Is the Islamic Republic of Iran a Classic Nation State?

The most pertinent question is this: Why is the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), under its current leadership, such a difficult country to understand? This particular question reminds us of an observation made by Henry Kissinger in 2006. Kissinger observed “Iran’s leaders must decide whether they are representing a cause or a nation.” Henry Kissinger’s declaration about IRI’s leaders is worth exploring more deeply.

DEFINING OBJECTIVES OF POST WESTPHALIAN SOVEREIGN STATES:

In international affairs 1648 is a milestone year. It is the date of the Peace of Westphalia, ending the Thirty Years’ War between Catholics and Protestants in central Europe as well as the Eighty Years’ War between Catholic Spain and the Protestant Dutch Republic. The Peace of Westphalia has defined the modern nation state as it is recognized today in international law. Below are the three main foreign policy objectives of modern Westphalian modeled nations.

1. Sovereignty of states and the fundamental right of political self-determination.

2. Legal equality between all states.

3. Non-intervention of states in the international affairs of other states.

In contrast to the above principles that characterize the vast majority of nation states in the international community, the IRI has declared a unique set of objectives that define its foreign policy. Careful analysis indicates that these objectives are diametrically opposed to the spirit of state sovereignty, equality, and non-intervention that characterizes the present international order. Below are the IRI’s main foreign policy objectives based on their actions and rhetoric.

1. Creating a united Ummah (global Muslim community) with Islamic Iran as its leader- The founders of IRI believed that the Iranian Revolution was the commencement of a new global order, one in which Islamic Iran, under the leadership of the hidden 12th Imam (Imam Mehdi), will one day lead the global Muslim community. For this reason, the leaders of the IRI have always been opposed the concept of Iranian nationalism.

Ayatollah Motahari, one of the early founding theorists of IRI and a trusted advisor to Ayatollah Khomeini (father of the Iranian Revolution), had explained that nationalism is antithetical to Islam since Islam is a colorblind faith open to all humanity. Accordingly, Islamic beliefs are universal doctrine of truth not bound by borders based on race and nationality. The intent of the Iranian Revolution was to unite Muslims under the flag of Islam, and concepts such as nationalism are in direct opposition to Islam.

Hassan Firouzabadi, the former Chief of Staff of IRI’s Armed Forces, stated in 2010 that talk of Iran without Islam is deviant and a crime against national security “Ayatollah Khomeini introduced the Islamic school of thought to emphasize the importance of unity among Muslims. Nationalism is an instrument of the imperialists to isolate Iran from the rest of the Muslim world through the use of national identity.” Firouzabadi made these comments in response to former Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Mashaei, who had commented about introducing the Iranian school of thought to the world.

2. Export of the Iranian revolution abroad- One of the most enduring objectives of every political faction within IRI has been the export of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. The stated goal is to inspire Muslim majority countries around the world to overthrow repressive regimes inspired by Islamic laws and traditions. A corollary to this objective, seldom stated officially, is the establishment of regimes amenable to the interests and influence of Tehran.

Ayatollah Khomeini, the father of the IRI, speaking about the Iranian Revolution in 1979 claimed, “we must try to export our revolution because the superpowers, along with the other great powers, are trying to destroy us. If we are constrained to one region, then we will be defeated eventually.”

According to several scholars of Geopolitics from Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran (One of the leading graduate schools in Iran) “The export of the Islamic Revolution has been and continues to be one of the founding geopolitical strategies of IRI.”

The Iranian Constitution has several sections that encourage the export of the Islamic Revolution. A section in the preamble declares, “The constitution, provides a basis for the continuation of the Iranian revolution both inside and outside the country. The Islamic Republic’s Army, and the Revolutionary Guards have responsibility not only for the safeguarding of the frontiers, but also for a religious mission, which is Holy War (Jihad) along the way of God, and the struggle to extend the supremacy of God’s Law in the world.” In the same spirit, Article 154 of the Iranian Constitution declares, “The Islamic Republic of Iran while scrupulously refraining from all forms of interference in the internal affairs of other nations, supports the just struggles of the oppressed against the oppressors in every corner of the globe.”

3. Enmity towards the U.S.- Numerous commentators have attributed the hostile rhetoric and actions of IRI vis-à-vis the US to American involvement in the 1953 coup against Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh as well as American support for the Shah of Iran from 1941–1979. This line of reasoning makes sense for most Western trained scholars who analyze the world through the prism of post-enlightenment ideals where cause and effect must be related to one another and where religious doctrine has no basis for policy formulation. This line of analysis leads to the difficulty of understanding a regime that does not represent a Westphalian modeled state as defined in this article. To understand why the IRI has considered the US its enemy and will continue to do so in the future one must listen to those formulating doctrine inside Iran.

“The Shia philosophy of protest against injustice has colored the global perspective of Iranians. Therefore, anything that the Iranian views as opposed to this struggle against injustice is deemed to be evil and must be eliminated. The Iranian revolution defined evil and oppression as represented by the US (the Great Satan) and the Shah as a traitor. Therefore, as a first step the revolution removed the government that was dependent on the US and as a follow up step must continue to oppose the US itself. This is the reason that Iran is at the forefront of the struggle against the US on the global stage.”

Brigadier General Hossein Salami, Deputy Commander of the IRGC claimed that America is Iran’s greatest enemy because the US seeks to degrade Iran’s Islamic beliefs and values. According to Salami, the greatest threat to Iran’s national security is the American effort to infiltrate Iranian hearts and minds in order to corrupt their values.

During a speech to an audience of Iranian students, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reminded those present to recognize that Iran’s main and “dirty” enemy is the US, a country that has proven its enmity through continuing sanctions and the destruction of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

4. Enmity towards Israel- Enmity toward Israel is among the core objectives of the IRI. The leaders of IRI claim that Israel has usurped the land of Muslims (i.e. Palestinians) and must therefore be recognized as an oppressive regime. The IRI, as the self declared leader of the Muslim world, sees it as a duty to lead the struggle against Israel. For the decision makers of the IRI, Israelis are settlers from Europe whose presence in the region is not justified. Therefore, the leaders of the IRI consider the state of Israel to be a cancer that must be removed from the geopolitical landscape.

Alef.ir, a conservative website associated with Ahmad Tavakoli, a member of the Expediency Council, published an article by Alireza Forghani in 2012 titled; Islamic jurisprudential necessity for the destruction Israel. The article starts with a quote from the late Ayatollah Khomeini, the father of the Iranian Revolution “Today Jerusalem is in the hands of Israel, the cancer of the Middle East. Today Israel uses all the instruments of the devil to create divisions. It is the obligation of every Muslim to arm him/her self against Israel. The tyrannical government of Israel presents a grave danger for Islam and for Muslim countries and it is incumbent upon all Muslims to eliminate this source of corruption by any means necessary. All our problems are born from Israel, and Israel is born from the US.” Forghani then cites passages from the Quran to support his claim for the need to destroy Israel. Forghani moves on to pick a few targets in Israel that should be destroyed before recommending which Iranian missile systems should be used for the task and why Israel’s missile defense system will be ineffective against them.

CONCLUSIONS:

The totality of evidence suggests that the answer to Henry Kissinger’s question in 2006 has been loud and clear over many years. The IRI, from birth, has been a regime established to champion a cause. This cause is the return of the 12th Shia Imam (Imam Mehdi) whose arrival is expected to bring about a new world order under the leadership of Shia Muslim Iran. The completion of this event will be capped with the destruction of all those forces which the leaders of IRI claim to represent evil, with the US and Israel at the top of that list. Furthermore, there will be no room for Iranian nationalism, much less a plural democracy, under this vision. Given the weight of evidence, it is obvious that the IRI is more a cause than a sovereign nation state.

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