negotiation with its violent and deadly sanctions.
 |
| A 20,000 rial bill, once worth about $2.20 is now worth about $.80. |
Many will argue that Iran has proven itself to be a hostile and threatening nation. The words of Ahmadinejad have been quoted continually, referring to the moments where he referred to eliminating Israel, or "wiping it off the map", and even labeling the Holocaust as a myth. While these translations are a bit off, for Ahmadinejad was actually referring to the regime governing Israel or simply the Israeli government being eliminated rather than the country, the more significant point to be made is that Ahmadinejad's unsophisticated and bold statements are not representative of the Iranian government's policies or agenda. Not only is Ahmadinejad no longer president, his ability to declare war is limited considering the Ayatollah is the most powerful individual in government, not the president. Furthermore, the new administration in Iran has made a point to distinguish itself as a peaceful and respectful administration. Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister who eloquently summarized the Iranian message to America in this interview on ABC News, clearly made the distinction between the new Iranian administration and the old of Ahmadinejad. He says that the Holocaust was a "heinous crime" and "genocide". Regarding the Iranian chants of "Death to America", he states that this death is regarding the U.S. policies, not the country or people. Furthermore, President Rouhani tweeted wishing all Jews a "blessed Rosh Hashanah". Any alleged animosity or violent intentions that Iran is said to have has disappeared with the election of this new regime.
 | ||
| Rouhani tweets to acknowledge the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah. |
The developing relationship between Rouhani's Iran and Obama seems to put the bitter memories of the past aside, at least for a bit. The phone call between the two has been the first significant step made that demonstrates willingness to cooperate on both sides. Rouhani has even discussed reestablishing direct flights between the U.S. and Iran. Before arriving in New York, Rouhani published an op-ed summarizing his message that he would also deliver at the U.N. General assembly. "Civic engagement" is what Rouhani called for. By this he means to say that cooperation, communication, and negotiation are necessary to achieve peace. Rouhani also emphasized win-win solutions. In his speech, he stressed that zero-sum politics are no longer the game, and that more sophisticated options should be pursued. He also stressed that the U.S. tendency to reject everything that is not in sync with its own personal agenda is not an effective means to achieve peace. Rouhani closes his speech with: "Let me say this in all sincerity before this august world assembly, that based on irrefutable evidence, those who harp on the so-called threat of Iran are either a threat against international peace and security themselves or promote such a threat. Iran poses absolutely no threat to the world or the region. In fact, in ideals as well as in actual practice, my country has been a harbinger of just peace and comprehensive security." Rouhani's statement is a clear reference to the sanctions tactics of the United States, and how continuing to insist that Iran is a threat is the greatest threat to peace. Unfortunately, even after Rouhani's speech and the phone call with Obama, the United States still continues to clarify that a forceful military approach still remains on the table. The overall message of Rouhani and his administration is one that seems to say that the U.S. must make sacrifices and cannot continue with its interventionist, dominating policies. Still, it is also a message of peace. Iran is clearly ready for an agreement to be made through mutual cooperation, but now the ball rests in the US's court to see if it is actually willing to adjust itself to make progress.
In this CNN Open Mic, Iranians share their thoughts on America and its foreign policy. Much of it is consistent with the messages the Iranian administration is sending to its foreign counterparts.
