Biden, Israel, and Tehran's Hardliners

I agree with just about everything expressed here, Muhammad. But on the Iranian side, I wouldn't necessarily characterize this specifically toward Iran's "hardliners."

The US/Israel threat to the Islamic Republic of Iran is near universally perceived; that it is to say the greater mainstream element of its political spectrum correctly recognize it as such.

You could make the claim that it was "a gift", but really this so-called revelation has been known all along in Iran and the Arab street, and more and more Americans are waking up to this reality as we speak.

Abu Mazen's remarks about Iran are also not surprising, for the reasons you cite. I don't think many in the OT and various refugee camps take him seriously. His externally scripted statements are intended for the Western press.

Personally, I think the settlement announcement was the result of Israeli cockiness. While one can't exactly claim they've overplayed their hand, nevertheless they've exposed themselves to negative attention: from the US, the EU and the UN. And the Iran issue is temporarily less prominent. It's a miscalculation of sorts or an overreaction from the Israeli right. Of course, whether it has any lasting influence of any kind is yet to be seen. After all, AIPAC is rolling into DC this week, and with it the elected US leadership's annual gush-fest toward the Zionist cause.

Iran's regime has little sincere interest in supporting the Palestinians' cause. They made that clear when they relentlessly attack Yasir Arafat and the PLO and did not change that position until they were able to buy their way into Hamas.

WHat IRI cares about is expanding its shia view of a world led by a Shia cleric, of course from Iran, until their hidden imam returns.

To test my claim all Hamas has to do is say one word against Shia beliefs and their Hidden Imam. Hamas would quickly learn how much IRI truly cares about poor Palestinians.

Hopefully Arab streets have watched how IRI has no problem massacering its own people, let alone a bunch of Sunni Arabs whom they consider as "Kafar".

"Fourth, if Israel perceives President Obama as weak and susceptible to pressure, what will stop Tehran's hardliners from thinking the same?"

Nothing will stop them from assuming what you. They already do think that, as does most of the rest of the world.

The central issue for Iranians is the removal of the Barbaric Republic upon which all problems mentioned above will be eliminated. The Arab Israeli problems do not interest the Iranian people except the Islamist few and their representatives in the West who use Israel as an escape goat to cover up their failures in the last 31 years. The Iranian people must remain focused on the removal of these parasites and refuse to be distracted by irrelevant arguments. Victory is at hand. Happy New Year. We love you Iran.

Wow,

A true islamic belligerent article.

First, its biased, you as a devote muslim truly believe Israel is stealing from Palestine, when there is no palestine and since there is none and the arabs have lost every war with the Israeli's, how can you expect the Israeli's to give back the land they rightfully conquered?

I was born a muslim in Iran, the arab religion of river flowing with honey and 72virgins upon martyrdom, not to mention the right to marry 9 year old Aishas when your a 55 yr old Moooohamhead conquered the bueatiful persian culture. ( After awhile of reading the Koran, logic dictates that Islam is BS.
Your writings in my opinion should be about the persian culture that is threatened by the islamic dress wearing men who follow superstition of a man who disappeared 1500 years ago,( without a GPS )

These Mullahs base the whole security of the iranian society through the belief that this mahdie can be forced to return once every fault of the islamic world is blamed on a superior technological sovereign country that by the way has no oil or natural resources to sell to match the free money that the mullahs get from the generosity of dead dinosaurs.
You know what that means? The Israeli's built their country banking system that is superior to Irans on sand!

So i ask you this, Were there alot of civilian deaths when Israel knocked out the nuclear reactors of Syria and Iraq?

The brothers of real Persians, the Jews will take out Iran's leadership quick and painless, Khamenie already has a drone following his every move, the patient Israeli's are just waiting for his backers, the hezbollahs and the Hamas to have transexual sex with each other (seeing how Iran has the second most transexuals in the world) in the same room before they attack. And when they do, the arab influence in iran should be wiped out for good and must always be remembered that Islam took Iran by force. (So to never be repeated)And the leaders of Iran of the revolution followed a pheasant religion because they realized how easy it is to get pheasants to fight over God.

America realizes as a empire, when you take a country, theres no giving it back (We still have millitary posts in Japan, Japan is America, practically, why do you think it was allowed to be so prosperous?) So in all arguements, just be glad the Israeli's are not like the Greeks of Plato time. Cause those Greeks, conquered land, killed all the men and enslaved the female and children population, for if it were in that day and age, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt would all be full of women and children living a better life than the oppressive Islam, enjoying their lives screaming Mazaltov to the IDF

Happy Norooz Eidat Mobarak
(Stop being brainwashed by the arabs and you can start by changing your arab name, Muhamad. Pick up a book by Fewdosi and pick a new one, a Persian one. ) Be genuinely proud of Persian heritage without the yallah inshalah Arab BS!

I think you're underestimating Obama. It's true that he hasn't lived up to all his promises yet, but you're jumping to conclusions by declaring Iraq and Afghanistan as his failures. These quagmires were created by Bush, yet in your eyes their legacies have already been adopted by Obama. I believe this is a mistake, but it was always inevitable (from "yes we can!!!" to "why haven't we done it yet? I thought this was going to be easy!!!")...

To move on, you are wrong about healthcare (in hindsight). You are also wrong about the financial markets and banking sector if you actually look at what's going on. Isn't it unfair to say that he has found the pressure "unbearable"? On what are you basing this on?

Regarding the US-Israel-Iran triangle, the status quo has always been the most beneficial situation for the 3 nations. Yet, for once, I actually agree with Pirouz that Israel has overplayed their hand. They've shown their total disregard for the international community, even their closest ally, and encouraged a more united front against their atrocities. Again, I believe your analysis is missing the point... Biden was emphasising that, in spite of his warm praises a few days earlier, Israel should remember that it's a sovereign nation and will have to bear the brunt of its mistakes, especially mistakes that upset the US.

So, rather than Obama being under "unbearable" pressure, this situation has given him the upper hand. Of course, the outcome won't be as dramatic as you'd like it to be, but in terms of the US-Israel-Iran triangle, it's likely to be significant and, if anything, weaken Israel's position in the short-run.

Ultimately, I don't think Israel will ever be as independent as it'd like others to believe... It will always be America's annoying and spoilt little brother.

It is telling that the Ahmadinejad supporting Pirouz "agrees with Sahimi's every word". THough Sahimi claims to be an opponent of the Iranian government he lobbies for its nuclear ambitions non-stop. It is also telling that Sahimi does not respond to Ali in a previous posting who wrote that:

"Mr. Sahimi is listed as the NIOC Chair of Chemical Engineering at USC. This means that Mr Sahimi's professorship is funded by NIOC, the National Iranian Oil Company. This means that Mr. Sahimi owes his job to the Islamic Republic of Iran."

In true form, when confronted with historical and present realities, the obfuscators resort to throwing mud, venom and vitriol, and getting personal.

There are specifics in this article that I can take issue with. For example, on health care, although he has achieved far less than what he promised on the campaign trail and even in his first months as the President, he has delivered something -- better than nothing at all.

You can do the same and take issue with the specific elements or substance of the article. Throwing mud and changing the subject could be interpreted as intellectual vacuity and moral bankruptcy! I don't ascribe to this view and suspect that personally directed responses are out of anger. I suspect most readers in the forum are intelligent and discerning and are not swayed by accusations and innuendo.

Muhammad Sahimi is Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the NIOC (National Iranian oil Company) Chair in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Sahimi served as chair of the department of chemical engineering from 1999 until the department's merger with the department of materials science on July 1, 2005. He is known worldwide for his contributions to the understanding of the properties of heterogeneous materials, fluid flow in porous media with applications to oil and gas recovery, and the development of techniques for large-scale scientific computations and atomistic simulations. He has also made major contributions to the engineering of reaction and diffusion systems, separation processes and the dynamics of biological systems.

He received his bachelor of science degree from the University of Tehran in 1977, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1984, both in chemical engineering. In 1984, he joined USC.
Sahimi has published more than 210 papers in peer-reviewed journals, written four books, and authored several invited reviews and book chapters. He is also the recipient of a Humboldt Research Fellowship Award and the Khwarizmi International Award for Distinguished Scientific Achievements, sponsored by UNESCO.

Esfandiari - agreed, made a similar conclusion a while go. Too bad.

Professor Sahimi, thanks so much for a well though out article, and thank you for demonstrating over and over again that you are willing to write truly well timed, courageous piece.

Esfandiari, your argumentative style is just like the IRI's who claim that any parallels in the words of dissidents and Western foes means the dissidents are Western agents. We all despise Ahmadinejad, but Iran's rights in the development of its nuclear program and the West's double standards also need to be clearly addressed.
Condemning the atrocities of the Ahmadinejad administration while simultaneously pointing to the belligerence and warmongering of U.S./Israel is a very very hard task, and Professor Sahimi does it elegantly ... I don't know many others who can.

Hello, Pedestrian. Even tho you do not address me, would like to add my support for Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy programs. The problem for many non-Iranians seems to be how to trust Iran's primary spokesman.

Seems like separating the issues (Iran's rights/the regime's demonstrated character) would be useful. Dr. Sahimi is surely an elegant speaker, but somehow does not inspire trust either, mostly because he doesn't discuss the'trust' issue from non-Iranian point of view.

May the New Year bring all Iranians peace, justice, safety, prosperity and freedom.

ANON, I'm just offering my two cents here, I'm by no means an expert on the nuclear issue.

But I think every time you bring up the issue of "trust" you are getting into murky waters. Maybe the word diplomacy would be a better term. Because after all, why should we "trust" Israel, with hundreds of nuclear heads and a psychotic as PM and a total racist nutjob as foreign minister? And Israel threatens Iran on a daily basis. I'm certainly no less scared of that crazy Bibi and Avigdor than I am of Ahmadinejad. Why should we trust the U.S. who remains the only state to have actually used a nuclear bomb against another (yes, I know it was during war, but that doesn't mean it was empty of controversy) and to have sold Iraq chemical weapons which were used against Iran during the war.

I think the issue we Iranians have with Ahmadinejad and this crazy, barbaric administration is one issue ... Iran's demonization by the Western warmongers another issue. And these things need to be separated, we Iranians need to be careful that our criticism and condemnation of the Iranian government does not play into the neocons hands and does not help them promote war, be it economic or military, against Iran.

The non-political, non-Iranian point of view is important as you point out. But I also think it's important to address how much of this fear is created by their own governments and their own media.

One errant Nukes false alarm from Israel will be the undoing of this regime.

Wait and watch 'The War of the Worlds' erupt and create enough chaos for a coup to bomb the Rev Guards HQ, Qom, and Mullah Palaces

Esfandiari and Niloofar:

I actually responded to what you claim I did not. Here it goes again.

Not only does the NIOC not fund the endowed Chair that I am the holder of, but also has nothing to do with it. In 1973 the Shah gave $7 million to USC to establish the Shah Chair in Petroleum Engineeting to help Iran's oil industry.

After the 1979 Revolution, USC changed the name to the NIOC because it did not want to be associated with the Shah anymore. All the holders of the Chair were American, until I was appointed to it in 2005.

In addition, a university committee appoints the holder, and it does so based on the scientific achievements of the holder, and nothing else. A Chair holder in any major research university is among the best of the faculty, the top 1-2%.You can easily check the facts in a USC book that has been published, describing the history of this Chair and others.

So, No, I do not do the NIOC job. If that were part of it, I would not have accepted it. In fact, USC has no relation whatsoever with Iran.

The two of you and a couple of others who insinuate baseless issues and points should be ashamed of yourself. Criticize me for what I write. That is fine with me. But, do not fabricate non-existent facts and lies, and then based on them go on a character assassination. Again, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Yes, I have defended Iran's right to have its own nuclear program for peaceful purposes. This was a program that was started by the Shah and has been continued by the IRI. For that, not only am I not ashamed, but actually proud because my articles about the roots and history of the program and its economic aspect between 2003-2007 changed the direction of the debate over the program. It contributed to preventing military attacks on Iran.

Finally, I absolutely positively do not care whether you consider me an opponent of the IRI or not. I have a track record, particularly on this site, and I put it up against anyone else's who claims to be an opponent as well. Let's see who has a stronger track record, the two of you who are involved in character assassination and nothing else, or people like me.

Pedestrian, thank you for your thoughts. You said,

"I think the issue we Iranians have with Ahmadinejad and this crazy, barbaric administration is one issue ... Iran's demonization by the Western warmongers another issue. And these things need to be separated ...."

Agreed, they need to be separated. Of course be careful with your criticisms of the regime, but not to worry, without any criticisms at all from dissenting Iranians, both Khamenei's and Ahmadinejad's published remarks demonize themselves by the day with their crude threats and abominable treament of Iran's people.

Should readers/watchers simply disregard what they say and what they do as nonsense? One can't really say 'Oh, they're just kidding.'

IMHO, what's desperately needed is an Iranian government freely elected by all of Iran's own people. Most everyone in the west, regardless of political orientation, and perhaps even those on the fringes, hopes for that above all.

In the meantime, it's very hard to trust Iran's leaders -- the hateful speech, the obvious lies, the crude threats, the heavy oppression, the crimes against innocents -- especially while watching it from the outside.

I do recall a statement made by an old and decent farmer in a book read long ago. He said, "A man becomes what he does -- you have to watch out for that." Yes indeed. Every one of us needs to watch out for that.

Again, best wishes and thank you for speaking to me.

Health Care has now passed, Obama has stood by fierce regulation and sent it to congress months ago, He is drawing down the Iraq war, and Gates announced this week we may be pulling troops out of Afghanistan sooner than the dates outlined. And I wish people would stop saying he hasn't closed Guantanamo. Congress has cut off the funding, he has continually tried, but the funding keeps being cut off. He and Holder will do it. The man can't just go in and snap his fingers. And he's not doing the easy thing which is what all the presidents the last thirty years have done when they faced a blowback from the corporate interests in DC and continued with the status Quo. As for Israel, I tend to agree with this article, if the Israeli people wanted peace, I don't think Netanyahu would be in power and I don't think the gaza war would of waged the way it did. People there on both sides seem to be stuck in old ways, mostly it seems because of religion and deep scars. If I watched my father searched at checkpoints everyday or saw my brother killed in the gaza war or heard stories from my parents about what the Israeli's allowed the Lebanese to do to the palestinians as they stood guard over "camps", I may hate the Israeli's and want to do harm to them, especially if I was unemployed year after year. This doesn't justify violence against innocents in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, nor does a few rockets justify white phosphorus and murdering two thousand in Gaza.

I do think the head of Fatah has learned from Israel's success by trying to find peace through economics. Because the problem with people like Bush, the Republicans with Obama, Bibi, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Ahmadeenajad (sorry for spelling) is they gain power and stay in power by having a common enemy. The enemy is evil and they are good. Until we have more men like Obama in power, we are going to see the continued cycle of violence throughout the middle east.

I go along with Chomsky, that since IRI is regularly accused of working towards a nuke despite no tangible evidence and repeated denials by the SL, the President and any no. of leading figures including those in the opposition, it may as well get on with it and develop one.
Dr Sahimi has written a generally balanced article, although 'hardliners' might not deem themselves as hard line but obviously do not want the US/Israeli proteges to walk all over them and Iran as a country.

obamas hands r tied ,and thy pulled him on a leach so i think all the stars of the american flag should be removed, and replaced by the star of david, its time to call a spate a spate. a jew of a differed color march23,2010

Niloofar, Esfandiari and Farshid:

You have resorted to the most disgusting types of lies and slander. There are points Mr. Sahimi makes that I disagree with, but your attempts to bash his character or religion is no different than the behavior of the government in Iran that you hate.

I typically stay away from these types of hate-filled comments on the internet, but I am very disappointed to see fellow Iranians act this way, it is almost unbearable.

It breaks my heart to see that after 100 years of struggle for freedom and independence we still have not found a way to disagree.

Muhammad,

Your words are broad but not deep. Your grasp of history invites war. Only a credible Israeli threat can stop a war. Only one nuclear bomb dropped on Israel, which is the size of New Jersey, could destroy Israel. Go study the torah where it says that if someone comes to kill you you should kill them first. No space between Israel and America means neither country will accept Israel's extermination. Will you accept Israel's extermination?

Charlie Ginsburg

Real Persians are children of Cirus the Great, who helped jews return to Israel after their exile by Babelonians. Iran and Israel enjoyed a healthy diplomatic relationship before the revolution. Iranian people do not subscribe to the view of Islamic regime that Israel should be wiped of the map. We Iranians are peaceful, kind, and guest loving. Palestine is not occupied, Iran is. Happy Nowrooz, and may we celebrate the next nowrooz in Iran, free of occupation by the Islamic Regime. Hamid

Charlie Ginsburg:

Of course I am opposed to war, including war on state of Israel. But, there is no evidence that, even if (and that is a huge if) the hardliners get the bomb, they will drop it on Israel. They know full well that Israel and the U.S. can evaporate Iran many times over.

Just as Israel needs deterrant for its legitimate security concerns, so also does Iran.

And if you resort to Torah in order to justify Israel's possible attack on Iran, then why is that the IRI leaders are called reactionary and extremist Islamists, when they invoke their religion in order to justify the crimes that they commit?

The point is, neither Jews nor Muslim should invoke Torah or Quran in order to justify what they do or what they want to do.

Not long ago, somebody said: “This US Congress is the best money can buy”. Ariel Sharon also said: “We control America and they know it”. Personally, I think, with big shame, that almost the whole world knows that.
After the Biden incident, I have seen in the Internet AIPAC’s bloggers getting organized and sharing talking points to spin and mislead the discussions with people that defended the VP position. There is, even a Jewish web site giving them instructions over how to do it. It is evident everywhere, the use of a variety of methods of propaganda by which any special interests group can influence the American public, name it health care reform, consumer protection, IRI’s bomb ambitions, protesters repression, etc.
What I fail to understand is why countries interested in helping the Palestinians out of their enslavement, the defamation of the entire Muslim world, don’t spend a sufficient amount of petrodollars in mounting a decent campaign of information to educate the American public, whom, I believe, through its votes, could correct, or at least diminish, American politicians’ bias for Israel. Am I been too naïve here?
Thank you, Mr. Sahimi, for your interesting paper.

Dear Charlie,

Let us examine your fears on their own merits, without challenging the hasbara premises they issue from:

Presumably, you think that Iran's leaders are obscurantist true believers who take the early-medieval-age Quran's injunctions as literally and inflexibly as you seemingly take the late-bronze-age Torah's.

I assume that it is an article of Talmudic faith for you that Iran is developing deliverable nuclear weapons, and in Rumsfeld's famous phrase, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

I presume that, in your mental universe, the Iranian state is both genocidal and suicidal, not susceptible to the logic of self-preservation and deterrence, and therefore, certain to use its alleged nuclear weapons aggresively without concern for annihilatory retaliation from the US and Israel.

Based on these 3 safe guesses, can you pinpoint a way for Iran to 'exterminate' Israel with nuclear strikes without irradiating or destroying Islam's immensely sacred shrines in Jerusalem and killing or contaminating millions of Palestinian moslems?

Is it therefore reasonable to say that plucky little Israel's smallness is actually its best defence against annihilatory nuclear attack by Islamic fundamentalists?

I doubt you will find the answer to the questions above in the Torah, but perhaps you will find the answer to this question: how many Iranian lives is one Jewish Israeli's life worth?

Arash,

The credentials of Mr.Sahimi are posted right on the internet just as they appear in my posting and as I have mentioned before his own university lists him as NIOC Prof. What part of this is slander? May I suggest for you to think things through in the future before posting? 100 years has taught us a lot. We no longer look at the moon and see someone's face in it. Thank you.

Niloofar (also known as Laleh in other sites):

I am still waiting for your apology for your character assassination. Or, perhaps the word does not exist in your dictionary!

You and your extremely shallow and superfacial knowledge and rhetoric, and your claim to leading the youth of Iran from a(nother) website, are astonishingly arrogant.

Just as you suggest to Arash to think through (simply because he criticized you and your slander), I suggest that you stop your fabrications and character assassination, and do some reading!

Dear Hamid Rezvani @ 23/03/2010, 9:26 AM:

"Cirus freed the Jews from the Babelonians"?

"Palestine is not occupied"?

If "real Persians" follow your lead, then I must assume that they are not only "peaceful, kind and guest-loving", but also borderline illiterate.

A child who cannot spell his father's name correctly!

The lesson that 'ersatz-Persians' such as myself learn from Cyrus the Great's emancipation of Babylonian exiles is that he was UNIVERSALLY opposed to ethnic cleansing, deportation and 'population transfer', regardless of the tribe or people involved.

The selfish lesson that you seem to draw from it is that he made a special dispensation for the Jews, probably due to some mystical belief in Jewish expectionalism.

Of course, if you read the Old Testament as a history book, this sort of ethnocentric myopia is unavoidable.

But there is no doubt in my mind which people's exile and dispossession Cyrus the Great would be opposed to if he was living in our era.

Please don't appeal to our pride in Cyrus the Great to garner brownie points for Zionism.

Mr. Sahimi,

I am very sorry to disappoint you, but I do not need to hide behind anyone by the name of laleh in other sites.

If Tehranburea or you decides to censor my responses to you then it is out of my hands. This is my third attempt.

Your credentials are posted for everyone to see and even your own university has you listed you as NIOC Prof. Perhaps you need to look into that.

What part of what I posted is untrue sir?
---------------------------------
This is the exact copy of my posting above:
March 22, 2010 7:59 PM

Muhammad Sahimi is Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the NIOC (National Iranian oil Company) Chair in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Sahimi served as chair of the department of chemical engineering from 1999 until the department's merger with the department of materials science on July 1, 2005. He is known worldwide for his contributions to the understanding of the properties of heterogeneous materials, fluid flow in porous media with applications to oil and gas recovery, and the development of techniques for large-scale scientific computations and atomistic simulations. He has also made major contributions to the engineering of reaction and diffusion systems, separation processes and the dynamics of biological systems.

He received his bachelor of science degree from the University of Tehran in 1977, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1984, both in chemical engineering. In 1984, he joined USC.
Sahimi has published more than 210 papers in peer-reviewed journals, written four books, and authored several invited reviews and book chapters. He is also the recipient of a Humboldt Research Fellowship Award and the Khwarizmi International Award for Distinguished Scientific Achievements, sponsored by UNESCO.
----------------------------------

Mr. Sahimi, what am I appologizing for? and I will appologize.

Mr. sahimi,

I do my reading. please do your part.

http://chems.usc.edu/faculty_staff/sahimi.htm

Thank you.

Niloofar (Laleh Guilani on Iranian.com):

You and Esfandiari insinuated that because I am the holder of the NIOC Chair at USC - a Chair that was established by the Shah in 1973 - that means that I work for the NIOC, which cannot be further from the truth. I explained it in my response to you and him, but you still insist on it and pretend that you either did not read my response, or that I am lying. Then, you refer me to my own page at USC, which is the page I have written myself!

I leave it up to the readers to decide what type of person you are! But, this is arrogance at its worst, given what I know about you!

Initially, I would like to apologize to Ms. Guilani for getting her involved in this matter. I had no intention of doing so and I sincerely apologize.

----------------------

In my entire life I have never experienced a man so insecure and so out of order, but there is always a first. There is a saying Mr. Sahimi, where there is smoke there is fire and your reaction proved it.I too will leave it to the readers. Case closed.

Thanks Niloofar for taking all this time and enlightening us. It must have been really hard work, pressing "ctrl+c"/"ctrl+v" all those times. Khaseh Nabashi. Give yourself a good pat on the back. And now, please stop the harassment and go away. Come back whenever you have something constructive to contribute. Yes, the readers will judge for themselves, they are quite capable of googling Muhammad Sahimi's name. He remains one of the only voices willing to write with honesty, despite the fact that it always leads to abuse by the likes of you who demonstrate zero understanding of the topics discussed. Not a word in your comments has anything to do with the article.

Oh and there's a whole list of keyboard shortcuts for you to learn if you're ever out of things to do or if you ever get bored of harassing the forums with your pointless drivel.

Let me just say that the reltionship between the US & Israel is tight, how would the palastinians even believe that the US is an honest broker when it
1. supports Israel with weapons, & technology
2. Cover up crimes & defend Israel's actions @ the UN
3. Send aid without which Israel can never maintain it's occupation.

nobody believes the US is serious with peace efforts.

Most readers in the forum are intelligent and discerning -- they will not swayed by accusations and innuendo.

If you have reasoned opinions and facts, then present it!

Dear Professor Sahimi:
Thank you for your enlightening article. I would like to add just one missing point in your wonderful article, if I may. You called the "so callled" recent diplomatic tensions between the Zionist regime and the U.S. a present for the hardliners in Iran. However, you missed the point that the very existance of Israel has been a present to IRA Mullahs.
Without Israel, who would IRA blames all its problems to? How would they be able to divert all the attentions from internal affairs failures to nuclear development and Palestine? Moreover, how would IRA succeed in promoting baseless hatered and depicting itself as virtuous in the "Nabarde Hagh Alaihe Batel"? After all, this is their only hope to remain on the power. By branding themselves as the "Lashkar of Mehdi" and true saviors of Islam and Palestine.

Dear Professor Sahimi

Many thanks for yet excellent article exposing the role Israel plays in driving the world towards a catastrophic war, of its role in trying to push the most punishing sanctions on Iranian people, and its role in bolstering the position of hardliners in Iran through perpetuating an a climate of threat and insecurity.

Mr. Sahimi;
Thanks for preparing the grounds for antisemetics to express their feelings. By expressing their feelings you help them feel reliefed and prevent many psychologic disorders.

dear dr sahimi,thanks again for a true anaylsis of the recent ameticam-isrealy conflict.i am sadden by all the false and narrow mindeness of some of the readers,mostly iranian or iranian-americans.this is just a view and one perception of the events,one can come to its own conclusion,by name calling and character assasination,is an old style and people should wake up and understand the world politics.
your article is just a point of view and is a correct one in my opinion.we can debate civily and learn from one another.thanks

Nahid:

"antisemetics"? "reliefed"? "psychologic"?

May I suggest you team up with Hamid Rezvani ["Cirus", "Babelonians"] above and compete in the Santa Monica Primary School Spelling Bee?

I'm sure you'll win.

Iran is not an innocent player or have we forgotten that?

It has regularly meddled with the Israeli people in its support of violent proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. They claim to help their Muslim brothers but it seems to me they are hand in hand in prolonging the violence that afflicts these so called brothers and clearly elevates their status as an enemy of the state of Israel. Which isn't going anywhere.

In its defense and despite sometimes I admit distasteful measures Israel has only ever fought over Israel. Jerusalem is the heart of what is Judaism and rightfully their capital city in my opinion. The city of Solomon and David right? What can the UN or EU say about that? About soul? Maybe many Muslims think that there should be no Israel? Why should the Jews have a spiritual home it seems they ask? I suppose they can meditate on that while praying facing THEIR holy city, which they do not wish to share with another state or peoples I'm sure.

And I mean this is me ranting but let's get some nuts and bolts out here.. it was just a dream the big M had and Muslims built that mosque literally right on top of the Jewish temples!! (beautiful as it is) However what kind of act is that? At least now we're simply talking about residential neighbourhoods! Personally after having visited the region and comparing Israel to the neighbouring Arab states (that I visited) I think the Israeli people have done a wonderful job in maintaining the city and keeping it open and free to ALL peoples of all religions. Would a muslim govt have done the same? I'm not so sure. Ever been a white guy trying to visit Mecca? Also, the caretakers of the El Aqsa Mosque Jerusalem in recent years excavated the site secretly and destroyed materials that the Israelis are now sifting through pebble by pebble, for archeological remains... in the world's oldest city. Nice one!!! Oh yeah, it's only the "cradle of civilization" right? Makes me want to help share good governance lessons with them before sharing the governance.

It is definitely a pity though that many people in this region are faced with these issues of security and ideology over simply providing a rich and educated life for themselves and their families. Free to explore their spirituality and those sites attached to it. Lucky for me in my somewhat secular western society it is my human right. Freedom of expression, ideas, religion, and economy? Civilized behaviour? Take it or leave it I guess. Funny though, there is one country and people within this disputed region that seem to share these ideals... what do you know, it's ISRAEL!!!

"The bond between our two nations has been and remains unshakable" There's your answer guys.

I think the Muslim region is big enough for a billion. Let Israel have it's tiny territory and leave them alone. I'm certain all their "crimes" would go away immediately if that was the case just as Iran could have it's peaceful nuclear power if it wasn't ideologically and proxy warring on all fronts. Gees all these semantics yet folks just don't see it.

The animosity between Iran and Israel which was fabricated by IRI BTW, is being exploited by both sides to the max.
Israel is using it in international level to gather support and sympathy for being a victim nation under serious annihilating treat posed by IRI. If it was not for Ahmadinerjacket's drivel about wiping Israel off the map and victimizing Israel in global level, Israel could get thrown out of UN for what they did in Gaza. Ahmdj is a god sent gift for Israel.

IRI also is using it in regional level depicting itself as the savior of Palestinians is Arab world and trying to gather support and sympathy from average Arab Joe in the streets. I must say they had high level of success so far.
Using Israel as a bogyman to divert internal attention away from mismanagement and economic disaster they have cast upon Iran, is a bonus.

As an Iranian I don't want to act insensitive to the plight of Palestinians but I must say IMO the conflict between Israel and Palis is their problem.
I would be more than glad to extend a helping hand but that can not possibly be practical when I am involved with life threatening domestic conflict myself. Even if I was able to extend helping hand I must say out of respect as well as being polite to let their brethren in 27 Arab nation mostly wealthy and influential in global politics to step forward first.

BTW: US never supplied any weapon grade chemical product to Iraq during the war. Although not for waeponization they were supplied by European nations mostly from France and Holland.
US did provide weapons to Iraq but also did the same for Iran (remember Iran-Contra affair?)that is because US did not want any winner out of that war.

This article is interesting read but misses the point.

There is absolutely no crisis in US-Israeli relations. No US president has been able to stop the settlements. The entire US government, its president, are entirely selected by Israel lobby. You don't believe it? then, what other country do you know that every presidential candidate visits her before the November election. All prominent presidential candidates, including McCain, visited Israel, went to the Holocaust museum, and praised that nation and proclaimed their absolute dedication to that countries securities. I wonder how deeply and how long the Israelis laugh watching these spineless americans getting paraded down Jerusalem to kiss their rear. There simply is no other parallel in the entire world.

It is also important to understand that no gift was given to Iranian leadership. People perceive these events as mistakes or political missteps, when in fact this is the very character of American foreign policy in the region. What I mean is that there is no way the US can solve the Palestinian issue in anyway, because it is the character of a colonialist policy and an occupation mentality to pursue an inequitable policy that is aimed at subjugating its subjects.

An independent Iran, no matter what kind of government rules her, will be a dominant Iran in the region as Iran would assume its natural regional role. Therefore, Iranian-americans need to accept the fact that the train has left the station, that Iran, no matter what course she follows, is on the path to war. It is not the nuclear issue or the support of "terrorists," rather the goal is subjugating Iran. The very arguments made against Iran today were also made against her when Iran nationalized its oil.The Persian Gulf was blocked by British navy. A week of rioting filled Tehran streets, echos of "marg-bar Mossadegh" were chanted, and a bloody coup ensued. That would be the preferred path to subjugate Iran, but it failed last year. WAR IS IMMINENT!!

The regime in Iran knows war is coming. That is why contracts are granted to IRGC companies. It is another way to raise funds for Iran's military industrial complex without increasing its national budget. And without alarming the region or Iran's own population. It also allows IRGC to get into procurement of parts through private entities.

It is time Iranians wise up.

Aryajet

Do you truely believe there is any situation that would make the UN to throw Israel out? Are you serious?

You have bought into the game. They say whatever they want to benefit themselves. Ahmadi has been sharp in his language, that is true, but never said he would wipe Israel off the map. That was a purposeful mistranslation. Besides, every Arab leader has claimed to want to throw the Israilis "into the sea" since 1948. Why is Ahmadi's comments, all of a sudden, unprecedented?

Mr. Sahimi

it would be best not to engage these people, and remain above it all. In the long run it is best. There are paid oparatives whose only goal is to discourage you from writing.

Dear Mr. Sahimi your work is sloppy and flawed. I would like you to consider the following facts.

Peace between Israel and Egypt was possible when Egypt came balanced that there was no destruction of Israel by military means after the Yom Kippur war.

Israel and Jordan have Pace because of exactly the same reason.

Israel has proven that is a true peace partner.

Palestinias do not have peace and a country of their own because they reject the idea of a jewish democratic state living side by side with them. So when ever there are negotiations in this regard is very simple, if the Palestinian side demands that the future state of Israel will not have a majority of jews living in it. (the refugee return agenda) or any other demand that in turn will bring down the state of Israel. You will see no go in negotiations.

Iran is very far away from Israel. But they have managed to get in the northern border (Hizbulla) and southern borther (Hamas). Having also Mr. M.Ahmedinejad time and again deny the Holocaust and threating a new one is quite depressing. Let me remind you that Israel had no greater friend in the Middle East than Iran prior the Revolution. The people of Iran and Israel should be united in a lasting friendship. Influence form Theocracies that ultimately have a dark desire for human kind should be part of the past.

It's a shame that these forums continue to devolve into the irrational and personal.

Ali from Tehran - seriously, give it a rest. You are obviously smart, and you obviously love to show off. But, as a former English teacher who now writes an edits for a living, I'd like to ask you to quit the arrogant and snarky typo corrections of people who obviously speak English as a second language. This is an informal blog where people are writing shorthand, not a classroom. And, Mr. Perfect Grammar, let me point out that you have numerous grammatical and typographical errors in your posts. You should be embarrassed for calling out typos (esp of non-native English speakers!) while you make them yourself (I would be if I were you). Hopefully this will put you in your place and you'll go back to your mental masturbation.

Prof. Sahimi - thanks for the article. No real surprises. The US system is set up a certain way, and the influence that AIPAC (and any other lobby) has is undeniable. No mystery to it at all, and no "snubs" or otherwise will change the power of the dollar. That's the game, and unless it changes, it's better to play it than to complain. Iranians just need to get more organized, and with all their wealth and talent behind them, exercise their influence in the same way the other lobbies do: $$$. I am sorry you have to keep defending against baseless and specious allegations. Unfortunately, many of our people can't get beyond the black and white and do not incorporate any nuance whatsoever in their analyses. Please keep writing - very informative and courageous as usual. I say this even though I don't agree with you all the time - when will our people learn to reasonably disagree?

Dear NP,

Thanks for the tips, particularly the crass sexual innuendo.

@Pouya
Being thrown out of UN was a knee jerk in my part, I meant harsh global reaction.
NO I don't believe AIPAC selects POTUS, they try to be influential in the elections but not selecting any representative. You must bear in mind that lobbying in US is a business with the services for sale to highest price, IRI also has its own.

This is what Ahamdi said about Israel "Esrael bAyad az safeh yeh roozegar mahv shavad", now you translate it which ever the way your heart desires.

It is true that all Arab nations wanted and want to push Israelis into the sea but none has any questionable Nuclear Research and Development program with clandestine missile delivery capabilities. It makes a world of difference.