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I mean it isn't like they are any border disputes. They are 1000 miles apart.
Iran is more Persian than Islamic, so there isn't the 1000s of years of animosity based on religion.
So what is it?
When the Muslims invaded Hispania in the year 711 they made an alliance with the local Jews to defeat the Christians (at that time mostly Visgoths that had migrated from what is known today as France).
The Arabs (Berbers called Moors) made the Christians pay very high taxes whereas the Jews paid a much lower rate. The Arabs and Jews got along in those days, but Islam was a relative new religion.
Iran's general population is pretty secular. Its supreme leader is not.
You are right. The people of Iran are not our or Israel's enemies. The problem is that they have leaders that are bat-chit crazy, believe all that nutty Islamic crap and believe that a great battle with Israel heralds the coming of the 12th Imam, their silly version of an end-times story. And these are the nuts that we are now helping finance.
You are right. The people of Iran are not our or Israel's enemies. The problem is that they have leaders that are bat-chit crazy, believe all that nutty Islamic crap and believe that a great battle with Israel heralds the coming of the 12th Imam, their silly version of an end-times story. And these are the nuts that we are now helping finance.
In 2009 the Iranians came to the streets to overthrow the crazy Mullahs who force them to live under the tyranny of Islam. It was called the Green Revolution. The streets of Tehran were flooded with citizens, taking bullets from the Pro-Mullah Police, yet they bravely marched on for a full week.
Shockingly, Obama did not so much as even verbally support them.
Obama did rush to support the Islamists to come to power wherever they appeared, like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
I mean it isn't like they are any border disputes. They are 1000 miles apart.
Iran is more Persian than Islamic, so there isn't the 1000s of years of animosity based on religion.
So what is it?
Good question - why do Iranian rulers constantly attack Israel even though the two nations actually have no real conflicts of their own?
First, because Israel is a good distraction for the Iranian people. In other words, Iranian leaders want to focus their restless youthful population away from internal affairs and instead put their attention on foreign nations, especially Israel and the United States.
Second - and this is key - Iran is a isolated Persian speaking Shiite Islam country and is surrounded by mostly Sunni Muslim countries, many of them Arab speaking. So Iran tries to change that fact by trying to drive the attention of the "Arab street" toward Israel instead of Iran.
Iran actually needs Israel to be the "bad guy" so to speak as a way of taking attention off Iran and onto someone else.
You are right. The people of Iran are not our or Israel's enemies. The problem is that they have leaders that are bat-chit crazy, believe all that nutty Islamic crap and believe that a great battle with Israel heralds the coming of the 12th Imam, their silly version of an end-times story. And these are the nuts that we are now helping finance.
Good question - why do Iranian rulers constantly attack Israel even though the two nations actually have no real conflicts of their own?
First, because Israel is a good distraction for the Iranian people. In other words, Iranian leaders want to focus their restless youthful population away from internal affairs and instead put their attention on foreign nations, especially Israel and the United States.
Second - and this is key - Iran is a isolated Persian speaking Shiite Islam country and is surrounded by mostly Sunni Muslim countries, many of them Arab speaking. So Iran tries to change that fact by trying to drive the attention of the "Arab street" toward Israel instead of Iran.
Iran actually needs Israel to be the "bad guy" so to speak as a way of taking attention off Iran and onto someone else.
Good point, the reverse is also true. Its the oldest political power retention trick in the book. What would Bibi do if Iran wasn't such a threat? The country may focus more on the awful domestic job he has done/is doing. What if Israel wasn't America's only ally in the region anymore?
I mean it isn't like they are any border disputes. They are 1000 miles apart.
Iran is more Persian than Islamic, so there isn't the 1000s of years of animosity based on religion.
So what is it?
Before the Shah was deposed Israel and Iran were virtually allies and there is some knowledge that MOSSAD provided technical assistance (i.e. how to get people to talk) to the Shah's secret police SAVAK. The Shah was the only Middle Eastern oil and gas producer to sell oil to Israel and private Israeli defense contractors sold Iran upgrade kits for its US supplied weapons that were never sold with the most advanced radar and weapons control systems. (Israel often does such upgrades to its own US supplied weapons preferring less complex field serviceable and more soldier or pilot friendly electronics or avionics. The Israelis hate overpriced junk and I would take their opinions as those of knowledgeable warriors!Israel developed its own nuclear weapons and Iran has Uranium ore since Israel had the knowledge an obvious trade was happening before 1979. Israel has never signed the Non-proliferation Treaty and pretty much does what it wants. It is the only nation to have supplied turn key nuclear weapons to another non-nuclear weapons state (eg. South Africa, Israel sold them 3 such devices in exchange for refined uranium no questions asked).
Another reason after 1979 was the Islamic world views three sites involved with the life of the Prophet Mohammed as being special (They are Mecca, Medina and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (where Mohammed ascended to Heaven stepping off the rock where The Dome of the Rock Mosque was built over it. ). Control of these sites confers special prestige to the ruler of the state having jurisdiction. Now as one must learn there was a religious schism over who would succed Mohammed as the leader of Islam. Two camps formed and they have been fighting on and off ever since. The Persians and many people in Mesopotamia took the claim of Ali as Mohammed's successor (They became the Shar'iat Ali (Followers of Ali) or Shia) The vast majority of Muslims in North Africa, Pakistan, Central Asia and The rest of the Near East backed the other guy and are the Sunni or majority. Mecca and Medina are in Sunni hands (i.e The Saudi's) Jerusalem is in the hands of the Israelis one of the People of the Book who venerate Abraham and Moses just like Muslims do but they are not Muslims. One of Khomeini's goals apart from creating a Islamic State (A Shia Islamic State) was to put the Holy sites back in the hands of spiritually clean people (i.e Shia hands) like his. Hence, Iran wants to wrest Mecca and Medina from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the equally bad Hashemites. and of course take Jerusalem (prying it out of Israel's cold dead hands).
So this is why the Middle East is such fun just like defusing a bomb ticking down to zero one second at a time . The USA is not that good at defusing bombs.
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