Recently, the Middle East region has once again become the focus of the world, and Israel's military actions have provoked the anger of Iran, and a geopolitical storm is imminent.
Targeted assassinations and unidentified military attacks are happening in the Middle East.
Forty years of change, the chaos in the Middle East has further intensified...
The origins of this long war date back to the end of the 70s of the 20th century.
At that time, Iran was ruled by the Shah, the Chinese transliteration of the ancient Persian emperor, and was the supreme monarch.
The ruler is hell-bent on making Iran a great power, trying to impose Western-style modernization on them against the will of the people.
But in the eyes of the people, the system was unfair and corrupt, and this was reflected in money and even more so in power – everyone was facing a closed door, members of society were not given equal opportunities, and the basic needs of the people could not be met.
Behind the Shah's rule, however, there are two representatives of imperialism – the United States and Israel.
Today it is hard to imagine that these two countries were once Iran's closest allies.
Back in the 50s of the 20th century, Israel made overtures to the Shah in Iran. At the time, the Arab world refused to recognize Israel, and the isolated Hebrew state chose to look for a slightly farther non-Arab ally in the Middle East.
Iran, with the Persians as the predominantly ethnic group, close to the West, and based on another sect of Islam, is a natural ally of Israel.
Yitzhak Segev (Israel).
Israeli military attache in Iran (1977-1979).
At that time, the cooperation between the two countries was very close, and I was responsible for fulfilling a $1.2 billion contract signed between Iran and Israel. Iran buys equipment and technology from Israel in some highly sensitive areas, such as missiles and aircraft.
Washington has also chosen Iran, hoping to use it as a basis for American influence in the region.
Shireen Hunt (Iran).
At that time, during the Cold War, Iran became an important stage for the United States and the Soviet Union to compete for hegemony. The Pahlavi shah was close to the United States, and he believed that he needed the support of the United States against the USSR in order to secure his rule.
For both the United States and Israel, Shah-ruled Iran was a useful partner and a key player in the Middle East's grand chess game, but neither was aware of the breadth and intensity of the wave of popular opposition.
Henry Precht (USA).
Office of Iranian Affairs (1978-1980).
The United States is ignorant of the social currents in Iran, because we are not integrated into the local society, and we are in contact with the upper echelons or the military - they are content with the status quo and want to prove that their belief in the Shah is right, that everything is flourishing and that the future will be so, and that they will not convey bad news to us.
In the face of such a fierce and determined uprising, this blind and ignorant regime finally came to a tragic end.
In 1978, hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets against the Shah.
* attacked cafes, restaurants, banks, and cinemas....In their eyes, these are symbols of Western modernization, all associated with the oppression of this country by Israel and the United States.
On Black Friday, September 8, the Shah's army was on Tehran's Dang Street**, and the official death toll was 87, but the opposition estimated the death toll to be closer to 4,000 – the monarchy showed its true face.
Overthrow the monarchy, sever relations with Washington and Tel Aviv, and reject Western-style ...... of modernizationAll of these objectives converge into a decisive battle.
Abbas Mirani (Iran).
Professor of Political Science, University of Tehran (1979-1986).
The movement is getting bigger, it needs someone to lead it, it needs a leader, and Ayatollah Khomeini seems to be the perfect fit.
Mohsin Sazegara (Iran).
Witness to the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Not only did the major factions of Islam choose to follow Ayatollah Khomeini and fight alongside him, but other factions involved in the movement, such as nationalists and Marxists, supported him. All parties wanted Dr. Khomeini to become the leader of the revolution.
After 15 years in exile, the ayatollah finally returned to his homeland and, together with his compatriots, fought a final battle to launch a revolution in the name of Shia Islam.
On the basis of radical doctrines, an Islamic republic was created, a theocratic state, with supreme power vested in the religious authority, that is, the supreme leader, that is, himself.
Ten days later, after only 48 hours of fighting on the streets of Tehran, the Iranian monarchy, which had been ruled by the Shah for 37 years, was completely overthrown.
The revolution was a complete victory, and Ayatollah Khomeini became the new leader of the country.
Khomeini's invitation to Israel's number one enemy, Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, to visit Tehran sends a strong signal to the entire Muslim world that Iran will now support the Palestinian cause and see it as an existential struggle between Islam and Western imperialism.
He then took the astonishing step of converting the Israeli embassy into a Palestinian embassy, cutting off all ties with Israel, and any strategic alliance with Israel became a thing of the past.
Subsequently, hundreds of Islamic students broke into the U.S. embassy and took 52 diplomats hostage.
Khomeini, at the risk of seriously damaging Iranian-American relations, supported the actions of these students.
Our young fighters conquered the spy lair and drove out the American spies. The aim of these young people is to defeat the arrogance of the Americans and regain control of their own country. ”
Khomeini. His attitude, which laid the groundwork for the consolidation of the new regime, became the main cause of the rift in Iran's relations with the United States.
Since then, the Middle East has entered a new era in which everything has been turned upside down.
Iran's ambitions and interests are destined to be pitted against the United States and Israel, and a huge conflict is imminent.
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The Long War - Forty Years in the Middle East
Editors: Yi Ning, Yii