Iran

On August 20, 1953, 53 years ago this past Sunday, the CIA restored Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to the throne the British had first put him on in 1941. Iranian nationalists had taken power democratically in 1951, and promptly alienated the British by nationalizing the British-controlled oil industry. Back on the Peacock Throne, the Shah proved to be a loyal ally of both Britain and the U.S. for a period of over 25 years, or until his overthrow in January 1979.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini triumphantly returned to Iran from exile on February 1, 1979, to begin the rule of the Shiite mullahs over Iran that has now lasted over 27 years. The mullahs are still going strong under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured), who replaced Khomeini in 1989. Under the mullahs, Iran humbled the U.S. during the 1979-81 hostage crisis, then turned back Saddam’s well-equipped army when Iraq, with Saudi and Western support, invaded Iran in 1980. Iran has backed Hezbollah in Lebanon from its founding in 1982, and is closely associated with that terrorist group’s killing and kidnapping successes. Iran now also benefits from the U.S. destruction of Iran’s old enemies in neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since President Bush first identified Iran as one of the three “Axis of Evil” powers in 2002, Iran has continued to gain in strength and influence. It has the world’s third largest oil reserves, at a time when demand for oil has driven oil prices to all-time highs. It has great influence over its Shiite-dominated neighbor Iraq, due to Iraq's movement toward democracy. It has nearly 70 million people, over half under 25, a population larger than that of Nazi Germany at the onset of World War II. It has an almost-unstoppable program to develop nuclear weapons, and under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, seems to have a leader who would either use nuclear weapons or ease them into the hands of terrorists who would.

Shiite and allied with other Shiites, Iran is truly a threat to peace.