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Title: Iran's Historic Anniversary
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Published: Feb 12, 2012
Author: Stephen Lendman
Post Date: 2012-02-12 04:13:47 by Stephen Lendman
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Iran's Historic Anniversary by Stephen Lendman February 11 marked the 33rd anniversary of Iran's 1979 revolution. It ended a generation of repressive rule under Washington's installed Reza Shah Pahlavi. In late 1947, Iran demanded more revenue from its own oil. Britain's Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AOIC) refused. In 1951, one month before Mohammad Mosaddegh became prime minister, parliament nationalized AOIC. Fair compensation was paid. Iran tried but couldn't resolve its revenue sharing dispute equitably. Economic sanctions and an oil embargo followed. British banks froze Iranian assets. Major Anglo- American oil interests supported London. Today's anti-Iranian repression replicates what occurred then. In 1953, CIA operative Kermit Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt's grandson and Franklin's cousin, engineered the Agency's first coup. Democratically elected Mossadeq was ousted. At the time, The New York Times called him "the most popular politician in the country." Nonetheless, a military showdown followed against pro-Mossadegh officers with each side staking their careers on the outcome. He was deposed. Reza Shah Pahlavi replaced him. Sanctions were lifted, and America and Britain regained an Iranian client state until February 1979 when the same Anglo-American interests turned on the Shah and removed him. As late as 1977, Jimmy Carter declared Iran an "oasis of stability." He ignored years of brutal regime repression. In 1978, a White House Iran task force recommended replacing the Shah with Ayatollah Khomeini. He was then living in France. It was part of a larger scheme to balkanize the region along tribal and religious lines. It also sought to create an "arc of crisis" through Central Asia to Soviet Russia. Accomplishing it in 1978 became urgent. The Shah was negotiating a 25-year oil deal with British Petroleum (BP), but talks broke down in October. BP demanded exclusive rights to future output but refused to guarantee oil purchases. The Shah balked and sought new buyers in Europe and elsewhere. He also hoped to create a modern energy infrastructure built around nuclear power. He wanted to transform Iranian and regional power needs. He envisioned 20 new reactors by 1995 to diversify away from Iran's dependence on oil. He also wanted Washington's pressure to recycle petrodollars weakened, as well as increased foreign investments. Alarmed, Washington tried blocking his plan but failed. As a result, its usual tactics followed. They included cutting Iranian oil purchases, other economic pressures, and fueled instability through oil strikes, religious rivalries, and other disruptive practices to incite anti-Shah sentiment. Major media scoundrels regurgitated government propaganda. Khomeini got a public stage to speak. The Shah was prevented from responding. In January 1979, things came to a head. He fled the country. Khomeini returned, and proclaimed the Islamic Republic with overwhelming public support. In May, he cancelled Iran's nuclear plans. American officials thought they could control him and Iranian oil, but miscalculated. Free from Western dominance, Iran didn't look back. As a result, tensions built. Three-three years later they're boiling. Tehran's again targeted for regime change. On February 10, American Free Press contributor Pete Papaherakles suggested one reason why, besides America's intolerance of independent regimes, its quest for regional dominance, and determination to control its rich oil and gas reserves. "Could gaining control" of Iran's central bank (CBI) be key? Few countries have independent ones. Pre- 9/11, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sudan were among them. No longer. Islamic central banking prohibits usury. Western banks thrive on it through predatory loan practices. Money control is key to make more of it at the public's expense. Ousting Gaddafi perhaps was as much about banking as oil. The privatized Central Bank of Benghazi replaced the state-owned Central Bank of Libya. It created its own money interest free for economic growth, not profits or bonuses for predatory bankers. They want dominant money control. Achieving it in Iran is one of several reasons for wanting regime change. Iranians want none of it. On February 11, they rallied across the country in solidarity against it. Whatever their pro or con government views, they deplore Western imperialism. They remember hellish Shah repression or were taught by their parents who endured it. As a result, they reject going back and know how countries are torn apart and destroyed when America intervenes. Press TV provided extended coverage of an extraordinary commemoration day. Millions turned out in over 1,000 Iranian cities and 5,000 villages across the country. In Tehran, hundreds of thousands gathered in Azadi (Freedom) square. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed them, saying: "The huge awakening is underway. The storm of global awakening is underway. (It's) uproot(ing capitalist) tyranny and oppression." He stressed need for a new world order, guaranteeing justice, righteousness, prosperity, security, and dignity for everyone. He said governance should transcend racist stigmas and respect humanity. He blamed US imperialism and Israel for supporting world despots and causing global turmoil. He said Iran stands resolute against them. Iran v. America Annually, Iran commemorates its revolution. This year's turnout appears the largest ever. Over 300 foreign and 1,500 Iranian correspondents covered it. Images of huge supportive masses were impressive. America never experienced anything like it. Why isn't hard to understand. When people have nothing to celebrate, they don't. Years of protest were needed for meager social gains. Racism and class divisions define America from inception to today. Constitutional law legitimized slavery. Blacks were commodities, not people. Only adult white male property owners could vote. Women were considered childbearing, homemaking appendages of their husbands. Until 1810, religious prerequisites existed. All adult white males couldn't vote until property and tax requirements ended in 1850. States elected senators until the 1913 17th amendment enfranchised citizens. Native Americans had no rights until the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act. It partially returned what no one had the right to take away in the first place. Today native people are treated more like serfs than citizens. Women's suffrage wasn't achieved until the 1920 19th Amendment after nearly a century of struggle. The 1865 13th Amendment freed Black slaves. The 1870 15th Amendment gave them what wasn't achieved until passage of the landmark mid-1960s Civil and Voting Rights Acts. They abolished longstanding Southern Jim Crow laws, now reemerged in new forms. Today, virtually all hard won gains are lost. Blacks have no reason to celebrate. Neither do Latinos and all working Americans exploited by corporate predators complicit with political Washington. Early America was repressive and unfair. Today it's much worse beneath the veneer of illusory democracy, out-of-control imperialism, and Washington's war on humanity. Freedom's a fading right. So is survival unless America's rogue agenda ends. Decades of destructive policies made more enemies than friends. As a result, America's world influence is waning. Nations are more assertive saying no and getting away with it. Expect others to follow. Putting a brave face on raw imperialism no longer works. Eventually perhaps only Israel, Britain, the worst of global despots, and a couple of small Pacific islands will stay supportive. What can't go on forever, won't. Nations living by the sword, die by it. For growing millions, it can't happen a moment too soon. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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#1. To: Stephen Lendman (#0)
(Edited)
He envisioned 20 new reactors by 1995 to diversify away from Iran's dependence on oil. He also wanted Washington's pressure to recycle petrodollars weakened, as well as increased foreign investments. Alarmed, Washington tried blocking his plan but failed. Nuclear program of Iran - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The foundations for Iran's nuclear program were laid after a 1953 coup deposed the Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and installed the Shah (King) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power.[38] A civil nuclear co-operation program was established under the U.S. Atoms for Peace program. In 1967, the Tehran Nuclear Research Center (TNRC) was established, run by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). The TNRC was equipped with a U.S.-supplied, 5-megawatt nuclear research reactor, which was fueled by highly enriched uranium.[39][40] Iran signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968 and ratified it in 1970, making Iran's nuclear program subject to IAEA verification. 1970s The Shah approved plans to construct, with U.S. help, up to 23 nuclear power stations by 2000.[41] In March 1974, the Shah envisioned a time when the world's oil supply would run out, and declared, "Petroleum is a noble material, much too valuable to burn ... We envision producing, as soon as possible, 23,000 megawatts of electricity using nuclear plants."[42] Advertisement from the 1970s by American nuclear-energy companies, using Iran's nuclear program as a marketing ploy Iran had deep pockets and close ties to the West. U.S. and European companies scrambled to do business in Iran.[43] Bushehr would be the first plant, and would supply energy to the inland city of Shiraz. In 1975, the Erlangen/Frankfurt firm Kraftwerk Union AG, a joint venture of Siemens AG and AEG, signed a contract worth $4 to $6 billion to build the pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant. Construction of the two 1,196 MWe , and was to have been completed in 1981. The joint stock company Eurodif operating a uranium enrichment plant in France was formed in 1973 by France, Belgium, Spain and Sweden. In 1975 Sweden's 10% share in Eurodif went to Iran as a result of an arrangement between France and Iran. The French government subsidiary company Cogéma and the Iranian Government established the Sofidif (Société franco–iranienne pour l'enrichissement de l'uranium par diffusion gazeuse) enterprise with 60% and 40% shares, respectively. In turn, Sofidif acquired a 25% share in Eurodif, which gave Iran its 10% share of Eurodif. Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi lent 1 billion dollars (and another 180 million dollars in 1977) for the construction of the Eurodif factory, to have the right of buying 10% of the production of the site. "President Gerald Ford signed a directive in 1976 offering Tehran the chance to buy and operate a U.S.-built reprocessing facility for extracting plutonium from nuclear reactor fuel. The deal was for a complete 'nuclear fuel cycle'."[44] At the time, Richard Cheney was the White House Chief of Staff, and Donald Rumsfeld was the Secretary of Defense. The Ford strategy paper said the "introduction of nuclear power will both provide for the growing needs of Iran's economy and free remaining oil reserves for export or conversion to petrochemicals." ------- "They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC
He was kicked out of Iran by the Shah and fled to Iraq. He was kicked out of Iraq by Saddam Hussein and fled to France where he lived in a Paris suburb. aangirfan WAS KHOMEINI AN AGENT OF THE US AND UK GOVERNMENTS [sic] Reportedly, one son went to the Iranian holy city of Qom and took the name Khomeini. In the early 1960s, Khomeini began to plot against the Shah. In 1964 Khomeini was sentenced to death. By becoming an Ayatollah, his life was saved. Reportedly, in 1979, Khomeini was flown from France to Tehran, with the help of MI6. [sic] The mainstream media would like us to believe that the Shah was overthrown by People Power and that the CIA and MI6 were taken by surprise. However, there is evidence that the CIA and MI6 toppled the Shah because he had become too much of a nationalist, like Nasser, and was not following instructions on oil or even opium. [The Shah] moved to shut down the lucrative opium industry that had been created during the days of British Empire control that had been running for a hundred years.... The attack on the Shah's government came through the Muslim Brotherhood and through the mullahs and ayatollahs of Iran, supported and manipulated by British Intelligence... Dr. John Coleman, a former British Intelligence agent... states in his report on Iran's Islamic Revolution (11) that the Muslim Brotherhood was created by "the great names of British Middle East intelligence" ...and that their mission was to "keep the Middle East backward so that its natural resource, oil, could continue to be looted..." The Taliban moved against the Opium Trade too -- was even rewarded for it by our State Department, then we went to War against them and Afghanistan. ------- "They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC
Edited to insert: [The Shah] hoped to create a modern energy infrastructure built around nuclear power. He wanted to transform Iranian and regional power needs.
1950s and 1960s
[Edited to insert Pic link]
#2. To: Stephen Lendman (#0)
[Khomeini] fled the country. Khomeini returned, and proclaimed the Islamic Republic with overwhelming public support.
Reportedly, Khomeini's real father, was William Richard Williamson, born in Bristol, England, in 1872 of British parents and lineage.
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