The Conundrum of Iran

Iran will be a major player on the world stage in the decades ahead, and its actions and

behavior will have a major and enduring impact on near- and long-term U.S. interests on

a wide variety of regional and global issues. W it h a population of over 70 million, xx

percent of the world’ s proven oil reserves, a geostrategic location of tremendous

(enviable?) significance, and a demonstrated potential to develop a nuclear-weapons

program, the United States has no choice but to find a way to coexist—and to come to

terms—with whatever government holds power in T e hran. At the same time, the Iranian

Government also must come to terms with W a shingt on, as T e hran’ s ability to advance its

political and economic interests rests on a non-hostile relationship with the United States

and the W e st.

There are numerous hurdles that stand in the way of improved U.S.-Iranian relations, but

none is more daunting than the theocratic regime’ s nearly 30-year track record of

engaging in transnational terrorism, both directly and indirectly , to advance its

revolutionary agenda. T e hran’s proclivity to promote its interests by playing the terrorist

card undermines its standing as a responsible sovereign state and calls into question

virtually all of its actions, even when pursuing legitimate political, economic, and

strategic interests. While the use of terrorism(*footnote on definiti on) is reprehensible

and of serious concern irrespective of the source, the wielding of the terrorism club by a

nation state such as Iran is particularly alarming and insidious because of the ability of a

government to use its instruments of national power to support, conceal, facilitate, and

employ terrorist violence. Specifically , a sove reign government has the ready ability to

provide all of the logistical requirements—e.g. the fabrication of official documentation,

explosives, and weapons; the protected use of diplomatic facilities, staff, and pouches;

and the provision of expertise, funding, and targeting intelli g ence—that can be used to

great effect to plan and carry out successful terrorist attacks. T o o often, and for too long,

Iran has excelled at such activities.

The Historical Context and Record of Terrorism

The Iranian regime’ s current worldview and actions are shaped significantly by Iran’ s

ancient history , its Persian and Shi’a Islamic ess ence, and developments of the past half

century . While only slightly more than half its population is ethnic Persian, the wide

expanse of the Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great (6

th

Century B.C.), which stretched

far into southwest and central Asia and across to Egypt and north A frica, laid the basis for

an Iranian mindset of far-reaching influence and engagement that remains to this day .

The Persian identity was further molded more than a millennium later, when Shi’a Islam

established deep roots in the region and made Persian leaders the protectors of the Shi’a

faithful against Sunni Arab and other adversaries.

The W o rld W a rs of the 20

th

Century and their aftermath made Iran a pawn of global

politics, as illustrated by the CIA-engineered overthrow of Prime Minister Mossadegh in

1953, which allowed the pro-U.S. Shah to return to power and rule with an iron hand for

the next 25 years. When he was he was ousted in 1979 and the Islami c Republic under