Writing at Glenn Greenwald's The Intercept, Jon Schwarz highlights six historical reasons Iran has to be suspicious of — or even hostile toward — the U.S. and Europe. Here's the short version:
1. The founder of Reuters purchased Iran in 1872
2. The BBC lent a hand to the CIA’s 1953 overthrow of Iran’s Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh
3. We had extensive plans to use nuclear weapons in Iran
4. U.S. leaders have repeatedly threatened to outright destroy Iran
5. We shot down a civilian Iranian airliner — killing 290 people, including 66 children
6. We worry about Iranian nukes because they would deter our own military strikes
As Schwarz comments, "Reminding ourselves of this history does not mean endorsing an Iran with nuclear-tipped ICBMs [intercontinental ballistic missiles];" it just means getting a better handle on what might be motivating all those "Death to America" protesters we see in the news. Read the full story and explanations of each list item at The Intercept.
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