In an apparent reaction to the policies of US President Donald Trump, Iran appears to be in the grip of rising nationalism amid signs of an effort to forge internal political reconciliation. Rather than solely seeking to topple the Islamic Republic, the United States and its regional allies are now perceived as pursuing the dismemberment of Iran.
Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, who previously served as government spokesman under Reformist President Mohammad Khatami, tweeted May 9, “[Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed] Bin Salman, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Trump’s issue with Iran is beyond the political system. Their [problem] is a great country named Iran.” Ramezanzadeh, who is Kurdish, has long advocated for ethnic minority rights and was arrested in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential elections.
But perhaps the most surprising reaction to Trump’s anti-Iran rhetoric in recent weeks has come from Ardeshir Zahedi, a high-ranking official of the ousted Pahlavi regime that was overthrown in 1979. Few would expect that a man who lost his position and influence with the rise of the Islamic Republic would venture to pay for the publication of an open letter in a New York Times' advertisement to defend the current Iranian state’s foreign policy.
Warning US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over his threats against Tehran, Zahedi wrote May 25, "Cats will dream of mice ... Iran is not Iraq,” adding, “Through the millennia of its history, my country has never stooped or bowed to foreigners and has always remained united in the face of adversity. … Iran’s noble people always stand together and help defend their homeland. History has quickly taught foreign aggressors to abandon their wishful thinking of crushing Iran." Referring to Iran’s regional policies, Zahedi further emphasized, "What is not mentioned is that Iran is in Syria by the invitation of Syria, the legitimate government of a sovereign nation. It is the presence in Syria of secret armies from the US and other Western countries that violates international law."
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