On Jan. 3, President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Since then global affairs have been chaotic while the world awaits Iran’s response. One must understand American policy toward Iran to comprehend the current state of affairs between the United States and Persia. Luckily for comprehension and unfortunately for humanity, American foreign policy toward Iran can be summed up in one word: aggressive. As you will see America has aimed this aggression directly and indirectly on Iran’s politics, economics, and society.
In 1953 the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom orchestrated a coup d’état that removed Iran’s democratically elected leader, Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Shah, a staunch anti-Communist, led a strict monarchy in which Iranians with opposing viewpoints were often suppressed through arrest, torture, and murder. Over the next decade, the United States sent over one billion dollars in foreign aid to the Shah’s regime. Additionally, American CIA officials supported Iran with the creation and implementation of a secret police force that harassed civilians. From 1957 to 1979, Americans helped Iran create its nuclear program by providing the country with its first nuclear reactor, nuclear fuel, and enriched uranium. After the Iranian hostage crisis, Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12170. This order froze tens of billions of dollars in Iranian assets.
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During the 1980s, the American government supported both sides of the Iran-Iraq War. Saddam Hussein’s regime received billions of dollars of aid, military intelligence, training, and weapons. Iran received weapons. The most famous example being the Iran-Contra affair, during which American senior administration officials sold weapons to Iran in hopes of using the money to fund the Contras in Nicaragua (both actions being illegal under American law). In 1988, America initiated Operation Praying Mantis in response to an American ship being sunk by a supposed Iranian mine. During Praying Mantis, the American military sunk or destroyed numerous Iranian ships and platforms, which resulted in the deaths of at least 50 Iranians (only two Americans died) while significantly deteriorating Iran’s navy. During the same year, the United States shot down an Iranian airbus, killing 290 civilians.
In 1995 President Clinton signed an executive order that enacted an embargo on any business interactions between American companies and Iran. To make matters worse, Congress signed into law the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 that regulated companies that invest more than $20 million per year in Iranian oil and natural gas. On Dec. 1, 2016, Congress extended the act for 10 years.
After the 9/11 attacks, President Bush named Iran as part of the “Axis of Evil.” Beginning in 2003, the United States used drones to spy on Iran’s nuclear program. During the 2000s, America led covert operations inside Iran and supported militant Islamic organizations such as Jundallah.
Under the Obama administration and Trump administration, the United States has used drones for surveillance of Iran and its surrounding areas. Often, Iranians shoot down such drones. Under Trump, the United States has left the Iran nuclear deal, provisionally stopped Iranians from entering the country, increased economic sanctions, amplified military presence in the Middle East, and finally assassinated Iran’s top general. Currently, Iran is literally surrounded by American military bases in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and numerous other countries in the region.
America has now been interfering in Iran’s business for almost seven decades.
Richard J. Stocking holds a B.A. in history and political science from SUNY Cortland and an M.A. in history from SUNY Brockport. He currently teaches history and politics at Mammoth-San Manuel High School.
