In a speech on TEHRAN, ( Iranian News) Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei gave a speech addressing different issues and concerns that people have in relation to Iran. First, he called out the French president and government for allowing a newspaper to publish cartoons making fun of the prophet of Islam. This call out by Khamenei was filled with special anger because the day of the speech was also the birth anniversary of the prophet Muhammad. Khamenei called the French Zionist, and claimed that the French government harboors and supports anti Muslim terrorist that have caused havoc multiple times over the middle east. Khamenei also adressed the presidential election. He stated that no matter who is decided to be the next president, Iran’s general policy against the U.S will not change at all. Khamenei did say that there may be some small changes depending on who wins, but overall their approach against the U.S will remain the same. Khamenei ends his speech by calling for unity of Muslims across the world. He says that now more than ever, when faced with change, and such discrimination from western countries, it is important that people of similar culture and background are there to rely on each other. Specifically, he called for an immediate end to the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
I think the most important part of the article in relation to myself is Khameneis assessment of the U.S election. Depending on who wins the election, involvement in central Asia may have a sharp increase, or a a continued decrease. If there is a increase in our involvement with central Asia then the lives of many Americans may be changed. It is interesting to know that no matter who wins, Iran will treat the U.S exactly the same. The question is, what is Irans policy toward the U.S. Is it more hostile and ” don’t even think about getting near us” or is it more friendly and isolationist such as ” we do not want any problem with you, please go away” Going forward, if the U.S were to get involved with future conflict in Iran, I think that it would be extremely impact to the U.S. And may kids right now, ( like myself) may have to go overseas to support the U.S in future conflict. However, I believe that the odds of this are extremely low of happening. Nevertheless, I still wain to know what really is Irans policy toward the U.S because there is always a small chance we will get involved with them.
In class, we talked about how the U.S is a world leader and how during the election all eyes turn toward the U.S to watch. This in combination with Iran essentially saying ” we don’t care who wins” makes for a very interesting dynamic. If the U.S has many other countries captivated with their undying interest, then why is Iran the exception to this? What does Iran not caring about who wins or loses say about their relationship with the U.S? I think it goes to show that while yes, the U.S does have a ton of influence everywhere, there are still many countries who really are far away from the U.S and the president does not change anything at all in their relationship. As a takeaway, we can conclude that a different administration doesn’t necessarily mean a better relationship. its not like all the sudden past conflict with Iran is going to be wiped off the slate. Its still the same country that Iran had conflict with, just a different face at the front of it. Taking it a step further, I think that this statement by Iran goes to show how hard it really is to build trust between countries. There are so many factors that make it hard: national interest, different administrations, internal and more important problems to handle rather than international relations.