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March 04, 2003

Iranian Perceptions of the Iraqi-American Conflict

I just got out of a lecture on campus by Dr. Nasser Hadian, who is a visiting professor at Columbia University. This lecture was part four of a series of guest lectures about the Iraqi-American conflict. You can get more information about the series on the University website. Dr Hadian is an expert on Iranian foreign policy, and gave a brief, yet thorough, overview of Iranian government and Iranian opinions about war in Iraq.

Because the Iranion government has over 30 political parties, the lecture seemed very scattered to me. Dr. Hadian attempted to split the different parties into two main categories, but even with this categorical distinction I still felt slightly overwhelmed by the number of things he was trying to explain one after the other. Because of this comprehensive explanation of how the Iranian government is organized, the lecture was not very captivating, and I noticed several people around me who were sleeping. I didn't fall asleep, but I did yawn several times. :)

I think the main point he was trying to make is that most of the people in Iran believe that the best thing to do in this situation is to remain completely neutral. They feel if they show any support for the U.S. that Saddam, in a last ditch attempt at getting revenge, will fire missiles at Tehran. These missiles could contain any number of biological weapons which would create a complete catastrophy, since the city of Tehran is home to over 10 million people.

Another concern of the people in Iran is that after the war the U.S. may attack them. Dr. Hadian dismissed this idea, claiming that after the U.S. takes out Iraq, President Bush will become too concerned about his re-election, and will turn to U.S. domestic issues such as the economy. It is not until Bush is re-elected that Iran really has to start worrying about a U.S. attack. Now, I know that the U.S. has declared North Korea and Syria as part of the "Axis of Evil", so I would imagine we would go after one of those two next. If anybody can explain to me why in the heck we would attack Iran, please do so in a comment.

All in all the lecture gave me a good understanding of what countries (not just Iran) near Iraq think about the whole conflict. Most of them want Saddam out, but they are afraid of how war will affect them.

Posted by Joey at March 4, 2003 04:17 AM

Comments

There is an article in the Daily Utah Chronicle today about the lecture yesterday. You can get to it from the link below:

Iran Perspective Given on Iraq War

Posted by: Joey at March 5, 2003 02:30 AM

I read somewhere recently that Tehran (Iran) is also trying to build a nuclear program. :s This could cause Iranians to fear a US-led attack. I'm not sure their fears are well founded, however.

Posted by: steve at March 10, 2003 01:44 AM

I know this is a really delayed comment, but just wanted to respond to your question: Syria is not in Bush’s Axis of Evil, Iran is (it was Iraq, Iran, and North Korea). That is why Iranians would be concerned about a US attack, as they are theoretically next on the "axis list". Though the inclusion of Iran in the axis was somewhat questionable in the first place...and caused quite a reaction within the country, resulting in a boost for anti-US hard-liners and a blow to reformers. I’m still wondering what Bush gained (or hoped to gain) by including Iran...

Posted by: amy at December 2, 2003 10:15 AM

Hm... You’re right. I’m not sure now why I was confused back then. It’s all straightened out now, though. Thanks for helping me.

In related news: The Axis of Just as Evil.

Posted by: Joey at December 3, 2003 12:35 PM