Iran Will Not Succumb

Hussein Samawarchi

Place sanctions against a country in an attempt to have its citizens rebel against their government and, at the same time, say that you hold no animosity against that population; your only problem is with their government. How does that work? How did it work against Iraq? Maybe one of the 900,000+ children who died in the land of the Euphrates could have explained this concept had he or she survived those sanctions.

Targeting the livelihoods of innocent nationals because you don’t like their government is nothing less than sabotaging lives. Cutting off their medicine and food supplies is laying siege on their health. It is as simple as that – it is a crime against humanity.

Iran has had sanctions imposed on it for nearly forty years now and it is still as far from going down on its knees as it ever was. It enjoys strong diplomatic relations with plenty of countries who really matter in terms of economic, technological, and military cooperation. Iran does not need the United States’ seal of approval. Time and again, this country has confirmed to the free world that it is impossible for the United States to meddle with any nation that spends a great deal of its annual budget on education, health care, and development. In other words, a nation with a government that prioritizes its citizens.

In Iran, if you are a law-abiding citizen, you are untouchable by any law enforcement agency regardless of the color of your skin. This is not the case for the country that tries to school Iranians about democracy from beyond the ocean.
Iran has strict gun laws; children go to schools without fear of being shot in the classroom.
Iran never sent warships to bomb the innocent citizens of Lebanon; the New Jersey did not sail under the Iranian flag when it pounded civilians with shells ranging in weight between 1,900 and 2,700 pounds.

The Islamic Republic is backed by its people who refuse manipulation of their natural allegiance towards their flag.

When the American president speaks about the need for Iran to change its policies, the Iranian people get perplexed. Does it mean that they should follow the American example? Should their judicial system start giving harsher prison sentences to those of a darker skin color? Should the Iranian police strangle those selling cigarettes in the streets? Which part is the American administration talking about?

If not regarding domestic issues, then one might presume that the United States government is referring to changes in Iranian foreign policies. Again, being the ones doing the preaching, it means they represent the example others should follow. In this case, Iran would need to stop supporting the people in its region against terrorists and do like the United States does, namely give weapons and strategic support to al-Qaeda and “ISIS”. The primary American allies in the Middle East, the Saudis, have spared some children in Yemen; perhaps, Iran can go butcher those to gain American consent.

There is confusion like never before when it comes to the American administration’s logic. On one hand, they speak of human rights, liberty, and democracy. On the other, they encourage the annihilation of Palestinians and Yemenis. Understanding the American official rhetoric is becoming increasingly difficult. It appears as though the American definitions of liberty and democracy are contrary to those of the rest of the world.

Having lived and worked in Iran for several years, I know for a fact that the average Iranian citizen does not hate Americans just like he doesn’t hate his own government – it's very difficult to find the concept of ‘hate’ in the Iranian society. He does, however, dislike anyone who disrespects his way of life and his country. This average Iranian is educated enough to identify cheap theatrics performed by leaders of foreign powers like Trump and Netanyahu. A majority of Iranians feel like there are continuous attempts to insult their intelligence when they are given lessons in democracy by one whose army has invaded other countries and another who leads an apartheid occupation government.

Iranians are proud of their leadership that has not conducted assaults on other countries. They gather, in support, around the authorities that manage to keep the country safe from foreign meddling and intervention. Not so long ago, the C.I.A nearly succeeded in creating an Iranian civil war that would have resulted in partitioning the country into smaller ethnic states; the Iranian public knows this and knows, all too well, that after failing in utilizing sectarian and racial tools, the American administration is trying to upset the Iranian people/government harmony with sanctions.

There’s no denying that embargoes carry negative effects when imposed. But, their consequences become diluted when the targeted people make an art out of resilience.

Source: Al-Ahed News