In US public school, we were never taught that:
1. Iran had the first democratically elected government in the Middle East.
2. In 1951, Mossadegh, a secular pro-democracy lawyer, was elected prime minister.
3. The CIA led a coup to overthrow him.
1. Iran had the first democratically elected government in the Middle East.
2. In 1951, Mossadegh, a secular pro-democracy lawyer, was elected prime minister.
3. The CIA led a coup to overthrow him.
You’re pissed off about Russian interference in elections. Now think about how Iranians must have felt when CIA operatives:
1. Posed as Communists and bombed a prominent Muslim’s house.
2. Controlled most Tehran newspapers.
3. Paid an army general $100k to lead the coup.
1. Posed as Communists and bombed a prominent Muslim’s house.
2. Controlled most Tehran newspapers.
3. Paid an army general $100k to lead the coup.
This history makes it hard to swallow the typical fearmongering about Iran. What would the US look like if a foreign superpower led a successful coup against our government? What would we do to prevent that from happening again?
Most Americans also are ignorant of the Iran-Iraq War, when Iraq invaded Iran and deployed chemical weapons. Rather than condemn the use of these weapons, the US began supporting Iraq when the tides of the war turned against them.
It’s worth watching this speech by @JZarif.
“We were attacked and everybody stayed quiet. We were bombarded with chemical weapons
and everybody kept their mouth shut —for 8 years. Maybe you want to forget, but we can't. We can't forget it in Iran.”
“We were attacked and everybody stayed quiet. We were bombarded with chemical weapons
and everybody kept their mouth shut —for 8 years. Maybe you want to forget, but we can't. We can't forget it in Iran.”
None of this is to suggest that the Iranian government has its hands clean. It doesn’t. But IMO there’s a disproportionate demonization happening that doesn’t take into account the very recent, very traumatic history.
