II. The Iranian - United States Relationship (1960-1979)
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the Shah (Islamic king) of Iran after his father Reza Kahn, the ruler of the Pahlavi Empire until British and USSR police officials arrested him, citing his refusal to expel German engineers and technicians in Iran, all of whom were accused by Britain and the USSR as spies of Germany with missions to sabotage British oil facilities in southwestern Iran as a reason for the arrest. Reza Pahlavi tried developing diplomatic relations with the United States. He concentrated on reviving the army and ensuring that it would remain under royal control as the monarchy's main power base. In 1949, an assassination attempt on the Shah, attributed to the pro-Soviet Tudeh Party, resulted in the banning of that party and the expansion of the Shah's constitutional powers, which were originally limited due to self-imposed constitutional restraints. In 1951, the Majlis (an equivalent of the term legislature in some Islamic-culture states) named Mohammad Mossadegh as new prime minister by a vote of 79–12. After the vote, he quickly nationalized the British-owned oil industry, a promise made on his platform during his campaign. This led to extreme dissatisfaction of United States diplomats and officials. The result of this extreme discomfort was a military operation, entitled OPERATION Ajax, which constituted a coup, a deposition of the prime minister, and a reinstitution of the Shah Pahlavi’s monarchy. Iran underwent a rapid industrialized modernization, with reforms in education and infrastructure, all part of Shah Pahlavi’s new policies as Shah. This industrialization commenced without any caveat to Iranian citizens.
There were many criticisms of the Shah’s monarchy, ranging from its obsessive censorships of national newspapers and public speakers to its ultra-nationalist police group, SAVAK (National Intelligence and Security Organization). One of the more active critics was an extreme religionist by the name of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. For his very extreme, outspoken statements regarding the Shah’s rule, he was exiled to Paris, staying there for the remainder of the Shah’s reign, until the Islamic Revolution. This exile did little to curb the critic’s denouncement of Reza Pahlavi.
In 1979, the growing restlessness and discontent with the monarchy came to a head. With several nation-wide strikes and meltdowns, the economy screeched to a halt, and minor armed demonstrations and boycotts further crippled the financial system. This led to Reza Pahlavi’s fleeing the country, leaving Iran in a power vacuum. The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stepped into this void and, along with the support of religious fundamentalists; Iran officially became an Islamic Republic on 1 April 1979 when Iranians overwhelmingly approved a national referendum. In December 1979 the country approved a theocratic constitution, whereby Khomeini became Supreme Leader of the country.
A major reason that Shah fled the country, instead of putting down the revolts and staged demonstrations with his empowered military was because of the sanctions the then new president, Jimmy Carter, placed on him. The sentiment of democracy was strong, especially with the Cold War propaganda of anti-communism, pro-democracy, which resonated in the United States during the Iranian referendum. This voter attitude led to Carter’s harsh and strict sanction on the Shah – no killing political dissidents. So for the Shah’ intense loyalty to the American Government, he was rewarded with no help from the United States during the Islamic Revolution, and a condemnation on his own reaction.
III. The Political, Economic, and Military Goals of the Islamic Republic
The chief aspiration of the Islamic Republic is the ultimate increase of Islam to every person in the world. It is not very politely stated in the constitution and the Qur’an that this spread of religion has to happen, otherwise Allah will punish them. In fact, recent earthquakes and natural disasters are interpreted by Muslims as a sign of God’s impatience. Another main goal of Iran is the eventual destruction of the United States and Israel, although this objective is not so publicly discussed, at least not at a political level.
There is no real economic goal other than to support the religious goal of a 100% Islamic world. This happens to happily coincide with Iran’s incredible oil supply. It is standard for about a third of Iran’s GDP to come from the production, refinement, and distribution of oil to other countries. The government’s fiscal policy reflects the goals of the Iranian leaders: short term spending to please every Muslim in Iran as much as possible. That is in fact, the reason for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s increasingly high approval rating in domestic affairs.
The military goals of Iran fall logically into alignment with its economic and political goals. To safeguard the oil reserves is an unstated goal. There is also the ambition to ally with all the surrounding Islamic countries that border Iran; to form an alliance with, but not limited to, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. All of these countries have a large Muslim population, oil reserves, and military powers of their own. The added incentive of all these countries joining a sweeping Islamic revolution is the possibility of gaining either a physical ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) or at least, the technological blueprints for such a projectile. The destruction of Israel and possibly major Western powers would soon follow, as there have been numerous accusations of Iran’s budding nuclear program in fact being a front for a militarily aligned research and development program that enriches uranium not for peaceful purposes, as is claimed by the Iranian government, but for use in weapons of mass destruction.
IV. Iran’s Interest in the Middle East
Iran is actively involved in diplomatic talks with the countries mentioned earlier, all of whom could lead to possible military gains. The countries are Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. All these Middle Eastern countries share several important factors with Iran – a deep, coreligionist association in Islam and a negative view on Israel existing. As previously stated, the ICBM’s that these countries have is really an added bonus of sorts.
Iran has vested interest in the Iraqi conflict that the United States is waded knee-deep in. Iraq’s geographical location makes its especially strategic as a launching pad of sorts to stage military action onto Iran. Northern Iraq also contains known reserves of oil that, if combined with Iran’s native supplies, makes for a large amount of untapped oil that equals billions of dollars for Iran. This coupled with the fact that Southern Iraq has a large amount of Muslims interested in a worldwide Islamic Revolution, leads to a logical conclusion that Iraq is extremely attractive to the Islamic Republic.
The twin organizations of Hezbollah and Hamas are supported, through training, funds, and arms, by Iran. Both are extreme, fundamentalist Islamic groups, often identified with terrorism, with the main difference being their physical headquarters. Hezbollah is primarily active in Lebanon, and Hamas is a Palestinian, Sunni, organization. Hezbollah (literally: Party of God) is a political network that is recognized by the United States and other countries as an active terrorist group. In contrast, Hamas does not have the honor of such a title, and is instead known for its suicide bombings, including the Dolphinarium and the Passover suicide bombings. The reason for Iran’s aid and abetment is because of the similar views on Israel’s existence in and around Jerusalem. There is also a common ground between Iran and Syria because of the, again, similar views on Israel, and the majority of the population being Shiite Muslims instead of Sunnis.
V. Iran’s Allies and Enemies
Iran is a focus of this paper not because it is so different from other Middle Eastern Countries, but because it epitomizes the sentiment of most of the countries the most. Some of Iran’s allies include, not only the majority of Muslim countries in the Middle East (read: all of them), but also secular countries, such as China and Russia. Although there have been many diplomatic relationships with these countries, dealings in oil and arms, there has not been a total, binding alliance that would ensure either of these two countries aid, through military support, Iran if it is invaded or attacked. They are minimally fair-weather friends. They envision an opportunity to make money off of arms-dealings with Iran, negotiate less expensive oil costs, and secure good relations with a country, but do not want to pact a fully fledged alliance because it would be awfully uncomfortable at the next United Nations Security Council assembly.
Although Iran has some close allies and world partners, it has some of the world’s most powerful countries as enemies. As of yet, there is no active, openly public war with Iran. But some future belligerents include, notably, the United States, Israel, Japan, most Western European countries, and the NATO alliance group. There is also the issue of Iraq and Afghanistan, because both are adjacent countries to Iran, on opposite sides, and are currently occupied by United States armed, albeit thinly stretched, forces. These once strong Muslim countries are now almost converts – Iran can certainly not rely on Iraqi assistance in fielding an army if there was an armed conflict between it and the US, let alone passive support.
VI. Your Take
The situation of Iran and its nuclear development program is an easy dilemma to convolute, get confused by, and summarily make mistakes regarding. The first step to the solution is to resolve that in order to survive intact, the United States and relevant countries must not let Iran make the first move, so to speak. Because if a nuclear weapon is delivered to the United States, then there might not be a United States with which to retaliate with. Serious funding has to go into identifying what exactly is happening at the nuclear facility at Natanz, and any other nuclear research facilities anywhere in Iran. After ascertaining if these research plants are strictly civilian or not, then the Western world should act appropriately. If a nuclear weapon is found to be in development, then the next president should green light Israel to attack the Natanz facility, with as minimal damage to civilian life and/or property as possible. After said facilities are destroyed, serious, stern, and grave sanctions must be placed on Iran – if nuclear weapons are found again at anytime, anywhere inside your borders, then we view it as an act of war, and will protect ourselves accordingly. We must back and support Israel in this strike on Iran, otherwise an otherwise unified front against Iran would have cracks that could be exploited. Because if nuclear weapons are found, this will be the second time in less than a decade, against numerous treaties and resolutions and sanctions, that Iran broke the trust of the world in regards to nuclear weaponry. It simply cannot be tolerated, because if it is, then what is stop any country from doing anything that they desire?