Iran’s
unapologetic self-determination, including its ballistic missile and
nuclear energy program as well its resistance to economic
imperialism, make it a constant thorn in Washington’s side
by
Randi Nord
Part
2 - A clash of ideologies: imperialism vs. self-determination
Even
independent news outlets often fail to grasp the reasons behind
Washington’s constant targeting of Iran — pointing
simplistically to oil and gas. While resource theft has been a
significant factor behind Washington’s foreign policy, it alone is
not sufficient motivation to promote “regime change” for 40
years.
The true
conflict stems from Tehran and Washington’s differences in ideology
(and no, it’s not Christianity versus Islam). It’s a conflict
between imperialism and self-determination.
The U.S.
status as world superpower relies on its ability to exploit and
manipulate competition while propping up what essentially amounts to
an empire through military quests. The United States uses military,
political and economic imperialism to control populations from the
Middle East to Latin America.
Even the
population within the empire is not immune, U.S. citizens face police
brutality, labor exploitation, and tax extortion to fund empire
abroad. Several oppressed groups exist inside the United States (such
as African-Americans and indigenous peoples), which provide a
micro-scale example of how Washington deals with foreign entities it
views as inferior.
While
the United States often functions as an oppressor, an opposing
ideology is the backbone of Iran’s constitution:
self-determination.
As Point
6c in Article 2 of Iran’s Constitution states: “The Islamic
Republic is a system based on the faith in the wondrous and exalted
status of human beings and their freedom, which must be endowed with
responsibility, before God. These are achieved through: the negation
of all kinds of oppression, authoritarianism, or the acceptance of
domination, which secures justice, political and economic, social,
and cultural independence and national unity.”
To
achieve this goal, Article 3 states that Tehran will devote resources
to “unrestrained support for the impoverished people of the
world” and “the complete rejection of colonialism and the
prevention of foreign influence.”
Iran’s
foreign policy focuses on unrelenting support for the oppressed, and
refusal to accept domination culturally, economically, and
militarily. That’s precisely why Iran unconditionally supports
Palestine against Zionism, as well as other nations under the thumb
of U.S. domination.
Ph.D.
candidate, university lecturer, and political commentator Marwa
Osman, based in Beirut, Lebanon, asserts U.S. foreign policy goals
regarding Iran have little to do with national security: “The
U.S.’s attempts to put further sanctions on Iran or possibly even
start a war with Iran have nothing to do with safety or US national
security as consecutive administrations have emphasized since 1979
and everything to do with protecting corporate interests. Iran has
the third largest oil reserves and second largest natural gas
reserves in the world. U.S. foreign policy has been centered on
control of the world’s energy reserves, while the four major
recipients of Iran’s oil are all from Asia, which is very much
unacceptable to Western policymakers with national interests in mind.
The economic sanctions proposed by the U.S. would cripple the Iranian
economy and surely it would not be long before political and domestic
turmoil to grow out of hand. This would offer the U.S. and its allies
the chance to enter the country with the goal of ‘spreading
democracy.”
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