Iran, with a population of 80 million people, is almost two and a half times the size of Texas. It shares its northern border with Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea, and Turkmenistan. Afghanistan and Pakistan are along the eastern border, while Iraq and Turkey are along the western border. The Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport, comprise Iran’s southern coastline. Petroleum accounts for 80 percent of Iran’s export income. Ninety-three percent of Iran’s population is Shiite Muslim.
Iran was known as Persia until 1935. The Islamic conquest of Persia occurred from AD 631 to AD 656. After centuries of foreign occupation, Persia was reunified as an independent state in 1501 by the Safavid dynasty, and Shi’a Islam was established as the official religion of their empire. The country became a monarchy ruled by a shah, or emperor, almost without interruption from 1501 until the 1979 Iranian revolution when the ruling monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was exiled. On April 1, 1979, The Islamic Republic of Iran was created and the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–1989) became the Supreme Leader. He established a theocratic government based on Islamic principles and launched the Cultural Revolution in order to Islamize the whole country. Many Iranians opposed to the radical changes were either sentenced to death or long-term imprisonment.
Following Ayatollah Khomeini’s death, the Assembly of Experts on June 4, 1989, elected the Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the second Supreme Leader of Iran. Appearing somewhat less aggressive than his predecessor, Khamenei has stressed the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program. At an August 2005 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, the Iranian government noted that Khamenei had issued a fatwa declaring that the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons was forbidden under Islam.
U.S.-Iranian relations were severely strained during the 1979 hostage episode when a group of hardline Iranian students, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and kept embassy personnel hostage until the beginning of the Reagan administration in 1981. Later, in August 2005, Ahmadinejad was inaugurated as president of Iran. He remained president until 2013, when a more moderate conservative cleric, Dr. Hassan Fereydoun Rouhani, was elected president.
Iran is suspected of having ongoing programs for the development of weapons of mass destruction (biological and chemical as well as nuclear) and ballistic missiles to deliver them. Iran’s programs receive technological and other assistance from Russia, China, and North Korea. These programs constitute a serious threat to the United States, Israel, and any other country Iran feels is contrary to its plans to expand Islamic influence worldwide.
Ahmadinejad is a radical Shiite Islamic fundamentalist. Using fiery rhetoric during his presidency, he expressed his belief that the Mahdi is coming soon and that it is Iran’s responsibility to prepare the world for his coming by destroying Western civilization and converting the entire world population to Islam. His goal is either to convert or to kill all the infidels with whatever means are available (including weapons of mass destruction) and destroy both Israel and the United States. He has defied the United Nations by continuing to develop Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Despite the fatwa issued by the current Supreme Leader essentially declaring a ban on development of nuclear weapons, experts estimate Iran will have nuclear weapons in the very near future. They also predict that once Iran has nuclear weapons at its disposal, the country will not hesitate to use them against not only Israel but United States cities and military installations. Ahmadinejad’s successor, President Rouhani, gives the impression of a more moderate approach. Skeptics claim that these declarations of moderation, of Iran’s “peaceful intent only” regarding its nuclear development program, are merely lies and deceptive tactics as deemed appropriate, even encouraged, in the Qur’an, when used to mislead and disarm infidels.
Time will tell.
