James Sager: Iran and the World - Analysis of Issues

History

To fully understand Iran's standing in the world today, we must take a look back to their history. They have gone through drastic changes over the 20^th century, shaping the country into what it is today. In the early 1900's, Iran was beginning to realize the potential of its oil industry. Britain, at the time, held claim over the vast oil reserves located in Iran, and was paying a ridiculously small fee for reach barrel exported. Iran began to take offence to this, and began nationalizing their country's resources.

Britain, scared to lose such a precious resource, asked for the American's help in overthrowing the democratically elected Iranian Government, and installing a complete authoritarian one in its place. This coup de-tate took place in 1951, with CIA and MI6 agents effectively organizing the military to take over the country. The elected president was put under house arrest, where he died, and the shah, who had fled the scene, returned to rule the country as a puppet under the American government.

This authoritarian government ruled for over 20 years, in a style similar to that of the Nazi's of WW2, or Soviet's of Russia. A secret police terrorized the population, executing many believed to be conspirators against the government. Iran at the time was very friendly with western countries and Israel, due to their ties with the American government.

This peace, of sorts, was not to last. Throughout the 1970's, people began to get incited to rebellion. Inspired by similar movements throughout the middle east, due to the popular Islamic revolution taking place, the Iranian people rose to a similar movement. In 1979, after three days of vicious street fighting, an Islamic Republic was installed. This republic operates with a supreme leader, under him a president elected by the people.

The Iranian people absolutely despised the West for what they had instilled against them, and it shows to this day. Throughout their war with Iraq, the American government supported Iraq with weapons and intelligence, as they decided they could not allow Iran to win. Iran, suffering many casualties, won the war, with further hate towards the United States being the only outcome.

From this history, I hope to present a more balanced view of Iran. To understand the present, we must look to the past.

Current Issues

Issues today range around foreign policy, social justice, and military.

Foreign Policy

The Iranian's have grown to be an extremely independent nation, steering clear especially of western influence. Along with the fact that Islamic influence has affected their policy, they hold very little trust with foreign countries due to past difficulties with the West. They have made clear their stance on Israel having holdings in the Middle East, and do not take Israel as a country. They do not believe peace can exist in the area until Israel is no more, the land returned to the people native to the area.

Many Western countries have imposed sanctions on Iran, refusing to buy their oil. This has hurt the Iranian people through blows to their economy. These sanctions are said to be mainly in place to halt the nuclear weapons program taking place in Iran. Many countries are scared of what Iran might do if they had their hands on a weapon of such mass destruction, going so fa as to say they might use it against Iran.

These claims are justified, in a sense, due to the current president of Iran. He belongs to a particularly radical sect of Islam, one that believes the next great prophet must be brought in with a sign of extreme power, indicative perhaps of the destruction of declared enemies to Islam, Israeli people. This president has been quoted with such statements as “Israel must be wiped off the face of the map.” While there are slight translation issues from their language to ours, their stance on Israel remains clear to the beholder.

Social Justice

A rather old issue in Iran, brought up recently due to a rapidly changing situation, is human rights and social justice in Iran. Due to a population pyramid indicating a very young population, humanist ethics have become prominent among the people of Iran. Particularly focusing of woman's rights, we find a situation similar to that of the African-American's in the United States, after slavery was abolished. Difference held here is that in Iran, woman are held more as objects than anything, tools necessary to a purpose. This is due to their religion, and being a theocracy religious freedom of any kind is strictly forbidden.

Their has been hope among the people as of late, as the next presidential election is coming along very soon, as of the writing of this analysis. Their have been many implications suggesting the last elections were forged, as a very disliked president has now been in office for two terms. Still, Iran holds a policy that a president can only serve to a maximum of two terms. There have been many candidates up as of late who have shown a much more progressive attitude towards issues of social justice and woman's rights.

It must be remembered that Iran considers itself rightfully separate from the countries surrounding. Being descended from the Persian Empire, they have never considered themselves to be similar to countries such as Iraq, instead holding themselves to a higher standard. This is exemplified through their country, as while it does hold oppressive tendencies, it is rather progressive for the area, with many well constructed cities and a stable population. Their is hope that Iran can reform to a more democratic standard in the future, as the younger population begins to take prominent positions throughout the political system, bringing with them ideas of change.

Military

Perhaps the most televised issue in the West, is that of Iran's nuclear development. Knowing that Iran has a deep hate for the West due to interference throughout the 20^th century, and an even larger hate for Israel due to their religious beliefs, there is much fear of what Iran might do if they were able to build nuclear missiles. This could effectively put any kind of foreign intervention at a standstill, as threats
of using nuclear technology such as this would halt any form of invasion. Points have also been raised that even if they were not to use a nuclear device directly, they could hand them off to insurgents to use against Israel, in particular.

Their supreme leader, who is ultimately in charge of their military, and supersedes any kind of authority the president holds, has made clear that they are not pursuing nuclear weapons, as it is against their religious beliefs. It has been shown throughout time that their supreme leader has been quite a rational being, with a self-preservationist streak in terms of foreign policy. Iran's president is radical in his views and proud of it, not scared to vocalize his ideas of the removal of Israel from the area, speaking for Iran as a whole. One thing to remember is that much of the populace do not stand with him, even rioting days after he was elected to a second term in office.

In terms of what military power Iran currently holds, it is relatively modest. Much of their weaponry dates to the Cold War, in fact purchased from the Americans. One interesting tidbit of information is that while the United States supported Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq was actually using soviet equipment while Iran was using American technology. An interesting paradigm indeed.

Global Effects and Future Implications

How do the various issues in Iran affect the world from a global stance? Fears of war with Israel have already been brought up. Examining the issue from an unbiased perspective, it seems rather irrational to believe Iran would ever possibly directly fight Israel. It is quite obvious that western support would absolutely crush Iran, and they would lose whatever power they currently hold. Some say the Iran, if ti were to get their hands on a nuclear device, would launch it at Iran. This also seems irrational, for the same reason stated before.

To statements brought up of Iran's radicalism, evident by their president, it is important to note that he does not control the military. The supreme leader does who, once again, has shown throughout his lifetime his self-preservationist streak. The only then rational fear to hold is that, if they were able to produce a nuclear weapon, they would hand it off to insurgents. This is a sure cause of concern, especially with Israel.

Sanctions are getting stricter and stricter against Iran, under encouragement from the United States. This is in attempt to force Iran to bow down to global demands, falling under regulation from the UN. It appears as though this has been a failure as of now, in fact rallying the people in support of the Iranian government. Taking a look at other countries where sanctions have been put in place, it appears to have shown they simply do not work. North Korea, with a starving population, stands as defiant as ever, refusing to fall short of their ideals. A new approach is needed, separate from sanctions and declarations of war, one that allows peaceful comprises to be reached.

In regards to social issues, as said before, Iran's younger generation appears to be rather progressive, making as much headway as they can towards more humanist policy. It would appear to only be a matter of time until this generation takes power throughout the government holdings. The unanswered questions are when and how much of this change is going to take place.

To Conclude...

To conclude, in Iran we have extremely complex issues, rooted in history. From examination of the past we find much of the causes to Iran's current position in the world today. While we can make many guesses as to how the Iran will stand in the future, it is impossible to know what resolution these issues will arrive at.

References
Foreign Policy of Iran. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from www.cnn.com/2013/06/11/opinion/iran-election-foreign-policy/
Information on Current Iranian Foreign Policy
Iran. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran
Overview of Iran's history and culture
Iranian Nuclear Threat. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from www.adl.org/israel-international/iran/c/the-iranian-nuclear-threat-why-it-matters.html
Report on the nuclear threat from Iran
Nuclear Program of Iran. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Iran
Information on the Iranian Nuclear Program
Politics of Iran. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Iran
Information on the political system of Iran
SAVAK. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAVAK
Information on the secret police force of authoritarian Iranian government in 1951-1979


APA formatting by BibMe.org.