Avoiding War with Iran — and an American Hero in Persia
Belligerence between the two countries has not been the historical norm
With the looming possibility of war between Iran and the United States, the Baskerville Institute in Salt Lake City asked me for an article that might help diffuse tensions and remind us of the warm history between the two peoples. I have no formal affiliation with the Baskerville Institute (“dedicated to promoting…the bond of friendship between the people of Iran and the people of the United States”), but it is named for my great uncle, who loved Persia, promoted American religious and political values there, and gave his life for its freedom in the Constitutional Revolution of 1906-09. The full article is published in the current issue of their newsletter.
Hostility Between Iran and America Is Not the Norm
– and Is Not Inevitable
Understanding the rich – and mostly amicable – history of Iranian-American relations may diffuse tensions and promote peace in the Middle East.
Stephen Baskerville
Most Americans do not realize the tragedy that is represented by the current estrangement between Iran and the United States. Past generations of Iranians and Americans held a special place in one another’s hearts. Persia (as it was called) was known to American churchgoers and school children as a biblical empire and the best administered imperial system prior to Rome. It won the admiration of Persia’s Greek enemies like the historian Herodotus. When Russian and British imperialists carved up Persia into spheres of influence in the nineteenth century, Americans remained aloof and retained the favor of Persian liberals during the Constitutional Revolution of 1906-09. An American, Morgan Shuster, served in the Constitutional government, and his book, The Strangling of Persia, excoriated the cynical power politics of Britain and Russia. Like the British, the Americans eventually disappointed Persia’s freedom fighters by refusing to support the liberal Revolution. Yet one exception stands out: my great uncle Howard Baskerville. (…)
You can read the rest at https://baskervilleinstitute.org/spring-2024/.
I can't help but think that this isn't just about the US and Iran. There is one country that would do almost anything to neutralise its last serious rival in the region, and I'm not talking about Saudi Arabia.