Transcripts For DW DocFilm - Iran - From Theocracy To Region

But the Supreme Leader refused to give in to the demonstrators he up held up Medina Jansa Point went and put down the protests with extraordinary brutality. My. Colleague from on a probably saved the regime that year but what price in knew he would need to give some leeway if his hold on power were to be preserved. I think this sort of awareness that iran had been through its own brush with potential Regime Instability in Two Thousand And Nine with the most serious protests that had taken place since the one Nine Hundred Seventy nine revolution cast a very long shadow and it was clear that. There was a consensus decision to move away from the kind of provocations that characterize the period and move toward a new rapprochement at least with the broader International Community community if not with the United States specifically. In shia islam the main leader of the shias that bush is the first. To science. Her son and her same. Chose the path of peace and negotiations and hussein shows the power of confrontation and martyrdom so these two schools of thought provide different justifications for different policies and republic and the Supreme Leader it was their idea. And one her sons peace and reconciliation in the frame that was honorable an honorable peace of your one. He called that heroic flexibility which allowed them to make the compromise that was pretty painful with the great satan. In the name of heroic flexibility the leader and allowed himself to overcome the Islamic Republics visceral Anti Americanism one of the regimes major ideological standpoints and enter negotiations with the United States. The Islamic Republics Anti Americanism goes back to the early days of the revolution. In november one thousand Nine Hundred Seventy nine iranian students took fifty two american diplomats hostage. Their objective was to demonstrate that the new islamic order was set against the west des particularly against the influence of the United States. This new regime had not forgotten that twenty six years earlier in One Thousand Nine Hundred Fifty Three the cia had organized a coup to time there will be no question of history repeating itself. No force thats you dont forget that back then Prime Minister most a decade been overthrown by an american coup. In one hand the Islamic Revolution hadnt yet come about so the americans had shown their hostility towards our people well before the revolution. That the us is set to some how we can irans. Irans you know nation estate lets put it in that way and the u. S. Will not change its policy because the pillars of political structure in the us will not accept iran as a Regional Power that has its own independent then two way of economic political Event Security a military you know policies this is very strong. Anti americanism is accompanied by implacable opposition to the state of israel in ten rounds eyes israel is washingtons proxy in the region and an opponent of the palestinians and their rights. I think after the revolution the iranians quickly realize that in order to have influence in the region and project power in the region they have to be seen not as a shia power but as an islamic power and this is the region and the reason that they picked up the cause of palestine because of palestine was left on the ground by the arabs and it was a was an issue and allowed iran to play the role of a of a muslim power and not as a shia power. While if we. Religious looking at our countrys National Security considerations we consider that the Zionist Regime is a usurping and illegitimate regime in the region. As such it constitutes our biggest regional threat. Globally speaking that thread is the United States with the anti israel a and anti american stance is a closely linked to run no longer has any official relations with the two countries since the Hostage Crisis of Nine Hundred Seventy nine the American Embassy has become a museum. Inside everything has been preserved as it was. The last reminder of the heroic time surrounding the foundation of the Islamic Republic. American islam did not prevent iran from being pragmatic and negotiating a resolution to the Nuclear Crisis with the United States on january the sixteenth Two Thousand And Sixteen at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in vienna dignitaries signed a joint comprehensive plan of action. Right now your work really begins yes yes. The economic sanctions on iran were officially lifted for the First Time Since the one Nine Hundred Seventy Nine Revolution Washington and tehran had managed to resolve an International Crisis through diplomacy and dialogue the historic antagonism between the two countries might soon become a thing of the past. I think president obama and secretary kerry held out hope that in the long term very long term starting a diplomatic. Process with iran making it ok for americans to speak with iran showing that we could do deals with iran could help over time change irans Foreign Policy as opposed to always just containing iran and being against iran. In the declarations made by the Supreme Leader and other senior figures. There was this idea that if the nuclear deal work correctly applied and everyone respected their commitments and promises then it would bring concrete results i mean. It would be possible to enter into other negotiations on other issues on the basis of this excess power for jewish bit if. From here on iran hope to normalize its relations with the west but the country was then confronted with a syria and iran crises which would give it the opportunity to use other methods than diplomacy to once again become a major player in the middle east. Behest as a Car Cemetery In Tehran is the biggest in the country. The man known as post was named. Day he was an officer in the revolutionary guard who was killed in september Two Thousand And Sixteen in syria. The Revolutionary Guard Corps created in one Nine Hundred Seventy nine is the most powerful Security Organization in the country its the tehran regimes praetorian guard. No one knows how many soldiers iran has lost in syria probably several hundred from the beginning of the Popular Uprising against a basher in the spring of Two Thousand And Eleven to run has taken the side of the Syrian Regime a regime that it has always considered to be an historical and strategic ally. To appreciate the importance of this relationship we need to go back to the Iran Iraq War. In september One Thousand Eight Hundred Satam Hussein decided to invade iran just months after the revolution the fledgling Islamic Republic was threatened with destruction. And that. In the iranian Collective Memory Syria was the only country to supporters during the war against iraq. And weve never forgotten that that hard to the war which was. That sense of strategic solitude that the romulans experienced during the Iran Iraq War had deep impact on your thinking and or threat assessment and it still to this day influences how they see the world. The fact that saddam used Chemical Weapons against iran were. Then tyrants International Community was looking away has created this sense of paranoia in iran being able to have its own convention on Defense Mechanisms and iran not trusting and the International Community to look after its interests. This devastating conflict lasted eighteen years and cost the lives of nearly Five Hundred Thousand on the iranian side alone. A traumatic experience for the population the fight against the iraqi army allowed the Islamic Republic to bolster its legitimacy. Today the streets of tehran are still replete with memorials to the martyrs who died on the front all those years ago. This war against iraq also comprised a sort of geo strategic matrix the notion of never again has been dominant ever since. Never again victims of Chemical Weapons never again the sight of Enemy Aircraft in the skies over tehran and never again the slightest patch of territory trampled on by a foreign army. I think in the iranian mind said moving or pushing away the threats from the iranian borders has been a constant and its very a strong and it can mobilize the konami you know. Forces and to tackle that and thats very strong and i dont think these will soon be removed from iran. In order to compensate the sense of strategic solitude that they experienced during those years. Iran has developed to a symmetric defense of policies one as its Ballistic Missile program which given the fact that it doesnt have an air force is the only way that it can reach its rivals or enemies on their soil and the second is what they call a forward Defense Policy which is based on hiring partners and proxies away from its borders so that it can actually do terror a direct attack on iranian soil. As well la is the crown jewel of this forward the fence policy. Would include his would you q would you do this letter she should get on hezbollah is a strategic ally of iran. You have a as you look at this Lebanese Group has the same ideology as iran is would like to hit it to be of age whatever we see as so it is naturally a very close ally to let is. Hardly to laugh when his last hezbollah is also an ally of syria will use his word love with him this past so it is a link between ourselves and syria the. More this true year that if about what you know what did how do you might ask and like ourselves in syria. Hezbollah is hostile towards israel c s a how you understood that you had to me was. There was a lot. For terror on maintaining those links with lebanese shia organization hezbollah is therefore a necessity the political and military group which iran cofounded in the early one nine hundred eighty s. Is to this day an ally and an. Essential tool in the latters resistance to israel i am for a. Its through syria that iran has provided hezbollah with logistic and strategic count. And if you talk to iranian officials today many believe that the reason israel did not attack iran at the height of the Nuclear Standoff was because they were afraid of hezbollah loss of power of retaliation not because of irans capabilities so for tehran defending the Damascus Regime is a question of Self Interest it must not for as of late Two Thousand And Eleven the Islamic Republic decided to send Military Advisors to has been in Syria To Support Bashar Al Assad its efforts to crush the rebellion. Tehran had its own outlook on the syrian conflict in its size the civil uprising among part of the population against Bashar Al Assad never took place tehran saw it as a conspiracy engineered by the west and israel. Turned on was why i support Bashar Al Assad because he was and is the legitimate president of syria so we are probably stayed out loud that Military Advisors of the Islamic Republic of iran have helped the Syrian Military the Syrian Government and the Syrian People in order to avoid terrorists taking power over this country and replacing the legitimate Syrian Government. Protests around the country behind the Terrorist Threat in syria in saudi arabia. And in riyadh the saudi leaders have indeed been looking forward to the fall of bashar assad since the beginning of the Syrian Crisis a means for them to oppose the rise in power of iran in the region. The kingdom understood very well and told. Lewiston countries if you look at all of the public statements from saudi officials they identified easy iran as the main supporter of bashar thats it and therefore the kingdom called on all of the countries in the west in europe and in america to oppose the iranian. Direction. And control over the situation in syria syria became the stage for a radical standoff between the regions two systems of power and the sunni Saudi Monarchy against the shiite Islamic Republic of iran. I think many people including Many American Many Americans and many europeans underestimated the degree to which syria was a red line for iran and that iran was willing to really take risks and put the resources in to back assad assad. I think the same is true for russia. Neither iran nor russia wanted to accept. The notion of Regime Change that people in the middle east could ride out rise up and get rid of their leader we know russia has a real. Reaction to that in iran. In september Two Thousand And Fifteen russia began large scale intervention on the iranian side to defend bashar assad. But meanwhile another protagonist appeared in the middle eastern theater. On june the twelfth Two Thousand And Fourteen Islamic State forces took control of iraqs second city mosul a few days later in syria fell into jihad is towns and became the capital of the selfstyled islamic caliphate. Protests around the advances made by ass and Extremist Sunni Terrorist Movement that sees the share as one of its principal enemies radically change the stakes while continuing to defend the Damascus Regime the Islamic Republic was now fighting for its survival as much in syria as in iraq. But the steal. Of the shares your friendship with iraq is precious to us. Naturally iraqs security is also ours and by subversive. The same is true for syria. And the syrians dont overcome the jihadists at home they will enter iraq and then our country. And spread throughout the region that. We get beaten by one of their. Own job that is why the security of the muslim world and that of iran depends on the security of syria. That we. So to defend its borders iran openly sent soldiers from its codes force an elite unit of the Republican Guard to both syria and iraq. You know i think you know runs influence and commitment in iraq was present well before mozilla in the summer of twenty fourteen really go all the way back to the u. S. Intervention in two thousand and three. Telamon the shia majority government. Role that arabia militia played. Ever since then the iranian presence was both opportunistic to expand its power expand its influence in the region but also defensive because first of all didnt want to return to power of this party in the sunni arab domination secondly it didnt want the United States to use iraq as a platform to launch either an invasion or asymmetrical warfare against iran in a thought that that was actually possible at the time i think that the conflict that we witnessed in syria and iran in iraq pushed iranians increasingly to act as a sectarian power in order to mobilize support for their caus