Understanding Iran

In Iran, the average plumber, shopkeeper, electrician, teacher, truck driver, nurse – distrusts America. “Hate” may be an accurate word for some Iranians, but distrust/dislike/disrespect captures majority sentiment. Why is this? Why do 80 million people in one of the world’s most ancient cultures consider America an enemy? Are they all simultaneously crazy? Do they not know how wonderful America is, the purity of our intentions, and the nobility of our policies?

Evidently not, because the following facts are well known to every Iranian:

1.      In 1951, Mohammad Mosaddegh became the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran. Despite popular support, he was overthrown in a 1953 military coup created and funded by the American government.

2.      We then helped Shah Reza Pahlavi impose imperial power. The CIA organized the Shah’s secret police; for a quarter century, SAVAK brutally enforced one-man rule in Iran.

3.      When the Iranian people finally overthrew the Shah in 1979, he fled to the United States. We refused Iranian demands for extradition. In the immediate turmoil of revolution, extremists took control of the US Embassy. Iranians consider the takeover an “unfortunate mistake” (no one was killed). Thirty-six years later, Americans still deem it an “unforgivable crime.”

4.      When Iraq started a war with Iran in 1980, the United States backed Iraq with arms and intelligence, even after Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against Iran. Over 1 million Iranians died in the Iran-Iraq war.

5.      In 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 in international airspace. 290 civilians died. We never apologized for the shoot-down, only expressing “deep regret” and paying $62 million in compensation.

6.      When the United States invaded Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003), Iran found itself sandwiched between two American armies on its eastern and western borders, with American drones and satellites regularly overflying Iran.

Yes, there is an American side to each of these facts. Yes, Iranian leaders regularly bombard America with verbal insults and foolish threats. Yes, Iranians (private and governmental) fund terror and instability. However, as we judge Secretary of State John Kerry’s nuclear negotiations with Iran (and the international community), we must recognize that understandable distrust is imprinted in the DNA of both sides.