Nukes & The Original Aryans

“No country without an atomic bomb can properly call itself independent.” Ahmadinejad did not say that. Charles de Gaulle did!

If spoken by Ahmadinejad, those words would be a demagogic diatribe by an apocalyptic nutcase. But in the mouth of President de Gaulle, that viewpoint was an expression of geopolitical reality.

Back then (1954-1960), nuclear weapons were a national status symbol and
a path to international prestige. So, France acquired Nukes. That is also
substantially why Iran is hell bent on joining Club Nuke.

So, why does Iran want what it does not need? The answer involves a history lesson.

Iran was not always Iran. For centuries it was Persia. That is Iran’s glory. In fact, Persia may be the first truly significant empire in history. That may be arguable. But what is not subject to debate is that Persia’s celebrated Emperor, Cyrus, was the first person in history to be called “The Great.” That is of great significance to Iran.

Under Cyrus’ reign, the Persian empire stretched from India to Egypt and Greece. During Cyrus’ benevolent rule, disparate ethnicities and subject nations were permitted to conduct their own affairs and to practice their own customs and beliefs.

In addition, Cyrus bestowed upon the world its first charter of human rights. In recognition of his immense accomplishments, Cyrus is extolled as the Father of the Iranian nation. Cyrus-The-Great was and is the focal point of Iranian history and of Iran’s national psyche.

Not tangentially, Cyrus even emancipated the Jews of Persia. They had been brought there in 586 BCE by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. He had conquered the Kingdom of Judah and deported its Jews. Cryus permitted the Jews to return to their homeland. In gratitude for his largesse, the Jews labeled Cyrus as “The Anointed Of The Lord.”

Cyrus’ towering greatness is illustrated by an anecdote concerning President Harry Truman. He was, not incidentally, the American President who ordered that an atomic bomb be detonated over Japan. President Truman also had the outlandish temerity –some call it Chutzpa- to formally recognize the existence of the State Of Israel.

Shortly after that momentous event, Truman is said to have been present at a party. A quarrelsome guest approached the President. The guest reproached Truman by questioning: “Who in the hell do you think you are recognizing Israel?” To which provocation Truman allegedly threw his hands skyward and haughtily exclaimed: “I am Cyrus!”

Ahmadinejad is no Cyrus. In actuality, nothing significant happens in Iran without the tacit imprimatur of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But he too is no Cyrus. Both Ahmadinejad and Khamenei assuredly recognize that they are but existential blips in Iran’s long history dating back to Cyrus. And that’s the rub.

Ahmadinejad, Khamenei and Iranian nationalists clearly aspire to recapture the glory of Cyrus and the Persian Empire. That is not an evil. That is a goal to be applauded. That national aspiration could be as noble, as elegant and as inspirational as was Cyrus.

Regrettably, the path to regional hegemony pursued by contemporary Iran is perverted by its fixation on acquiring what it wants but does not need. Iran must now distance itself from the notion that a nation needs nukes to survive or to acquire eminence.

Twenty-first century Iran is not cold war era France which thought it needed nukes for prestige. But, is there a contemporary nation with significant international stature, extensive influence and hegemonic capacity that does not possess nukes? With the possible exception of Brazil, none exist. That is the conundrum facing Iran…and the world.

By virtue of its size, its geographic location, its resources, its demographics, its culture, its history and even its name, Iran believes –with abundant justification – that it deserves to be a regional power.

It is noteworthy that the name Iran derives from the Sanskrit term Arya.
In fact, Persians are the original Aryans. Arya means elevated, exalted
or noble. It denotes a patrician culture. It refers to the upper crust
of society. It implies ascendancy, preeminence and dominance.

The opposite of Aryan is Anaryan. A person so classified is deemed to
be a low-class, plebian peasant. Anaryan is arguably the opposite of everything Iranian. As such, Iranians habitually refer to Arabs as Anaryans.

Underneath the bluster and bellicosity, what Iran really wants is to
return to its Aryan origins. It aspires to be a noble, exalted and prestigious regional hegemon. That eminent status is implicit it its
name. Iran does not need nukes to achieve that goal.

But, considering the braggadocio & bravado about its growing nuclear prowess, Iran’s leaders should consider Margaret Thatcher’s trenchant aphorism: “Power is like being a lady... if you have to tell people you are, you aren't.”