Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei claims that if Iran ended its support for the Palestinians, Western hostility toward his country would dissipate. Of course he's right, and I've argued this point often, however this can serve as confirmation that Iran's leadership perceives US policy toward their country as being motivated largely by a desire to further Israel's regional interests.
"One of the main reasons behind the enmity of the global hegemony toward the Islamic Republic is the Palestinian issue," said the Leader on Tuesday.Westerners are uncomfortable considering exactly how many resources the US and other Western countries exert propping up Israel as a Jewish majority state. US leadership in the drive to ensure Iran does not becomes weapons capable while at the same time sabotaging its economic development generally is hugely expensive for the US, both in terms of resources allocated and in terms of profits foregone by the US boycott of Iran's economy.
"If Iran had backtracked about the Palestinian issue, much of such hostilities would have ceased to exist; however, regarding this matter we stand fast," Ayatollah Khamenei added.
Of course a far greater cost is borne by the non-Jewish people of the region, including the Lebanese whose farms are littered with Israeli cluster-bombs and citizens of Saudi Arabia who can't vote out their embarrassing laws such as that women cannot drive because the US supports their autocratic dictatorship. (There are many examples of the price of Israel's Jewish majority in every country in the region. Maybe one day I'll try to list them all, but for now I'll stop at two.)
The fact that Khamenei has said it in public now makes it unarguable that at least the Iranians believe that is a primary motivating factor behind the US opposition to their development.
3 comments:
What Khamenei says is partially true. In my view, the US will only reconcile with Iran if it is ruled by a puppet much like Mubarak or the Shaw. An independent Iran that recognizes Israel would still be a target of the empire. The US cannot tolerate an independent and powerful country sitting astride the Persian Gulf. What if this independent and powerful country that recognizes Israel decides to ally itself with an emerging China? Too risky.
For Iran to reconcile with the U.S. it will have to give up its nuclear program entirely, no matter what it does with Israel. It will have to accept a giant US embassy in Iran that will have input in who comprises Iran's most critical posts in government. It will have to accept US "training" for its police and military.
Only under those conditions would Iran be acceptable to the US.
A really good paper on Iranian interest and foreign policy:
Iran’s Foreign Policy
Strategy after Saddam
http://www.twq.com/10january/docs/10jan_Barzegar.pdf
by Kayhan Barzegar
Recommended
I think minus Israel, the US would need control over Iran's government no more than it need control over Singapore's or Nigeria's government.
A rivalry with China that may come into place over the next generation or more is not determinative of US policy the way the precarious Jewish majority status in Israel is.
In general though, I give a lot of deference to Khamenei's assessment of his country's strategic situation.
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