For decades, the West has subjected Iran to devastating sanctions and vilified it as its greatest adversary and a rogue state. Currently, Israel and the U.S.A., in particular, are attempting to destroy the country through horrific warfare. This barbarity can hardly be adequately explained solely by motives such as controlling oil, raw materials, or preventing nuclear enrichment, or even the alleged “democratic liberation” of the country. There must be deeper and more comprehensive reasons for these continuous efforts to destroy or control Iran’s infrastructure and institutions. One must look at Iran’s strategic and geographical position, its significance as a long-term partner of China and Russia, its alignment with the BRICS and a “multipolar” order of the Global South—and, not least, its longstanding culture and civilization. The BRICS countries, which Iran joined in 2024, are explicitly aiming to establish a new international order for collective security and development, as well as a trade and financial system from which all nations benefit. From the perspective of the global hegemonic power, i.e., the Anglo-American elite, Iran represents an obstacle on the path to greater global control—especially if one wants to directly undermine the core interests of Russia and China.
Despite longstanding externally imposed violence and sanctions, Iran’s population has grown from slightly over 15 million in 1950 to 90 million today. Life expectancy has also risen during the same period, from below 40 years to well over 80. The proportion of industrial jobs is relatively high at 35%. Without relying on Western technological aid, Iran has become a major producer and consumer of natural gas. There has also been a significant increase in oil production and refining capacity. Exports of oil and oil products through the Strait of Hormuz go one-third to China; another third to India, South Korea, and Japan; and 15% to other Asian countries. Thus, contrary to all attempts at containment, Iran has become one of the world’s leading exporters of energy resources. The intended complete dismemberment of the country has therefore largely failed in this respect, however brutal the methods employed so far may have been.
