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An English Misunderstanding of Iran

(Gatestone Institute) Amir Taheri - Former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's new book, The English Job: Understanding Iran and Why It Distrusts Britain, may best be described as a misunderstanding of Iran today. Perhaps caused by his "absolute infatuation" with his imaginary Iran, Straw thinks that because Iran is an ancient civilization, it deserves indulgence for its weird activities such as hostage-taking, hate-mongering, human rights violations, and the export of terror in the name of revolution. It is like granting Stalin indulgence because one appreciates Tchaikovsky. Straw believes that the Khomeinist ruling elite includes a "reformist" faction that desires close relations with Western democracies. The trouble is that Straw is unable to cite a single reform proposed, let alone carried out, by his "reformist" faction. He forgets that there have been more executions and political arrests under "reformist" Presidents Khatami and Rouhani than during the presidency of the supposedly "hardline" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Straw offers no evidence that any deal made with the Islamic Republic in the past 40 years has had a long-lasting impact on the Khomeinist strategy and behavior. The Khomeinist rulers of Iran have perfected the art of diplomatic cheat-retreat-advance. Whenever pressured, they offered some concessions, which were subsequently withdrawn once the pressure ceased. The writer was executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan in Iran from 1972 to 1979.
2019-07-29 00:00:00
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