The Road to Esfahan

Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic, by Ray Takeyh
Iran's president Khatami said, "Afghanistan provides the two regimes [the US and Iran] with a perfect opportunity to improve relations."
The Bush Administration embraced the people who had given the Taliban and Al Qaeda safe haven (Pakistan) and money (Saudi Arabia and the Emirates) and declared Iran, who aided us in our war against the Taliban, as part of the Axis of Evil.

The question is, shouldn't we bomb them because, in addition to being one of the two remaining parts of the Axis of Evil, they are part of the Islamo-Fascist Alliance to rule the world?

We moved on from the pleasures of Shirz, to Esfahan which is a treasure. A miracle.

In the 16th Century, when Shah Abbas I made it the capital of the Safavid dynasty, it was probably the greatest city in the world. It has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, along the Great Wall of China, the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal, and the historic center of St. Petersburg.

There, we connected with a group of twenty and thirty-something Iranians, all of whom spoke excellent English, and went out to dinner with them. They were students, medical professionals, and small business people, four men and three women. Because we were in public the women wore the required headscarves, but managed to make them fashion accessories. They constantly adjusted them with graceful gestures that drew attention to their beauty and femininity. It is worth pointing out that while women in Iran are not as free as in America or Western Europe, they have more freedom and participate more fully in public life than in the rest of the Islamic World.

The conversation was lively and fluid and touched on politics, world affairs, the regime, America, religion and even disbelief.

In the first ten minutes of almost any conversation with an Iranian they will point out that they are not Arabs, they're Persians. They may even say that they don't like Arabs, or, more emphatically, "I hate f**king Arabs."
They liked Americans. They didn't like the regime. They didn't think they could do anything about the current government.

The question is, shouldn't we bomb them to help good people like that? Won't bombing them make them blame their leaders for forcing us to attack them, so they will rise up and change the regime?

A lot of people dislike the regime. And with good cause.

At times it seemed that this was a country where everybody went to prison. Everyone who thought, wrote, had opinions, was political, who had property that could be taken - save for fervent supporters of the regime - had gone to prison. Or worse, been tortured and executed.

People who had lovers, who danced, possessed illegal music, stood up for academic freedom, were members of minority religions, clergy who didn't support Khomenie's radical re-interpretation of Shia'a Islam, were arrested, harassed, beaten, thrown out of windows, lost their jobs and careers, and went to prison.

The country also has inflation, unemployment, underemployment, and low wages. Heroin addiction is widespread and growing. Opium use is routine, even, according to gossip on the street, in the highest levels of government.

Corruption is rampant and everyone knows it.

However, even their opponents gave the regime credit for certain things. Making Iran self-sufficient. Keeping a country of Persians, Kurds, Turkomans, Azerbaijanis, Pashtuns and Arabs together in spite of the centripetal forces of ethnic and tribal loyalties. It's a safe place. There's very little street crime. There are no car bombings. No terrorist incidents. No kidnappings.
An underlying thread became clear through all these conversations. The number one hot button political issue in Iran is standing up to foreign powers.

Their history, since Alexander the Great invaded and burned Persepolis, is one of being invaded, threatened, exploited and subverted by outsiders. As for the 20th Century, the British exploited their natural resources, then the United States overthrew their democracy and put a compliant king in charge, and as soon as he was deposed they were invaded by Saddam Hussein. He received support from America and other Western nations. That war lasted eight years and Iran had somewhere between 750,000 and 1,000,000 casualties.

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