The Untamable Giant

Byline: Ilhan Niaz It does not matter to the U.S. if Iranian intentions are peaceful. All that matters is that the country be prevented from acquiring expertise to develop nuclear capability. In 1979 the Iranian people over- threw the pro-American monar-chical police state of the Pehlavi dynasty and replaced with an anti-American theocratic police state dom-inated by the Shia ulema. Following the change of regime, Iran came under punishing sanctions and was subject-ed to a long and brutal war of attrition by the then U.S.-backed Iraqi Baathist regime of Saddam Hussain. The com-bination of economic sanctions and eight years of warfare proved to be a great socioeconomic setback for Iran but, in spite of its alienation from the West, the overall performance of the Iranian economy remains respectable.