In an article published in the November 16, 2016, issue of Time Magazine, Karl Vick provided a jumbled and mumbled interpretation of Iran’s history after the Shah’s downfall thirty years earlier, highlighting the ongoing attempts by Western imperialist powers to hinder the country’s advancement. Speculation, wishful thinking, and what can best be described as whimsical scenarios reminiscent of folklore recounted by moonlight were abundant in his article. He depicted a desolate nation torn between independence movements and outside meddling. Looking back upon his assertions now, after a decade, we have to wonder: How much has actually changed? Has reality deviated much from his envisaged scenarios, or did his prophecies come true?
It has been a couple of years back. So, my recollection may not necessarily be perfect. But I dare say I had the honour of chatting with two fellow passengers on a train from Mashhad to Tehran; they were both veterans. The wind in the maze of narrow passageways carried the chill of an autumn night in Mashhad. Gathered here to reflect on Iran’s path to Islamic Republic status was one of the brave souls who had lived through the darkest days of the shah’s disgraceful reign. “We fought for our dignity, we bled for this land, and we won,” he said, his voice a blend of pride and a lasting humility. However, the fight is never truly over. Just a change in positioning has occurred.
Long before then, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been at the center of international political dynamics. Iran did experience significant challenges due to Western imperialism, resulting in severe misgovernance. In the late 1970s, the world closely observed with bated breath as Ayatollah Ruhullah Al Mousawi Al Khomeini transitioned from Paris to Tehran, heralding a shift from secular and anti-religious authority to Marjaiyya leadership. This transformation eventually led to the establishment of Wilayatul Faqih, a development that was unforeseen by the Westin spite of its notoriety for narrative control. The end of Western domination, which had historically dictated Iran’s future from influential boardrooms in cities like London, Washington, Tel Aviv, and Brussels, was met with concern within and around these narrow and shallow gangs of vested interests.
Following the unsuccessful attempts to achieve their despicable objectives through military interventions and stringent economic sanctions, the imperialist Western powers resorted to more covert strategies, including but not limited to media influence, to advance their interests. Western media agencies, long mistakenly believed to be the pillars of free speech and impartiality, shifted their attention to the Islamic Iran, depicting bleak images of governmental instability, inefficiency, and anarchy. After rising from the ashes of despotism, competent and motivated political figures were ruthlessly killed through sundry acts of terrorism as they were perceived of being a group of hardliners who refused to embrace Western ideology. It was in this manner that the gangsters in their fancy suits ensured the “early” deaths of many prominent Ayatollahs, including Bahesti, Mutahhari, and Bahonar.
What the West failed to achieve through military and excruciating illegal and criminal economic sanctions, it sought to accomplish through more insidious means as in information warfare. Western media outlets, erroneously regarded for long as the bastions of free speech and objectivity, turned their focus on Iran, painting grim pictures of incompetence, anarchism, ineptitude, and internal political discord. The then competent and determined political figures that had risen from the ashes of oppression, were brutally murdered for being tagged as a bunch of hardliners refusing to embrace Western ideologies. That was how the likes of Ayatollahs Baheshti, Bahonar and Mutahhari, to name but a few, were sent to their “early” graves by the gangsters in fancy suits.
Such an incident was not accidental. Documents leaked through Wikileaks have revealed carefully orchestrated sabotage and disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining the nascent Islamic Republic of Iran. The imperialist forces, having failed to suppress the self-actualization of the good people of a great nation like the Islamic republic of Iran through subjugation, hoped to achieve their evil objectives through discrediting the nascent regime. Political analysts and investigative journalists with deep ties to foreign interests peddled claims of internal wrangling, exaggerated economic downturns, and manufactured political scandals, all aimed at creating the illusion of a collapsing state.
One striking example of this campaign of calumny came in 2009, when Western media outlets predicted the imminent fall of Mahmood Ahmadinejad together with the Islamic regime. The infamous headline in a major European newspaper read: “Iran: A Ticking Time Bomb.” Economists from international financial institutions, many with vested interests in neo-colonial economic models, painted doomsday scenarios of a nation about to crumble under the weight of Muttaqi leadership.
Yet, those in the know, laughed at the silliness. “They said we would not last a decade. They said we would eat each other. But look around you, are we not still here? Are we not stronger than ever?” Move around Tehran, Mashhad, Qum and even Kish Island and witness it for yourself, where new businesses thrived, universities expanded, and indigenous entrepreneurs, once barred from the economy, were and are still rising to prominence. Contrary to these gloomy Western forecasts, the Muttaqi-led government has defied the odds. Yes, challenges exist, however, these problems are not unique to the Islamic Iran. Rather, they are hallmarks of nascent real and true government of the people, for the people and by the people worldwide, including those in the West. Still, the imperialists continue to isolate Iran’s struggles as though they are peculiar to Muttaqi-led governance.
A decade after Karl Vick’s endless list of hallucinations titled “Is Iran Finally Ready for Change”, the Islamic republic of Iran not only remains intact but has strengthened its diplomatic and economic influence. The country has positioned itself as an active player in the BRICS coalition, alongside Brazil, Russia, India, and China. This indeed is a move that has significantly reduced its dependence on Western economic gangsterism. The mere existence of this alternative global power bloc sends shivers down the spines of the imperialists who once dictated global financial policies with impunity.
The West must come to terms with a changing world order. Gone are the days when a handful of imperialist nations dictated the fate of the rest of the world. The rise of global consciousness, coupled with strategic alliances with emerging global powers, signals a new dawn and a new era. One where nations like the Islamic republic of Iran refuse to bow to the whims of old imperialist masters.
In a unified resounding voice, the Iranians and indeed the rest of the world have this to say: “We are no longer at the mercy of Western hegemony. We are writing our own history. The West must accept that their monopoly on truth, power, and influence is crumbling.” Meet any of the veterans in Iran, their message to the whole world is almost the same: “We have seen too much, fought too hard, and lost too many to let anyone tell our story for us. The Islamic Republic of Iran is not and will never ever be a failed state. It is a rising giant. A regional power in a making.
Indeed, the imperialists must reckon with the truth: the Islamic republic of Iran is awake. The rest of the world is awake. The world is shifting, and no amount of misinformation or media propaganda can turn back the tides of history.
Mr Mundadu writes from Kaduna
