Iranian Policy: Foreign and Domestic
Iranian Foreign Policy
-Iranian Military during war games
Iran's Nuclear Program
Iran's controversial nuclear program has caused a great deal of concern among many Western powers, especially the United States. This standoff really started to pick up momentum in 2004 and took a gearstick turn in 2005 when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the 2005 presidential election. Although the President does not have the final say in Iranian politics, President Ahmadinejad has steered Iranian foreign policy towards a much more confrontational approach. He has made headlines for his repeated hostility towards Israel, calling for it to be "wiped off of the map" and denying the holocaust ever happened, which has continued to raise concerns about the possibility Iran may be trying to build a bomb. Iran's regime has been bolstered by high oil prices, and the inability for the US to get out of its other commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iran is using the US's military commitments elsewhere as a point of strength in its defiance against world pressure. Regarding Iran's nuclear program, diplomacy has been the first approach for the West. The US, bogged down in Iraq and with commitments in Afghanistan, cannot afford another war in the Middle East and is doing its best to steer Iran away from nuclear program.
Two rounds of sanctions have gone through the UN and passed, however the West has recently been unable to get Russia and China, both of whom have permanent Security Council seat on the UN, to back a third round of sanctions. The US needs these two countries to pass another resolution of sanctions. Russia and China have a lot to lose if more sanctions are put in place: Russia is building an Iranian nuclear reactor in Brushehr, Iran, and China relies off of Iranian oil to help it continue its economic growth. Iran recently played host to Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Ahmadinejad hopes to sway the Russian President from siding with the West by using their common interest in opposing US policy. With The US is encouraging "divestment" from Iran, penalizing and punishing companies who do business with Iran. And on October 26, 2007, the US also hit Iran with strong sanctions declaring Iran's Revolutionary Guard's Elite Force, The Al-Quds force or "Jerusalem Force", as an international terrorist organization, and has blacklisted several Iranian banks for funneling money to terrorist organizations. President Ahmadinejad and his administration have remained defiant in the face of world pressure and are refusing to back down. The diplomatic track continues but has proved fruitless so far. The EU and the US are looking to continue to find ways to hit Iran diplomatically by using their financial strength to persuade it to end its nuclear program. Concerns are being raised at the UN and elsewhere, however, as the rhetoric between the US and Iran has continued to grow. The US refuses to rule out a military strike against Iran, while Iran has threatened a massive retaliation if it is attacked. The diplomatic game continues, however.
-President Ahmadinejad and President Putin meet in Tehran
www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2192195,00.html
-"Putin warns US against military action on Iran"
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/917148.html
-"What affect if any will the new US sanctions have on Iran?"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2199544,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
-"US imposes sweeping sanctions on Tehran"
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20071026-1218-iran-sanctions.html
-"Iran shows confidence US won't attack in standoff over nuclear program"
Iran and and Iranian Proxies
On March 19, 2003, the United States and Coalition forces invaded Iraq. This had a huge impact in Iran. Iran had fought an eight year bloody war with Iraq from 1980-1988 and suffered 1 million causalities. Iraq had always been the West's buffer of keeping Iran in check. Iran's other major foe in the region, the Taliban in Afghanistan, had been disposed of in 2001 by the US as well. This laid the ground work for Iranian influence to grow. Many Shiite Clerics in Iraq and Shiite people had suffered brutally under Saddam Hussein and had found support from Iran. The Iranian government, having been labeled part of the "Axis of Evil" in Bush's 2002 State of the Union address, saw the writing on the wall after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and figured they would be next. Iran quickly started to grow its influence in Iraq and take a more assertive approach to foreign policy fearing for its nation’s independence. This more assertive approach lasted from 2003 to 2005. With the election of President Ahmadinejad, Iran started to take a confrontational approach towards the west.
Using Shiite Militias in Iraq to keep the US in check was the policy from 2003 to 2005. However, there has been a sharp rise in Shiite Militia attacks on US forces and an increase in Iranian made weapons ending up in Iraq ever since President Ahmadinejad was elected. The US does not deny that Iran has a strong influence in Iraq. US and Iranian envoys have met several times to discuss the stabilization of Iraq but few agreements have been made. Iran considers much of its foreign policy interlinked when it comes to its nuclear program, Iraq, and the United States: Iran its influence in Iraq as a bargaining chip in the ongoing diplomatic feud over its nuclear program. Iran knows that the US cannot afford another war while it is involved in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the more Iran can bleed the United States the better. The United States has constantly accused the Iranian Elite Revolutionary Guards, the Al-Quds force, of arming Shiite Militias with improvised explosives, weapons, and training. Many weapons, rockets, and IED's have been seized in Iraq with Iranian markings. Iran denies, however, that it supplies Shiite Militias in Iraq.
Iran does not deny however that it is a major supplier to Hezbollah, a Shiite paramilitary organization based out of Lebanon. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the US and UK. Iranian support for Hezbollah is quite simple: Iran uses Hezbollah to increase Iranian influence in Lebanon and is also used a deterrent against Israel. Hezbollah was officially created during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) in 1985. It received all of its support from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and its original stated goal was to turn Lebanon into an Islamic Republic. Hezbollah has backed away from this goal, however, it still seeks the destruction of Israel. Hezbollah is well supplied with Iranian weapons, as was clearly seen in the summer of 2006 when Israel and Hezbollah went to war. Israel knows that any attack against Iran would be met with a barrage of attacks from Iran and Hezbollah as well.
-Hezbollah Flag
News Articles:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16603072/
-"Iraqi foreign minister wants five Iranians released"
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-07/2006-07-14-voa25.cfm?CFID=151622065&CFTOKEN=66770238
-"Iranian religious leader urges support for Lebanon"
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1006/dailyUpdate.html
-"Britain accuses Iran of supplying bombs to militias"
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/18/news/iran.php
-"Iran backs hezbollah in Lebanon"
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1922015320070819
-"Iranian agents training militias in Iraq: US General"
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/11/news/weapon.php
-"Iran supplying militias with deadly weapon, US beleives"
Iranian Foreign Policy Video:
-Death to Israel video
Iranian Domestic Policy
President Ahmadinejad's campaign was based around helping the poor and sharing the oil profits with the Iranian citizens to raise the standard of living in the Islamic Republic. This appealed to many Iranian voters. He remains a popular President regarding his foreign policy by "standing up to western aggression," however, his domestic policies are becoming extremely unpopular. The economic condition of Iran has deteriorated a great deal. Inflation has gone up for the second straight year up to 17.9%, according to some estimates, and food prices have risen by 20% as well. This is all happening even though high oil prices are helping the Iranian economy. Many of Iranian's poor feel abandoned by a President that once promised them a better quality of life. All they have seen is a rise in inflation, less jobs, and an increase in prices. A lot of this comes from Iranian banking mismanagement and the fact that the government plays a key role in the economy. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are involved in nearly every aspect of the economy from construction to food. Besides the fact that high inflation and rising prices are hurting the Iranian economy, there has also been a major crackdown on all parts of Iranian society from universities to clothing.
This major Iranian crackdown is part of President Ahmadinejad's domestic policy to keep a rigid standard of Islamic law enforced. This domestic crackdown is being stringently enforced and many people are being arrested. University Professors are being replaced who are presenting "unislamic ideas," men are being stopped and fined by the police for having hair that is too long, women are being stopped for their appearance on a regular basis to make sure they wear completely Islamic clothes, women rights leaders are being arrested for "endangering national security," and public executions have gone up. This is a major crackdown that has been called the new "cultural revolution," attempting to roll back Iranian society to 1979 and to get rid of all of the reforms that have been brought about. Women have been treated as second class citizens ever since 1979, and it has gotten much worse under President Ahmadinejad. Ordinary individual human rights do not exist in Iran. People are persecuted and charged for being gay and women have considerably less right in Iran. This major crackdown is leaving people very unhappy about the President' domestic policies. The Iranian National Security Council even sent out a letter to the major state run newspapers and TV stations prohibiting the discussion of "Iranian-American Arrests in recent weeks, rising oil prices, new economic sanctions by the UN, and Iran-US negotiations on Iraq." Anyone who causes any trouble is considered to "endanger national security." National security can be thought of in many ways, so this is a very vague charge that the government is using against many people. While President Ahmadinejad's foreign policy remains popular, there is rising tension with the Iranian people over his domestic policy and his failure to get the economy on the right track and help the people as he promised.
The most important thing for President Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs is to preserve the status quo. Regime change is out of the question in their minds, and it would be the most catastrophic thing if Iran were to become a secular democracy. Iran is doing its best to prevent "western aggression" from supporting a democratic movement in Iran while trying to shore up domestic support and remove dissidents who may cause trouble. The younger generation does not remember the revoltuion of 1979, and many of this new generation are believed to want a more liberal and open democratic Iran. This is a major threat to the regime. This two pronged offensive comes in a time when Iran may look extremely strong externally, but seems to be struggling to survive internally.
News Articles:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/world/middleeast/24iran.html?pagewanted=all
-"Iran cracks down on dissent"
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HF30Ak01.html
-"Why Iran is playing for time"
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=19464
-"Revoltuionary Guards have financial interest in keeping Iran isolated"
http://mrsdoyle.wordpress.com/2007/07/30/ahmadinejad%E2%80%99s-murder-machine-a-look-at-tehrans-casualty-list/
-"Ahmadinejad's murder machine: A look at Tehran's causality list"
Domestic Policy Videos:
-National Women's day in Iran video
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.