US to Blame for Sour US-Iran Relations

The United States largely has itself to blame for the history of tensions and animosity between itself and Iran.

It goes back to the 1950s when a democratically-elected government was ousted—this might have been one of countless instances where the US helped engineer the overthrow of a democratic government—and, in the aftermath, the US helped engineer the assumption of power by the Shah ('king'). The Shah turned out to be a hated ruler because he was tyrannical and despotic, and his secret police imprisoned and tortured dissenters.

Later, in the Iran-Iraq War, the US supported Iraq and in fact armed Sadaam Hussein's Iraq, on the theory that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." The Iranians don't want to forgive America for that because it was a bitter, bloody, and costly war.

Actually, suspicion of the US and of the West by Iranians goes back even further because of Western—perhaps more British than US—actions and intervention in the Middle East during and after World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. To a degree, in this case, Iran's animosity should perhaps be directed more toward Britain than toward the US because the former was the bigger player, doing much to advance its interests and secure its influence in the area at that time. (For one thing, Britain was looking to protect the Suez Canal, which was jointly operated by Britain and France, but also, as one of the superpowers of the time, may have been moving into a power vacuum).

Update, February 1, 2012
I should add that the overthrow of the Iranian government of Premier Mossadegh in 1953 was due to OIL (surprise, surprise). He had nationalized Iran's oil production, which did not sit well with the US.
Also, two other reasons why the Shah was disliked had to do with his lavish lifestyle and his having offended conservative Iranians by embracing the West and western things.

Copyright © 2012 by Richard Stein

For Once, U.S. Is on the Right Side

The United States finds itself in a difficult position regarding the current popular unrest in Egypt. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been a friend and ally of the United States. If he goes, the way may be open to a radical Islamic, anti-American regime that might even support terrorists. Also, Egypt under a new regime could abrogate its current peace treaties with Israel. Plus, Egypt, while not an oil producer, is an important transit point for oil supplies, partly because it controls the Suez Canal.

Nevertheless—surprisingly, and to his credit--President Obama has clearly expressed his sympathy for the Egyptian demonstrators who are calling for an end to Mubarak's regime and the establishment of greater democracy in Egypt.

This is surprising both because Obama is placing human rights above what might be America's interests in the Middle East and also because, so many times in the past, America has backed, supported, and even installed right-wing dictators.

Just one example would be Iran. The U.S. can pretty much blame itself for the current anti-American regime in Iran because the U.S. staunchly supported the Shah, who was hated because of his repressive regime: by means of his secret police he used torture and so forth to suppress opposition.

In fact, going back a bit further still, the U.S., in the 1950s, helped overthrow a democratic government in Iran and engineer the Shah's assumption of power.

Copyright © 2011 by Richard Stein