The United States is Iran’s Great Satan — Ayatollahs of Iran
It’s hardly surprising that Iranians with long memories and good history classes have deep-seated hatred of America. The United States, with the help of Britain, engineered a coup in 1953 that overthrew the democratically elected Iranian prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh.
Why? He was a leftist who nationalized the oil industry and called for independence from all foreign powers. His target: the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. The United States simply could not tolerate that. The CIA and British intelligence orchestrated his ouster and re-installed the Shah, a dictator hated by most Iranians.
Yet today we find the head of Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, making a pact with the supreme leader of Satan, President Obama.
It was a brilliant deal, limiting Iran’s nuclear ability for at least 10 years in return for lifting Iranian oil and financial sanctions. It could be one of the most important diplomatic accords in diplomatic history. As the New York Times put it an editorial, “It has the ability to reshape Middle East politics.”
But the prime minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, does not think so. He denounced the proposal “as a historic mistake and a dangerous compromise, paving the way for an arsenal of multiple bombs.”
He called Iran a rogue regime, a terrorist regime, “one that threatens the very existence of Israel. Lifting sanctions would reward it with hundreds of billions of dollars, cash bonuses to fuel Iran’s worldwide terrorism.”
Oh, my, the apocalypse now! Netanyahu did not say Israel already has an atomic bomb in its extensive nuclear arsenal. He did not mention that Israel is a rogue nation.
Another overreacting foe: the U.S. Congress. Congressional critics, horrified by the accord, are urging Congress to vote against it. But Obama has the upper hand: veto of any untoward congressional law. Overriding a veto requires a two-thirds vote, which is practically impossible because of the many Democrats backing the pact.
Still other over-reactors: the 50 Republican candidates for the presidency, most of them vying to see who can revile it most.
Congress has 90 days to review the deal, the Iranian parliament 80. The United Nations Security Council has already approved the accord, 15-0. The resolution backs the lifting of sanctions against Iran. Still another approver of the deal: the European Union.
Here are some of the elements of the accord as listed by the New York Times:
• Iran will be allowed to produce a small amount of uranium enriched at low levels but not suitable for an atomic bomb.
• If Tehran abides by the agreement if will not have enough material or the centrifuge to make an atomic bomb.
• The deal requires Iran to reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98 percent.
• Inspectors can ask to visit sites where they suspect nuclear activity.
• The accord contains provisions for “snapback” sanctions if a panel of nations should detect Iranian cheating.
• But Iran, more than twice the size of Texas, poses challenges for nuclear inspection with so many underground sites.
• Yet Iran has agreed to transform its deeply buried plant at Fordo into a center for science research. Another uranium plant, Natanz, is to be cut back but not shut down.
This columnist has constantly criticized President Obama, but this accord deserves the highest praise.
Jake Highton is an emeritus journalism professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. (jake@unr.edu)
Ayatollahs of Iran
It’s hardly surprising that Iranians with long memories and good history classes have deep-seated hatred of America. The United States, with the help of Britain, engineered a coup in 1953 that overthrew the democratically elected Iranian prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh.
Why? He was a leftist who nationalized the oil industry and called for independence from all foreign powers. His target: the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. The United States simply could not tolerate that. The CIA and British intelligence orchestrated his ouster and re-installed the Shah, a dictator hated by most Iranians.
Yet today we find the head of Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, making a pact with the supreme leader of Satan, President Obama.
It was a brilliant deal, limiting Iran’s nuclear ability for at least 10 years in return for lifting Iranian oil and financial sanctions. It could be one of the most important diplomatic accords in diplomatic history. As the New York Times put it an editorial, “It has the ability to reshape Middle East politics.”
But the prime minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, does not think so. He denounced the proposal “as a historic mistake and a dangerous compromise, paving the way for an arsenal of multiple bombs.”
He called Iran a rogue regime, a terrorist regime, “one that threatens the very existence of Israel. Lifting sanctions would reward it with hundreds of billions of dollars, cash bonuses to fuel Iran’s worldwide terrorism.”
Oh, my, the apocalypse now! Netanyahu did not say Israel already has an atomic bomb in its extensive nuclear arsenal. He did not mention that Israel is a rogue nation.
Another overreacting foe: the U.S. Congress. Congressional critics, horrified by the accord, are urging Congress to vote against it. But Obama has the upper hand: veto of any untoward congressional law. Overriding a veto requires a two-thirds vote, which is practically impossible because of the many Democrats backing the pact.
Still other over-reactors: the 50 Republican candidates for the presidency, most of them vying to see who can revile it most.
Congress has 90 days to review the deal, the Iranian parliament 80. The United Nations Security Council has already approved the accord, 15-0. The resolution backs the lifting of sanctions against Iran. Still another approver of the deal: the European Union.
Here are some of the elements of the accord as listed by the New York Times:
• Iran will be allowed to produce a small amount of uranium enriched at low levels but not suitable for an atomic bomb.
• If Tehran abides by the agreement if will not have enough material or the centrifuge to make an atomic bomb.
• The deal requires Iran to reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98 percent.
• Inspectors can ask to visit sites where they suspect nuclear activity.
• The accord contains provisions for “snapback” sanctions if a panel of nations should detect Iranian cheating.
• But Iran, more than twice the size of Texas, poses challenges for nuclear inspection with so many underground sites.
• Yet Iran has agreed to transform its deeply buried plant at Fordo into a center for science research. Another uranium plant, Natanz, is to be cut back but not shut down.
This columnist has constantly criticized President Obama, but this accord deserves the highest praise.
Jake Highton is an emeritus journalism professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. (jake@unr.edu)