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The more salient questions are, a.) why would they think that way, and b.) why would you characterize their stance that way? Briefly, the anger felt by Iranian
by davidwitt415 7y ago
The more salient questions are, a.) why would they think that way, and b.) why would you characterize their stance that way?
Briefly, the anger felt by Iranians is due to their support for their fellow Muslims, the Palestinians, and their extreme mistreatment at the hands of the Israeli government. Note this support even though Iranians are Shia and Palestinians are Sunni.
To answer b.) both Israel and Saudi Arabia view Iran and an enemy due to a regional power struggle, where Iran stands in opposition to both. The promotion of Iran as Public Enemy #1 in the ME says more about maximalist Zionist power projection, and Natanyahu's lust for power than anything else. For example, Iran was abiding by the JCPOA, as verified by IAEA inspectors, while Natanyahu was inciting action against Iran, as rapproachment was not in his interests. The canard here is that Natanyahu was claiming Iran was trying to make nuclear weapons and that was unacceptable, despite the fact that Israel already has a well-known but never publicly acknowledged nuclear arsenal, and are famously not a part of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Even with nuclear weapons it is ridiculous to think that the Iranians do not understand the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction vis a vis Israel.
- jariel 7y ago"why would you characterize their stance that way?" Because it's the publicly stated intentions of the current government there. We should take their statement at face value.
- davidwitt415 7y agoCitation please.
- refurb 7y agoHuh? They’ve said it several times. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/27/world/africa/wipe-israel-off-the-map-iranian-says.html https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/27/world/africa/wipe-israel-...
- jariel 7y agoNo - I don't need to provide citations for widely publicized, factual information. But why don't you take Khamenei's own words, literally from his Twitter account: "Our stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken. #Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen." [1] Or a random sampling of the same stated objective through the times: "Israel should be wiped off map, says Iran's president" - The Guardian [2] "Referring to comments by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic revolution, Admadinejad said, "As the imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map."" - NY Times [3] "Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, who leads the Basij volunteer force, made the declaration to mark Islamic Republic Day in Tehran on Tuesday. “Wiping Israel off the map is not up for negotiation,”" The Independent [4] This is not a single statement or an off-hand remark - it's made consistently, publicly and empathetically by many representatives of the Iranian regime, without retraction or contextualisation afterwards, throughout the entire history of the regime. These statements must be taken as a credible articulation of the objectives of Iran - and considered in the context of their goals of obtaining nuclear weapons. As for the article, I would love to visit Iran, but they are grabbing Western tourists willy nilly, accusing them of being spies etc., so that won't be happening. [1] https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/1003332853525110784 https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/1003332853525110784 [2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/27/israel.iran https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/27/israel.iran [3] https://www.nytimes.com./2005/10/27/world/africa/wipe-israel-off-the-map-iranian-says.html https://www.nytimes.com./2005/10/27/world/africa/wipe-israel... [4] https://www.jpost.com/International/Merkels-govt-says-Irans-call-to-wipe-Israel-off-the-map-not-antisemitic-603875 https://www.jpost.com/International/Merkels-govt-says-Irans-...
- yyyk 7y ago"Briefly, the anger felt by Iranians is due to their support for their fellow Muslims, the Palestinians, and their extreme mistreatment at the hands of the Israeli government." Yes, we see how angry they are when the extreme mistreatment of Syrian Sunnis or Chinese Uighur. Ah, wait, they even take part in the former. They do a fine job of making it appear the real issue is religious. "For example, Iran was abiding by the JCPOA, as verified by IAEA inspectors," JCPOA and UNSC 2231 included far more than IAEA inspections, and Iran was NOT abiding by the other issues (ballistic missiles, heavy water, keeping a spare set of nuclear tubes for Arak, etc.). People mostly repeat IAEA because they are unaware of the other issues, or that the deal had time limits on most inspection issues. Some are aware but prefer to elide it. "The canard here is that Natanyahu was claiming Iran was trying to make nuclear weapons and that was unacceptable, despite the fact that Israel already has a well-known but never publicly acknowledged nuclear arsenal" Israel isn't threatening to destroy Iran, it's the other way around. "Even with nuclear weapons it is ridiculous to think that the Iranians do not understand the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction vis a vis Israel." Some Iranian don't[0]. If you want to entrust the safety of the world to that, well... [0] https://www.memri.org/reports/former-iranian-president-rafsanjani-using-nuclear-bomb-against-israel https://www.memri.org/reports/former-iranian-president-rafsa...
- davidwitt415 7y agoMEMRI is a well-known neocon propaganda outlet, so your arguments merely reflect this. From Sourcewatch: "Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an Israeli propaganda organization that selectively translates materials from the Arab/Muslim/Iranian press purportedly demonstrating hostility against Israel/Jews." https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Middle_East_Media_Research_Institute https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Middle_East_Media_Rese...