Elected in June and taking office in August, new president Ir, Ibrahim Raisi, ruled out meeting with Joe Biden in his first post-election interview. Judge ultra conservative, a big critic of the West, added that even if US sanctions were suspended, direct dialogue with the US President was beyond question.
Only those with a large memory will remember what seems unlikely today. Until the mid-1970s, the three countries were allies. ABOUT documentary It begins precisely with this break, showing the changes that the rule of Ayatollah Khomeini (1902-1989) brought about not only in the region, but in all relations between the Middle East and the West.
What is clear is that at first the foreign policy leaders of the United States and Israel made a big mistake. Both countries believed neither in the power of Shiite religious authority nor in popular discontent with the Iranian monarchy.
REVOLUTIONARY
February 1, 1979 is a historic day for my brother. Millions of people took to the streets of Teger to welcome the arrival of Khomeini, who had been in exile in France for 15 years. It was the end of the Reza Pahlavi era (1919-1980) and the beginning of the Iranian Revolution, which led the country from an autocritical pre-Western monarchy to a theocratic Islamic republic.
The documentary, with an extensive exhibition of historical images, spans Khomeini’s decade through its main attractions. Constantly looking for impersonality, the documentary features interviews with people who have worked in various fields. There are former students who took to the streets in support of Khomeini, former CIA and Mossad officials, Middle East specialists, people from all sides.
Under the leadership of Khomeini, who welcomes the still young Yasser Arafat as the first foreign guest, Israel and the United States embody their hatred of imperialist rule over the country. Ayatollah uses the opportunity of the Palestinian cause to give a new dimension to his Shiite brother – his greatest desire was to establish himself as a leader and unite as many countries as possible in his favor. With the seizure of the American embassy in November 1979, in which officials were held hostage, a complete break with the West ended.
The story continues until the 1980s, when conflicts escalated in the region and Lebanon was the main target. In 1982, the Israeli invasion was aimed at driving out the Palestinians and making Lebanon an ally of Christian rule. But the Shiite minority opposes this and favors the emergence of a new organization: Hezbollah.
An important milestone in the period when Lebanon became its first martyr was the city of Tire. In November 1982, the young Ahmad Kasir set off a suicide bomber, planting a car bomb, blowing up the seven-story building that housed Israel’s headquarters in that city. Nearly 100 people died, the vast majority of them Israeli soldiers. Brother Kasira recalls how proud he was today when he learned that his brother was a martyr. It is impressive that at the time of the incident, the US and Israel did not attribute the explosion to the attack.
Today’s episode dates back to the death of Khomeini. The following week shows how the United States began to play in the Middle East after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. It also tracks Iran’s nuclear investments.
“ISRAEL / IR / USA – THE LONG WAR”
• A documentary film in two parts. The first, “On the origins of the confrontation”, will be shown this Friday (07.09) at 23:00 on the channel.
