The Shadow War: Iran's Quest for Supremacy by Brandon J. Weichert

Author:Brandon J. Weichert [Weichert, Brandon J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non-Fiction, Politics, Foreign Policy, War, International Relations, Iran, United States, Middle East
ISBN: 9781645720577
Publisher: Republic Book Publishers
Published: 2023-03-28T00:00:00+00:00

17

444 DAYS OF HELL

THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION in Iran did not happen in a vacuum. At the same time that Khomeini and his followers were establishing themselves in Shiite-dominated Iran, the entire Middle East was ablaze with Islamist fervor. Khomeini and his fellow revolutionaries, like Lenin and the first generation of Bolsheviks, were not content to simply remain within their country’s borders. They envisioned spreading their Islamist revolution to all corners of the Islamic world and, perhaps, beyond. But first, the young Islamist regime had to secure itself at home.

Whether ordered to or not by the grand ayatollah, his young, radical followers took to the streets to demand what they perceived as justice. Scores of young Islamist revolutionaries clamored for the Americans to return the Shāh to face justice in an Islamic court—possibly a grander version of the show trial that Elkanian, the notable Jewish-Iranian industrialist, had been subjected to earlier that year. The young radicals, many of whom were idealistic college students, would brook no compromise.

For the young revolutionaries who composed the ranks of the Islamic Revolution, any delay in their version of justice was not just wrong but also implied that those delaying justice were complicit in those crimes. In this case, the Americans were blamed. Foreign Minister Yazdi’s warnings to the American diplomats came true. Fears abounded among the Islamists in Iran that Washington would replicate the 1953 coup.

Of course, that notion was ridiculous, as was shown earlier in this work, the 1953 coup only happened because pro-monarchy Iranian generals organized it. No such organization or movement was ready when the Islamists were demanding the return of the Shāh for trial. The only real threat to the Khomeinist regime came from the Soviet-backed Marxists who, ultimately, were too disorganized to achieve their ambitious goal of making Iran a Soviet-style state. Interestingly, the Marxists were aligned with Khomeini and his revolutionaries on some key issues, ranging from Israel to the United States, and both groups wanted the Shāh to stand trial.

Once it became clear that the Americans were not going to force the Shāh to go back to Iran and had in fact, given the Shāh refuge, all bets were off. Very quickly, a band of radical Marxists sealed off the streets leading into the American embassy in Tehran. Pressure was building in the chaotic streets just beyond the beige-colored walls of the American embassy. Soon the Marxist guerillas were replaced by Islamist revolutionaries looking to force the Americans’ hand on the matter of returning the Shāh.

On November 4, 1979, panicked calls between the American embassy and Washington concluded with phrases like, “they’re coming over the walls,” and “they’re inside the building now.” Young Islamist revolutionaries, tired of what they considered stalling on the part of the United States, clambered over the poorly defended walls of the compound and stormed inside. Among the radicals climbing the gates of the American embassy were people like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a controversial future president of Iran (though, as 2021 would show, he would hardly be the most radical future president of Iran).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.