On Iran: a Retrospective

The Islamic Republic of Iran has long been accustomed to challenges, relentless pressure and widely believed misrepresentations about it.   

As the current crises mount, so does the quandary among members of its political classes.  They all want change.  The hardliners want a return to the past; the reformers want a future unburdened by the past, and many moderates want change in any form. The status quo has little or no support.  The change that is inevitable will mark a monumental moment, one that could profoundly alter Iran’s trajectory. 

Free of external meddling, the outcome will depend on internal dynamics and the balance of power among competing forces. Iran, however, has never been free of foreign meddling. In recent years, it has come primarily from the United States and its Israeli proxy.  That Iran has survived nearly five decades of unending hostility is testament to the character of the nation and its people.  

The 1979 Islamic Revolution shifted Iran from a major U.S. ally to a primary adversary. It also led to a realignment of regional partnerships and fundamentally dismantled the security architecture the United States had constructed in West Asia.   

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the principles of justice and independence, would forever conflict with the foreign policies of the American empire and Israeli Zionism, that are cemented in land theft, domination and expansion. Iran’s political reinvention from monarchy to Republic brought the unremitting wrath of the United States government upon it.  

Before the Revolution, Washington relied on Iran and Saudi Arabia—the “twin pillars”—to contain Soviet influence and to maintain regional dominance.  The overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi deprived the United States of its “regional policeman,” and a key military base it used to monitor the former Soviet Union.

Iran’s transition led Washington to expand America’s military footprint in the Persian Gulf. Today, the U.S. maintains a military presence in nearly every country in the region; positioned there to protect the uninterrupted flow of oil, to shield Israel and Arab dictators and to threaten those who would oppose its hegemony.  

In the midst of an historic transition away from a centuries-old monarchical system, Iran was invaded and ultimately survived a brutal eight-year war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq; a war supported by the U.S. and its regional allies.  

Inheriting a nation wrecked and regionally isolated by war, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, successor to the founder of the Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini (1902-1989), faced the daunting task of resurrecting Iran’s fractured economy and society. Khamenei had to manage internal dissent and rivalries within Iran’s complex clerical circles, confront unyielding international economic pressures, all while preserving the revolutionary ideals of sovereignty and independence.   

Iran’s unbroken 7,000-year-old recorded historical and political presence in the world has inevitably created friends and foes—none more powerful than today.  The combined force of American imperialists, Israeli Zionists and Arab rivals are positioned to leverage political and economic turmoil in Iran for gain.  

Since the 1979 Revolution, Washington and Tel Aviv have sowed mischief and discord within Iran.  Public anger over an economy that has been strangled by 47 years of crippling U.S. imposed economic sanctions has fueled unrest.   

Various domestic, regional and international actors have benefited from the tumult, keeping Iran weak, economically stunted and unable to project power regionally. Absent foreign interference, it could resolve internal grievances and foster better relations with neighboring states.  

Few countries have faced as much sustained criticism and negative portrayals in the West, most notably in the United States, as Iran.  Israel has been the driving force and main beneficiary from casting the country as a regional and global villain.  

It is way past time for the truth. The Iranian nation and its people have suffered too long under the weight of Israel’s lies and American economic sanctions.  By examining the overlooked accounts of strategic cooperation between the U.S. and Iran, it becomes evident just who could have been and who would be a better regional partner. 

After decades of U.S. efforts to destabilize Iran, President Barack Obama, upon entering office in 2009, concluded just that.  In March of that year, on the occasion of the Iranian New Year, Nu-Rooz, he addressed the leaders and people of Iran, saying: “My administration is now committed to diplomacy, … and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.”  

With the signing of the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United States and Iran seemed intent on moving forward.  The agreement inspired hope, especially in Iran, for a better future.  

As expected, the beneficiary of the old order, Israel, alarmed by the policy shift, unleashed its disinformation network to dismantle Obama’s diplomatic success and to restore, as well as intensify, the “regime change” policies of old. 

If not for the sustained pressure from Israeli leaders and intense lobbying efforts from powerful pro-Israel groups, it is conceivable that a normalized relationship could have emerged during the Obama administration.

The current U.S.-Israeli campaign to create chaos in order to achieve its aim of bringing down the Iranian government will have horrific destabilizing consequences.  Now more than ever, it is essential to challenge the incessant propaganda that portrays Iran as an enemy nation.  

It should be noted that despite the vitriolic rhetoric against it, Iran has come to the aid of the United States on a number of occasions:

• Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991

• Afghanistan after 9-11

• Iraq following the U.S. invasion of 2003

• in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State (also known as Da’esh)

 During the Persian Gulf War, the Iranian government refused Saddam Hussein’s requests for assistance, adhered to international sanctions, allowed the U.S. Air Force to use its airspace, and neutralized Iraq’s air force by impounding aircraft  Saddam had flown to Iran in hopes of preserving his remaining fleet.   

It is worth noting that then-Secretary of State James Baker recognized Iran for its help in preventing sectarian conflict at the end of the war. And in his presentation before the House Foreign Affairs Committee (6 February 1991), in which he outlined his postwar goals; Baker stated that Iran could play a role in future security arrangements in the Persian Gulf. 

A stable Afghanistan has always been important to Iran. The United States and Iran, in 2001, found common foes in al-Qaeda and the Taliban.  In the 1990s, as Washington ignored the growing presence of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Iran was the major supporter of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.  Tehran cooperated with America to defeat the Taliban, served as a conduit between the U.S. and the Northern Alliance, provided crucial intelligence and pledged to rescue American pilots downed on its soil. 

At a December 2001 meeting in Bonn, Germany, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell credited Tehran with helping establish a peaceful interim Afghan government, following the American invasion. It was former foreign minister, Javad Zarif (at the time, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs), who mediated a compromise over the composition of Afghanistan’s post-Taliban government, ultimately leading to the adoption of the Bonn Agreement.  And it was Iran that insisted that the accord include a commitment that the country hold democratic elections.  

Rather than recognize its diplomatic overtures, President George W. Bush, in his 2002 State of the Union address, branded Iran among the “axis of evil” countries. 

Iran’s leaders were aware that Washington had the country in its sights when it invaded Iraq in March 2003.  Although it opposed the invasion and could have caused havoc, Tehran chose to reestablish a back channel to the Americans through Geneva and begin the process of normalizing relations with the United States.  

Included in its May 2003 proposal, which came to be known as the Iranian “grand bargain,” its leaders offered to aid Washington in the political stabilization of Iraq, and help in establishing a democratic secular government.   

President Bush chose to ignore the comprehensive initiative and instead continued to pursue the shortsighted policy of regime change.  Bush and the pro-Israel war hawks in his administration were blind to the cooperative and consequential role Iran could have played in restoring war-ravaged Iraq.  Since then, Iraq has continued to suffer.  

In spite of American affronts, Tehran was willing to work with Washington to check expansion of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, especially as it gained strength after the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 and with the Syrian rebellion that same year.  

When Da’esh dangerously came close to capturing Baghdad in 2014, Iran, through its support of Iraqi Shia militias (Popular Mobilization Forces), helped prevent IS forces from toppling the government.  And in Syria, in addition to economic assistance, significant numbers of Iranian armed forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, fought alongside allied militias, with Iranian deathsnumbering more than 2,000.

On the subject of the 2015 nuclear agreement, it is important to note that when Iran entered the JCPOA it did so on the assumption that the United States would honor its obligations.  It did not. 

In return for economic sanctions relief, the Iranian government agreed to what international bodies and experts considered exceptionally stringent measures.  Ironically, restrictions were imposed on Iran’s civilian nuclear program, since it has never had—in contrast to Israel—a nuclear weapons arsenal.  

Iran was in full compliance with the terms of the agreement and it was working as intended when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the JCPOA in 2018 and reimposed “maximum pressure” sanctions.  

As we have seen, Iranian officials have entered into negotiations and agreements based on a framework of “mutual respect;” and most often their American counterparts have not.  

The most recent instance of U.S. “legerdemain negotiating” occurred while Iran’s representatives were in Rome conducting the fifth round of nuclear talks, when, on 13 June 2025, the U.S. joined Israel in launching a surprise military attack on Iranian military and civilian targets, as well as on three UN safeguarded peaceful nuclear facilities. 

Tehran fully understood after the 12-day June war, in which over 1,100 Iranians were killed, that negotiations with the United States were mere chimera.  

Since then, the pressure campaign and propaganda against Iran have increased.  Its leaders now believe that the country is in a full-fledged war with the United States, Israel and some European countries and that Washington seems willing to set West Asia ablaze to save Zionism. 

What Western intruders seem unable to understand is that Iran has a millennia-old residence in West Asia, that there is no mythology or illusion around it, and the  ancient nation cannot be bullied. Archeology, history and Scriptures bear witness to its sustained and important geopolitical presence.  

Iran’s global influence is expressed through its rich political culture which includes language, literature and arts, large energy reserves, strategic location and its leadership role in the region.   

The U.S.-Israel collaboration has turned West Asia into a dysfunctional menagerie. Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Morocco conduct business and collude—some in the shadows and others openly—with Israel, while the Zionists slaughter and starve their fellow Arabs in Palestine.   

Washington, accustomed to dealing with oil-rich ruling families and autocrats, is incapable of understanding a country that sees justice for the Palestinians intertwined with their own interests. 

 Ayatollah Khomeini declared, in 1979, that Iran’s revolution would be incomplete until the Palestinians had won their freedom. His statement established their cause as a central ideological component of the Islamic Republic’s identity and anti-imperialism foreign policy.  

Iran will continue to demand justice for the people of Palestine, an end to genocidal Zionism and an independent sovereign West Asia. Is this the “threat,” is this what Washington and Tel Aviv want the world to fear?

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