It was also a nation at peace with the State of Israel; an
exchange of ambassadors; and well-established air travel between the two.
But the Shah had been accused by human rights activists of
jailing, torturing, and otherwise mistreating dissidents, particularly
religious dissidents like the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, an icon of the
devout Shia Muslims in Iran. Khomeini was exiled and ended up in France.
Preaching to the devout from there via recordings. Religious lectures sent to the devout surreptitiously.
The year was 1979. Then President Jimmy Carter expressed his
concern to his Iranian ally, the Shah, about the human rights violations. The
Shah was forced to loosen the reins, and the stage was set for revolution.
That is exactly what happened.
The Shah fled the country, and after a feeble attempt at democracy, Radical Islamists took over.
Resenting America’s support for the Shah, they took Americans working at the U.S. embassy there hostage and held them for over a year!
Khomeini returned to Iran as the conquering hero of the
fledgling regime, now known as the Islamic Republic of Iran. After 444 days in
captivity, the hostages were finally released. By then, the new Iran had been
firmly established, with a new elite military group, the IRGC, consisting of
devout Shia Muslims who were highly trained and motivated to fight for the
radical version of Islam their new country now adhered to.
Iran had gone from a pro-West monarchy and friendly
relations with Israel to an anti-American, anti-Israel nation that makes the
Shah’s intolerance of dissidents look mild by comparison.
Iran is now feared by much of the civilized world. Its devotion to radical Islam includes an IRGC motivated by martyrdom as a religious obligation. Fueled by belief in be great heavenly reward.
Feared
also is Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons; the development of a ballistic
missile system that can deliver them to Europe; (and given enough time will surely
develop the capability to reach the U.S. mainland) and their spread of terrorism around the globe.
Iran’s religious fanaticism has not hesitated to express
continued hatred for the U.S. and its values - as well as hatred of the Jewish
state, whose very existence contradicts their religious doctrine. They
view Israel an illegitimate colonial entity and Judaism as a false religion.
Both of which impede Islam of its religious destiny to rule the entire region.
Which is why they have been arming proxy
militias surrounding Israel.
Thankfully, Israel has been able to demolish or degrade - either directly or indirectly - many of those proxies to the point of near impotence...
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