But premising a strategy on hope is not a sound path forward. Repressive regimes are often more fragile than they seem. The first is that the Iranian regime will collapse and suddenly morph into a pro-American ally as it was under the Shah. There are two ideas that often underpin American strategy that should be dispelled. Mutual enmity between Washington and Tehran would continue, entrenched. The US would later support Iraq with critical intelligence in its long and violent war with Iran. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter ordered an operation to rescue them, which failed. Americans in the US embassy in Tehran were taken prisoner. The US admitted the Shah for cancer treatment, sparking ire among his many critics in Iran. In 1979, the Islamic Revolution overthrew the Shah, who fled. In 1953, the US and Britain colluded to support the overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected prime minister and elevate the Shah, the son of Iran’s former strongman ruler. The answer is complicated, but its major elements will be well known to many. Why? And could it ever change?Īn American flag is set on fire during the annual rally commemorating Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran on Sunday, Feb. No matter what happens in the world - the fall of communism, the rise and fall of jihadism - somehow this relationship seems destined to stay the same. But suffice it to say that America’s relationship with Iran has been hostile and confrontational for more than four decades. The story is more complicated than that, as I lay out in my CNN special report “Why Iran Hates America,” airing Sunday at 8 p.m. Why is that? What has produced the tensions between Washington and Tehran that have now become so central to one of the world’s most potentially explosive conflicts? Iran, and particularly its hostile relationship with the US, is firmly at the center. Related article Opinion: Conflict is the new normalįears of a larger Middle East war have only heightened, as a result. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images) Amir Levy/Getty Images 7 has also inflamed tensions on the country's northern border with Lebanon, where the militant political group Hezbollah has traded cross-border fire with Israel in the most significant clashes since 2006. The war between Israel and Hamas that ignited on Oct. NORTHERN BORDER, ISRAEL - JANUARY 11: An Israeli artillery unit fires across the border towards Lebanon on Januin Northern Israel, Israel.
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