Memory and insecurity underlie the war with Iran

The latest Middle East War is a showcase for the linkage between memory and insecurity.

Iran can look back on 2,500 years of history, ten times that of the U.S. It remains an empire with Persians constituting only 61 per cent of the population. The remainder is divided among Azerbaijanis, Kurds, and smaller percentages of numerous others, including Turkic groups, Arabs, and Balochs. Its imperial heritage is one reason, though not the only one, why it has long sought to dominate the eponymous Gulf, and why its memory is so long.

Ever since its 1979 revolution, Iran has also seen itself not only as leader of the world’s Shia Islamic community but also as leader of the entire Muslim world. That deeply held attitude has clashed with Saudi Arabia’s leading place among Sunni Arabs, due to the Saudi king’s longstanding title of “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.”  

Iran’s more recent history has hardly been one of imperial triumphs, however. Iranians now in their 50s may have fought in the brutal 1980 to 1988 war with Iraq. Others that age, or even those in their 40s, also remember the war that left over 200,000 dead, many victims of Saddam Hussein’s unrestrained use chemical weapons throughout the war. The world did not protest.

Indeed many Iranians no doubt remember that their country stood almost alone, even more than it does today, against a coalition that included the U.S., the Soviet Union, Italy, France, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Jordan and Sudan. These states........

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