- Article Written By Arvin Niknia, Independent Author
Many American leaders, including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, have apologized to Iran for the 1953 coup d’état, hoping to ease tensions. However, Iran’s clerical rule, established in 1979, is an entirely different ideology from the nationalism of 1953. Nationalism at the time opposed Islamic governance, making the apology irrelevant primarily to Iran’s current stance.
During the Iranian nationalist movement in the 1950s, Iranians showed a hostile appearance towards Westerners. They wanted Westerners out of the country as they reminded them of the colonial times. Iran was never a direct colony, but the people suffered a lot under colonial powers, such as the British occupation of southern Iran, the Iranian holocaust committed by the British, and the British influence on Iranian politics.
On the other side of the world, Che Guevara (1928-1967), the Argentine Marxist revolutionary, became more known worldwide. He inspired millions of people around the world that injustice must be fought. He participated in many armed battles and was not after wealth but after a world where class differences no longer existed.
Unfortunately, he chose the armed struggle, which meant many were killed. This ideology inspired many in the Middle East as well. Many stood up against what they called injustice and chose armed struggle. The old generation still believed that injustice must be fought with a pen, while the young generation believed that it is enough; it must be fought. This ideology helped destroy the dream of an independent state like Palestine. If the young Yasser Arafat (1929-2004) had not taken up arms, Palestine today might have had a better chance of achieving an independent state since Israel initially wanted to recognize a two-state solution.
On the other hand, the Iranian revolution happened, which created a new ideology that was also against the old ideology, communism. Now, both communism and capitalism had a new rival. Khomeinism, which was created by Ayatollah Khomeini (1902-1989), is like Kamalism, which was created by Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938). I strongly disagree with people who call it the Shia Islamic ideology. It is because Khomeini created a new ideology. This ideology was able to bring together Afghans, Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iranians, and Houthis in Yemen to fight for a common goal of liberating the Middle East from Israeli and American presence. The fight to fight injustice created a close alliance in the axis of resistance.
However, where does all this hate come from? Many years before the Iranian revolution, the Iranian intellectual Jalal Al-e Ahmad (1923-1969) published his revolutionary book ”westoxification.” In this book, the author describes how Western culture is overcoming the Eastern one and how the East can look forward to its end. He talks about cultural dependence and imitation, which are toxic, and that we must become independent and stand on our own two feet. This revolutionary person not only helped to give rise to the Iranian revolution but also changed the view of the Iranian modernity ideology, which imitated the West.
Jalal Al-e Ahmad not only helped change the Iranians’ view of the West, but he changed the entire Middle Eastern view of the West when, later, the American intellectual Edward Said (1935-2003) was inspired and talked about the relationship between the East and West and post-colonialism. Edward Said became world-famous because of his Palestinian background. To go back, the Iranian Jalal Al-e Ahmad himself was inspired by the Iranian philosopher and professor Ahmad Fardid (1909-1994), who believed that the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was among the few in the West who was right in his understanding of the world. Martin Heidegger comes up with his definition of being and time, ‘Dasein.’ Dasein forms the basis of our presence. Later, the term ‘Heidegger Maximism’ was coined.
Marxism is now a lost ideology, widely disliked and viewed as a betrayal. Many Marxists delivered nationalist speeches, believing that only a Marxist revolution could save a country by completely overturning the system. The older generation of nationalists, who benefited from the Marshall Plan (1948–1953) in Europe and US loans in the Middle East, embraced capitalism and labeled Marxism treacherous, unlike the younger generation, who opposed it.
In 1973, Henry Kissinger (1923–2023) won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam, yet he was never held accountable for his brutal policies. He was responsible for the deaths of between 50,000 and 150,000 Cambodian civilians and for destabilizing Cambodia through a US bombing campaign that contributed to the rise of the Khmer Rouge. Meanwhile, he and the US actively supported authoritarian regimes and dictators worldwide. During this period, both nationalist veterans and young Marxists waged a common fight against capitalism and colonialism.
In general, Marxism had a naive view of the world. The world cannot be changed, and a person cannot be both a nationalist and a Marxist, just as you cannot be both an Islamist and a nationalist. This is impossible. Nationalism believes in the country’s borders, while the other two do not believe in borders. The country’s borders are a fictional phenomenon, but simultaneously, they exist and are real.
Like the Palestinian people, the Iranian people also chose an armed struggle. This armed conflict cost Iran dearly. Iran was sanctioned not only by the US but also by the West. The West is deeply dependent on the US dollar, which took over power after the Marshall Plan, so the West has always been responsive to the US. Although the Iranian fight against injustice was understandable, Iran did not get much support in the Middle East because Arab monarchs and the West thought more about their economy than the fight against injustice. While the Iranian resistance axis was fighting Israel, Saudi Arabia held secret meetings with Israel and still hoped to build a relationship and better relations with Israel.
It all changed when US President Donald Trump (2025–) declared that Palestine must become part of the US and expressed his desire to buy the land. This statement sent shockwaves across the Arab world, making monarchs realize that the geopolitical game was shifting dramatically.
Meanwhile, Turkey saw an opportunity in Iran’s weakened position and aimed to take over Syria. Alongside Qatar, Turkey is now actively involved in Syria’s reconstruction, using this moment to spread its Neo-Ottoman ideology.
As Iran loses regional influence, it is desperately arming itself to deter a possible US-Israeli attack. Russia, Iran’s only ally in the Middle East, has stepped in, supplying fighter jets and assisting with nuclear capabilities. This deepened cooperation has alarmed the US, reinforcing its stance that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons.
In response, the US has imposed the harshest sanctions ever on Iran, causing the dollar price to soar and inflation to spiral out of control. As always, it is the people who suffer the most. While Americans hope for a revolution, Iran’s regime profits from the sanctions, acting as a monopoly supplier within the country.
On the other hand, the US is now trying to trade with Russia. If Russia gets the occupied territories in Ukraine, will the Russians stop helping Iran? Iran showed its loyalty to Russia in the war against Ukraine. Iran helped China send aid indirectly to Russia.
Will Putin sell Iran to the US in a good deal over Ukraine? We know the Russians failed the Iranians in Syria. Iran was not allowed to build a military base in Syria by Russia, and Iranian armed forces were not given sufficient support in Syria to fight Israeli attacks. The Russians also failed the Armenians in the war against Azerbaijan when they did not provide them with enough logistical support. If Russia loses Iran, Russia will, according to the Rimland concept, become isolated and have less chance of having control over Afro-Asia, which is important for controlling the whole world. It is, therefore, vital for the US to get the Russians to keep their distance from China and Iran. China, which threatens the American dollar, and Iran, which threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, which is important for the oil market
If the Houthis in Yemen can do it, so can Iran. The West wants the war in Ukraine to continue, but the US no longer does. That is because the US needs to trade with Russia. The West, especially England, became very rich from the Ukraine war. The great ex-Soviet oligarchs who lived in England lost their fortunes. This also happened in the rest of Europe.
Additionally, the West is afraid of Russia, but the United States is not. The US wants its money back from Ukraine. They know that if Ukraine cannot pay, the US can take over Ukraine’s underground resources. This is the same as what China does to countries that cannot repay Chinese loans, leading to national bankruptcy.
BlackRock and JPMorgan are backing a $15 billion investor fund to rebuild Ukraine. Most of the world is controlled by the 10 major companies behind it all, with BlackRock at the top. This means that every time a war occurs, BlackRock profits, and every time there is reconstruction, BlackRock profits again. The only real losers are Ukraine and its people.
The Ukraine war was a significant bonus for the US. Russia’s oil exports to Europe fell by 90 percent, and gas fell from 40 percent to 15 percent in 2024. Small countries like Azerbaijan, Qatar, and Israel stepped in. In 2023, the US became the EU’s largest LNG supplier, accounting for almost 50% of total imports. Meanwhile, Hungary increased its gas imports from Russia and made this clear. Turkey, China, and India took over the EU’s oil imports from Russia. China boosted its exports to Russia by 53 percent, overtaking the EU’s position.
Due to sanctions, Iran lowered its oil prices so China would not rely solely on cheap Russian oil. In 2023, China bought 90 percent of Iran’s oil. Until 2017, before US sanctions, the EU also bought Iranian oil, but now it has shifted to Venezuela, the UAE, and China. Countries like Turkey, India, and China benefit from the situation, while the EU is forced to buy gas and oil at higher prices.
Both Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia, for the first time in history, congratulated the Iranian revolution—an Iranian victory. Gas agreements between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have brought Iran closer to its neighbors. After the Riyadh conference, Donald Trump shifted his stance on Gaza and Palestine. The US-Israel conflict has drawn Saudi Arabia closer to Iran.
High energy prices and the Ukraine war made the Germans vote for the CDU. The CDU would like to attract capital to Germany to save the economy. This is impossible when German companies themselves are moving to other countries, like Mercedes Benz, due to the high costs and low sales. I think the only thing the party is going to do is tighten immigration laws and control the borders. Many Germans voted for the ADF to mark their dissatisfaction with immigrants. China is taking over the whole market, and Europe can no longer compete with China. Europe has now decided to become more independent from the US. Nevertheless, how? Europe is deeply dependent on the US.
In the US’s struggle for hegemony globally, before Donald Trump, the West thought they were part of this hegemony and could get a piece of the cake, but today, they can see that they can no longer count on the United States. Donald Trump wants the Panama Canal. This is a breach of the Panama Canal Treaty. The US wants Greenland because of underground resources. The US can also use Greenland as a nuclear power base. The US already has troops in Greenland, but if the US buys Greenland, the US will be able to build nuclear power.
Denmark has repeatedly announced that Greenland is not for sale. The Danish King Frederik gives Greenland and the Faroe Islands more space in the new state emblem. It is used, among other things, on official documents. This was a desperate attempt to keep Greenland from seceding from Denmark. Greenland wants independence, and the USA can benefit from that as an excuse. Iceland did not secede from Denmark until 1944, after the Second World War, when it became possible. Denmark is, of course, not interested in giving Greenland independence and is buying time. Not only is the Western economy shrinking, but also Western democracy.
Western democracy is steadily declining. A ban on Quran burning was introduced under pressure from Arab monarchs. Additionally, the Czech Republic, England, and the Netherlands barred Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi (1960-) from speaking at the 2025 Munich Security Conference due to pressure from Iran’s clerical regime. Similarly, the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama (1935-), received a cold reception in Denmark due to China’s influence.
All these events tell us that the economy and money speak first, and democracy is cultivated as long as it is in the state’s interest. Human freedom and democratic rights are also shrinking. For example, homeless people are fined and are not allowed to be anywhere in public spaces. If you do not have an address, you cannot have a bank account; if you do not have an ID number, you cannot get a job either. It all ties together.
This is because democracy and the ideology and logic of the national state do not go together. The nation-state comprises control and centralization, while democracy comprises decentralization and free movement. Some nation-states tried to create a balance, but over time, the balance changed due to the struggle between globalization and nationalist forces. Extreme forces became more popular due to the lousy economy, wars, high inflation, and immigrants.
Turkey used immigrants to gain more credit with the West. Turkey has never been a lovely country for immigrants, and many are sexually abused and killed by other immigrants in Turkey because of the harsh conditions. Turkey’s extreme nationalist rules made it impossible for immigrants to own or obtain the same rights as Turks. Turkey showed a friendly image of itself to the outside world, creating more immigration, while the truth differed.
Moreover, countries such as Syria and Russia used immigrants as weapons against the West. Rwanda is the country that was hit by ethnic civil war from 1990 until 1994. The West wanted to station immigrants in Rwanda with the idea that Rwanda is a good, safe country today. This idea was initiated by Israel in 2014, but it ended with disastrous consequences such as the deportation of immigrants to other African countries, lack of freedom of expression, and grieving refugee status.
Unfortunately, refugee status today continues to be denied to refugees in the West indirectly, as the West calls them immigrants and not refugees. The Western propaganda was that countries in the Middle East do not accept immigrants, and they only come to Europe. Jordan alone took in 700,000 Syrians, and 3 million Palestinians live in Jordan. Iran and Turkey have several million Afghans. There are over 10 million Afghans in Iran alone. The problem is that these countries do not comply with refugee conventions.
The West used immigrants as an investment for the future when the Western population declined increasingly. It all continued until the worldview changed and nationalist forces took over in the West. The internal competition of Arab monarchs became more intense, and they each tried to show a good image of themselves to the outside world by playing the role of mediator.
Israel used the planned October 7 attack to gain more sympathy from the outside world to carry out its plans for the Middle East. Israel today has seven bases in Syria and has expanded its settlements in the West Bank in a short time. In addition, the dream of taking over Palestine because of gas, as I described in my previous articles, became more relevant when President Trump took power in the United States.
When US President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the German Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) not to attack Palestine and recognize its sovereignty, many Germans laughed in the Parliament, just like today, where we sit and laugh at Israeli settlements. Back then, the US Bush family and Kennedy family were busy doing economic business with Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, but later they showed their democratic faces and wanted to import democracy to the Middle East.
Like the October 7 attack engineered by Hamas, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack engineered by Al-Qaeda was a legal excuse to launch long wars to achieve hegemony in the Middle East.
In my opinion, the West and the USA must learn to understand and distinguish between the hatred today and the hatred before 1948. If the hatred before was only about the colonial era, the hatred today is about occupations, wars, sanctions, and Western-backed authoritarian regimes like Bahrain. If Israel did not exist, the US would have to create an Israel in the Middle East to maintain its interests.
Russia has access to oil and the Persian Gulf, so the USA’s policy today is to keep the dollar’s hegemony running so that it is not replaced by another currency (BRICS) because if this happens, the USA’s empire will end.
