Free Republic

Prior to the late 20th century, the venerable civilization of Iran had virtually always existed under a monarchic government. This was a long tradition of the Iranian people, stretching all the back to Cyrus the Great. That all changed in 1979, when, after thousands of years of monarchy, the King (called the Shah) of Iran was overthrown, and a powerful Islamic cleric called Ruhollah Khomeini rose to the new position of Ayatollah (supreme leader). That much is settled history. What has not been so clear since the Islamic Revolution, however, were the specific feelings and actions of then-US President Jimmy...

The recent violence and political upheaval in Syria put the spotlight on the strong alliance the Assad government has with the Islamic Republic of Iran. No sooner than protesters threatened to topple the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, did Iran step up its defense of its Syrian ally both in words and in actions. This left many observers to wonder why Iran reacted so strongly to the possibility of Assad's demise, when it has not done so during the downfall of Gaddafi or Mubarak in Libya and Egypt. To understand why, and to determine the best course of action for the...

While the Islamic Republic of Iran, along with many Arab regimes espouses a doctrine of anti-Americanism the Iranian people have become profoundly pro-American in recent years. The officials of Iran are concerned about the rising tide of pro-Americanism among the masses in Iran. American presence is highly felt on the east as well on the west of Iranian doors which has become a major cause of trouble for Iranian officials. It is believed since the beginning of Iranian crises there are chances of total disillusion of Iranian people while the United Nations gets sidelined with fierce pro-Americanism among the people....