Iran

Country, enemy imagenation state

Iran  link () Sourcewatch Wikiquote
Capital city	Tehran
Location	Middle East, Asia
Leader	President of Iran
Type	nation state
Iran possesses the 4th largest oil reserves of any nation state.

Iran, formerly known as Persia, is an oil rich nation state in the middle east. It has the 4^th largest oil reserves and the 2nd largest natural gas reserves of any nation state, about 16% of total global reserves, and is situated at a maritime choke point, the Strait of Hormuz. After its controversial removal of the Shah, it has been in a cold war fighting US-backed Saudi Arabia.

History

File:Shah Pahlavi.jpg

Shah of Iran ruled from 1941 to 1979

{{#subobject: |Has superobject=Iran |Has objectClass=Quotation |Has author=Scott Rickard|+sep=, |Has text=“The West’s exploitation of Iran began long before the the Shah and bombs fell. In 1872, the British-engineered Reuter Concession handed vast swaths of Iran’s economic sovereignty—from railroads to mining and forests—to a single foreign investor, an act so sweeping that even Lord Curzon called it 'the most complete surrender of the entire industrial resources of a kingdom into foreign hands' ever seen. This laid the groundwork for over 80 years of foreign economic domination. In 1953, the CIA and MI6 deepened that legacy of subjugation by orchestrating Operation Ajax—the coup that toppled Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh for daring to nationalise Iran’s oil. Then, between 1980 and 1988, the United States armed Saddam Hussein’s Iraq as it launched waves of rockets and chemical weapons on Iran—with full Western backing—killing over 250,000 Iranians. Each of these chapters reflects a broader pattern of imperialist aggression designed to punish Iranian sovereignty and protect Western interests at any human cost.” |Is about=Iran,Shah of Iran, Iran, regime change, CIA, MI6, the West, imperialism, oil reserves|+sep=, |Has wikipediaPage= |Has location=|+sep=, |Has publicationDate=22 June 2025 |Sourced from=Facebook |Has sourceDetails= |Has sourceTitle= |Has sourceName=Facebook |Has sourceURL=https://www.facebook.com/ScottRickard4/posts/

}}

“The West’s exploitation of Iran began long before the the Shah and bombs fell. In 1872, the British-engineered Reuter Concession handed vast swaths of Iran’s economic sovereignty—from railroads to mining and forests—to a single foreign investor, an act so sweeping that even Lord Curzon called it 'the most complete surrender of the entire industrial resources of a kingdom into foreign hands' ever seen. This laid the groundwork for over 80 years of foreign economic domination. In 1953, the CIA and MI6 deepened that legacy of subjugation by orchestrating Operation Ajax—the coup that toppled Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh for daring to nationalise Iran’s oil. Then, between 1980 and 1988, the United States armed Saddam Hussein’s Iraq as it launched waves of rockets and chemical weapons on Iran—with full Western backing—killing over 250,000 Iranians. Each of these chapters reflects a broader pattern of imperialist aggression designed to punish Iranian sovereignty and protect Western interests at any human cost.”
Scott Rickard (22 June 2025) 

Iran's fossil fuel wealth has made it a target for decades. It was on a list of seven countries which retired 4-star general Wesley Clark (SACEUR from 1997-2001) stated that the US military had plans to invade:

In 2001, in the Pentagon, a general told me : ‘I just received a classified memo from the Secretary of Defense: we will take seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and finally, Iran.’

1917 famine

8-10 million Iranians died during 1917-1919, caused by the British military presence in Iran. Iran had been one of the main suppliers of food grains to the British forces stationed in the empire's South Asian colonies. Although bad harvest during these two years made the situation worse, it was by no means the main reason why the Great Famine occurred. British prevented imports of wheat and other food grains into Iran from Mesopotamia, Asia, and also the USA, and that ships loaded with wheat were not allowed to unload at the port of Bushehr in the Persian Gulf.

Professor Mohammad Gholi Majd has argued that Great Britain intentionally created genocide conditions to destroy Iran, and to effectively control the country for its own purposes.

1953 coup d'état

Watch on YouTube

“It’s Always About Oil”: CIA & MI6 Staged Coup in Iran 70 Years Ago, Destroying Democracy in Iran. - Democracy Now!

Full article: Iran/1953 coup d'état

Planned since at least 1951, a coup d'état was carried out in Iran in 1953 against the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh. This was organised by the Seven Sisters and then carried out by a small group within MI6 and the CIA., motivated largely by the huge profits of extracting Iranian oil.

{{#subobject: |Has superobject=Iran |Has objectClass=Quotation |Has author=Democracy Now|+sep=, |Has text=“Two years after Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh nationalized Iran’s oil industry that had been controlled by the company now known as British Petroleum a coup happened in Iran. “If nationalisation in Iran of oil was successful, this would set a terrible example to other countries where U.S. oil interests were present,” explains Ervand Abrahamian, Iranian historian and author of Oil Crisis in Iran: From Nationalism to Coup d’Etat and The Coup: 1953, The CIA, and the Roots of Modern U.S.-Iranian Relations. While the CIA has historically taken credit for Mosaddegh’s overthrow, “the British have not admitted their leading role,” notes Iranian filmmaker Taghi Amirani, whose documentary film Coup 53 uncovers the influence of MI6 agents who sought to preserve their imperial-era access to Iranian oil and pulled in the Americans by promising a “slice.” Seventy years later, says Amirani, “We are still living with the ripples of this disastrous event” |Is about=Iran,Iran/1953 coup d'état, CIA, OIL, MI6|+sep=, |Has wikipediaPage= |Has location=|+sep=, |Has publicationDate=2023 |Sourced from= |Has sourceDetails= |Has sourceTitle= |Has sourceName= |Has sourceURL=https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-likens-1st-vaccines-arrival-in-israel-to-bombing-of-pearl-harbor/

}}

“Two years after Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh nationalized Iran’s oil industry that had been controlled by the company now known as British Petroleum a coup happened in Iran. “If nationalisation in Iran of oil was successful, this would set a terrible example to other countries where U.S. oil interests were present,” explains Ervand Abrahamian, Iranian historian and author of Oil Crisis in Iran: From Nationalism to Coup d’Etat and The Coup: 1953, The CIA, and the Roots of Modern U.S.-Iranian Relations. While the CIA has historically taken credit for Mosaddegh’s overthrow, “the British have not admitted their leading role,” notes Iranian filmmaker Taghi Amirani, whose documentary film Coup 53 uncovers the influence of MI6 agents who sought to preserve their imperial-era access to Iranian oil and pulled in the Americans by promising a “slice.” Seventy years later, says Amirani, “We are still living with the ripples of this disastrous event”
Democracy Now (2023) 

US Deep State operative Frank Terpil admitted working for the Iranian government.

"Iran-Contra"

Full article: Iran-Contra

The US commercially-controlled media used the phrase "Iran Contra" to refer to a US Deep state scheme which smuggled cocaine in the the US and shipped weapons to the "contras".

1980 October surprise

Full article: October surprise

File:October surprise.jpg

The October surprise was a deal organised by the US deep state to try to ensure the defeat of Jimmy Carter in the 1980 US Presidential election.

Iran-Iraq war

Full article: Iran Iraq war

The Iran Iraq war began on 22 September 1980 and concluded on 20 August 1988. The black market weapons trade to Iran, in what became known as Iran-Contra, gave a major boost to the supranational deep state.

Nuclear weapons?

Full article: Nuclear weapon

File:Iran nuclear scientists.png

The commercially-controlled media has repeatedly claimed that Iran was developing Nuclear weapons. Several nuclear scientists have been assassinated in ambushes since 2010. In fear of retaliation, Israel has warned it's own nuclear scientists after the 2020 assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, to be vigilant and change daily routine. Tony Cartalucci comments:

"There was a rush by the Western media to blame the Israeli government - who in turn appears to be in no rush to discount or disprove these accusations. The purpose of this is to make the US appear uninvolved in the recent escalation. The race to shape public opinion and depict the US as helpless amid growing tensions between Israel and Iran is meant to make any possible US involvement in the near future look uninvited, unplanned, and reluctant on Washington's part."

COVID-19

In early 2020, Iran played an early role in the fear porn used during Covid. Allegedly, 17 politicians and officials died "of Covid", more than in any other country. Satellite images purported to show Iran digging mass graves for its coronavirus dead, similar to the fake stories from New York. Some of the earliest videos of dancing healthcare workers were set in Iran. Other stories included 51,000 "Covid orphans" - children who had lost both parents to Covid.

Iran & Saudi Arabia fighting for Qatar

FIFA World Cup Special: Saudi-Qatar conflict – Middle East Politics

During the FIFA World Cup, the western public heard a lot about Qatar doing bad things to build all their stadiums. This video explains why other gulf countries want Qatar to stop “playing both sides”, why they're staying silent in this PR campaign against Qatar to force Qatar into choosing an alliance, and how the US is… again… involved in this.
Video archive

Activities

Drugs

Andrei Fursov has reported that groups in Iran are involved in international drug trafficking which threatens the profits of globally organised and US deep state groups. He stated in 2014 that "Cocaine is transferred to Sierra Leone, where it is exchanged for diamonds. With the diamonds they purchase arms. This triangle - Hezbollah, Syria, Iran - gets in the way of the Americans. They take the view, correctly, that eliminating Syria as an Arab partner of Iran, whether relations with Iran are good or bad, Iran will be weaker, and it will be easier to get an agreement with them. The removal of the Assad regime therefore became objective No.1 for the Americans. Likewise for Saudi Arabia and Israel."

In 2018, the New York Times headlined a story Iran Eases Death Penalty for Drug Crimes, Saving Potentially Thousands of Lives, which cited anonymous "activists" as claiming that an elevation of the drug minimums for a capital sentence "could save potentially 5,000 lives."

Unconditional basic income

Iran was the first country to introduce an unconditional basic income. Since Autumn 2010 it has paid an income to all citizens and replace the decades long system of subsidies of petrol, fuel and other supplies. In 2012, the sum corresponded to about 40 U.S. dollars per person per month.

Strait of Hormuz

Iran is located at the Strait of Hormuz (the world's most important oil transit chokepoint) and as a major power in the region, can influence world economy by closing or limiting transit.

Wikileaks cables

In 2010, Wikileaks released many secret mails between US officials working in and with Iran.

North Korean missiles

U.S. intelligence argued...again, that Iran obtained advanced missiles (derived from a Soviet design), from Russia, via North Korea. These missiles, designated the BM-25, have a range of up to 2,000 miles (3,200 km).

Internal conflict

A cable said that president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Ali Jafari had an argument. It cited an incident during a Supreme National Security Council meeting when Ahmadinejad stated (in regards to dealing with opposition protests) that "'people feel suffocated,' and argued to allow more personal and social freedoms, including more freedom of the media" to which Jafari replied "You are wrong! It is you who created this mess! And now you say give more freedom to the press?!" and went on to punch Ahmadinejad in the face. A fight ensued and the SNSC meeting was called off, until Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati made the two make up.

Re-emergence of the Tudeh Party

There were also reports that th Tudeh Party was gaining ground with the government employees and the working-class population, and that they were reportedly the driving force behind recent strikes, even though they were already banned for ages.

Health of Ali Khamenei

An unidentified political friend of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani stated that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had terminal leukemia and was to die in months, and Rafsanjani's apathy to act on rumours of election fraud in the 2009 Iranian presidential election comes because he wants to succeed Khamenei and revert Ahmadinejad's election afterwards.

Exploitation of the Iranian Red Crescent Society

The Iranian Red Crescent Society was alleged to be controlled by the government and involved in illicit arms smuggling and intelligence gathering on behalf of Iran.

U.S. sanctions

The U.S. State Department said that the U.S. kept wanting more sanctions on Iran.

Iranian–Canadian intelligence correspondence

Jim Judd, former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service told U.S. State Department official Eliot A. Cohen that "he and his colleagues are 'very, very worried' about Iran." CSIS had talked to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security after they requested its own "channel of communication to Canada". The Iranians agreed to "help" with the War in Afghanistan, sharing information on attacks, but CSIS refused. Judd also said "we have not figured out what they are up to," saying it was trying to "led NATO in Afghan battles so that they bleed slowly to death."

Organized crime

According to the U.S. embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2009, there was a "widespread rumor" that Iranians in Baku were sanctions-busting, money laundering, obtaining spare parts, equipment and revenue generation for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and management of narcotics trafficking originating from Iran. The cable mentioned that Iran had large network of operatives, including students, businessmen, and activists involved.

References