Book cover

In the decades since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, bitter relations have persisted between the US and Iran. Why is this? In her latest book, Inside Iran (OR Books), Medea Benjamin explores the complex relationship between the two countries. Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK and the fair trade advocacy group Global Exchange, is one of America’s best-known 21st-century activists. She has won a number of plaudits for her peace activism - including in 2012, the US Peace Memorial Foundation’s Peace Prize; the 2014 Gandhi Peace Award and the 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize. Here, she discusses Iran, US foreign policy, and protest in America today.

Why write a book about Iran now?

I knew after Donald Trump became president that the Iran nuclear deal was in jeopardy and that there would be a very real possibility that the US would end up in another disastrous war in the Middle East. It has been said that war is the way Americans learn geography. I thought it was important for people in the US and the UK to learn about Iran not because we were at war, but to prevent a new war.

You’ve previously written a book on Saudi Arabia. Why do you think the US position has generally been to antagonise Iran and embrace Saudi Arabia?

In the past, both oil-producing nations were close US allies. The West has embraced the Saudi kingdom since its founding in 1932, especially after oil was discovered in 1938. The repressive nature of the Saudi regime was never a problem for the Western powers. In Iran, the US was allied with the brutal Shah. Even though the Shah was infamous for human rights abuses, the US supported him because he was the main US bulwark against communism in the region and he was favourable to US interests. The US-Iran alliance was only broken after the 1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew the Shah.

What role has US intervention played in Iran in the last half century or so?

The pivotal point was the 1953 US-UK coup that overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, who was democratically elected with a pledge to nationalise Iran’s oil. After the coup, the Shah was re-instated and then cracked down on all dissident groups. The mosques were the only spaces left for people to express their grievances, paving the way, decades later, for the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Since then, the US policy has been one of trying to economically strangle the government through a variety of sanctions and trying to foment a counter-revolution. In the 1980s Iran/Iraq war, the US ended up siding with Saddam Hussein, even selling him materials to make the chemical weapons that were unleashed on the Iranians. It was only during the Obama administration that there was some rapprochement with the signing of the Iran nuclear deal.

Your book places an emphasis on understanding the history of Iran. Why is this important?

Many people think of Iran just as a sober and isolated society where religious leaders impose their will. It’s important to understand not only the complexity of Iranian society today but its rich history in order to have a sense of where it could go in the future. Iran’s Persian heritage dates back 2,500 years and Iranians of all political stripes revere this heritage that includes breathtaking architecture, universally acclaimed poetry and literature, and deeply spiritual music. From the time of Cyrus the Great in 550BC to the early 1900s, Iran has periodically been ruled by governments based on democratic principles of equal rights for all. Its socialist Tudeh Party in the 1940s raised the consciousness of millions of Iranians and impacted Iranian politics for decades.

What were the challenges in researching the book?

The challenges ranged from trying to summarise 2,500 years of history into a brief chapter to trying to predict what was going to happen under the Trump administration. It was also difficult to walk a fine line between honestly criticising the Iranian government for its internal repression and interventions overseas while understanding how the Western powers have constantly meddled in Iran’s internal affairs and tried to undermine its relations abroad.

Given the Trump administration’s hawkish stance towards Iran, are you optimistic about improved relations?

I’m not optimistic in the short term, but in the longer term, yes. The West needs Iran’s help to solve the endless conflicts the Middle East is embroiled in, and Iran represents one of the world’s greatest business opportunities once all the sanctions are lifted.

While Americans have been taught to see Iran as their enemy, Westerners would be surprised how developed and educated Iranians are and how eager they are for better relations. Iran has been badly hurt by Western sanctions in recent years, but by some measures, it ranks high for the Middle East in key indicators such as education and life expectancy.

Our job in the West is to educate our own public about the need to stop interfering in Iran’s internal affairs, and to allow Iran to evolve into a more democratic state through pressure from within. Our job is to push for normal diplomatic and trade ties with Iran so there will be more breathing space for the democratic forces inside Iran.

In more general terms, what do you make of the current administration’s foreign policy?

I am optimistic about the talks with North Korea, but give credit there to the brilliant diplomatic manoeuvring of South Korea’s President Moon. In most other places, I see a continuation or intensification of US military intervention.

You famously heckled Obama during his presidency. What has changed in terms of foreign policy since then?

We managed to get Obama to institute some minor reforms in the use of weaponised drones to pull back slightly on the sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia. But Donald Trump, despite campaign promises to the contrary, has given the military even freer rein. Unfortunately, the US Congress refuses to challenge this hyper-militarism and has gone along with Trump’s massive increase in the Pentagon budget. And with Donald Trump as the ultimate salesman, we see even more power going to the massive weapons manufacturers that profit from keeping us in a state of perpetual war. That’s why our group, CODEPINK, has started a campaign called Divest from the War Machine. Our goal is to get cities, universities, churches and investment firms to stop investing in weapons, and to get our politicians to stop taking money from what Pope Francis calls “the merchants of death.”

What do you make of continued protests in the US? Has activism been reignited by Trump’s presidency?

Yes, there is a constant state of activism now on so many fronts—the environment, racism, ever-increasing inequality, immigration, Islamophobia, women’s rights. Sometimes it seems like we are like amateur firefighters confronting professional arsonists. But we keep resisting and have made impressive gains in some areas, such as the #metoo movement.