US relations with Iran

     The American failure to understand the workings of other countries is well illustrated in the case of Iran. Since the Shah did America's bidding, he was viewed as a great statesman, and no attention was paid to his intolerance of political opposition, which forced many academics to flee into exile. When he fell in 1979, Moscow-line Americans hoped that after the rebellion against him an extreme left-wing government would take over, while the US government stood by its old ally and disregarded warnings that it should not admit the Shah to receive medical treatment he could just as well have received in Europe. This led to the takeover of the American Embassy.
     Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini adopted policies which dismayed both Americans who had hoped for a leftist government and the US government, which viewed him as evil and branded Iran as a rogue state. Many academics fled the country. Silly hopes for change were seen in any manifestation of US life-style, including pop culture. In all of this there was no recognition that Iran has a great cultural heritage and merits respect as probably the most promising of all Islamic states.
     Now at last there is an intellectual breakthrough. Iranian universities are recovering. Brian Spooner, professor of Persian studies at the University of Pennsylvania, has been taking graduate students to Iran and establishing relations with Iranian universities. He records his experiences in "20 Years After the Islamic Revolution, Iran's Campuses Begin to Loosen Up" (Chronicle of Higher Education, March 10, 2000). We can hope that this is the beginning of a steady academic relationship between Iran and the United States, and indeed of better political relations.

Ronald Hilton - 3/11/00