What's with you guys and always drawing in absolutes. He is describing what could've have been. We already know what situation the country is in right now, and their is no turning back. He is 100% accurate in describing what Western designs for Iran are, but he is also correct, prior to the Islamic Revolution, we could have gone the Japan route instead of the revolutionary route and undoubtedly would have had a much more enriched country, likely producing several million barrels of oil per day, and having 100s of billions of dollars more in the country to create jobs, and increase overall economy, increase in exports and wealth generation.
People simply cannot set their biases aside for one moment. No different than the USA where Republicans think Democrats are destroying the country and each party support stays ignorant to the damage of their own party’s actions.
How much more successful and thriving could the USA be if it had a bipartisan governance and wasn’t bogged down by lobbyists, military industrial complex, and excess bloat?
There is no question the Iran that did not follow the revolutionary path would be much more economically strong (likely a G-7 economic power) than the current Iran. The brain drain alone has cost Iran
trillions in GDP and population stagnation since 1979. It’s hard to quantify the innovation that could have been started in Iran had those brilliant minds stayed there instead of fleeing to EU, Canada, and America like all these hypocritical ex-pats or Western Iranians. This is also another fact.
But mentally, these select individuals on this forum get caught up on well “Iran wouldn’t be independent”. Which again it’s not like iran is exactly invading countries and grabbing land in some Empire expanding state right now. So what has this so called independence brought us in terms of natural interests? Russia was so called independent and couldn’t even keep control of its old soviet satellite states from converting over to the West.
So what would Iran exactly be restricted on in this pseudo non independent Iran parallel universe? Iran’s nuclear program started under the Shah. Iran grabbing the islands in the PG happened under the Shah. It’s true Iran’s domestic industry at the time wasn’t amazing, but neither was that of its neighbors or peers. Where would Iran be in 30-40 years later under whatever form of government that the Shah’s death would have evolved to?
Japan is latent nuclear capability and has security guarantees from the US. Recently has started expanding their defense force at the
encouragement of the US. Germany is also happy to let US and other NATO countries (France/UK) take on the brunt of military adventurism while focusing on its status as economic powerhouse.
So this notion that Iran couldn’t do anything because it would be allied with Western states is false. If anything Iran would have asked to do MORE and act as the policeman of the region and a bulwark against Chinese and Russian expansion. Hell Iran might have even been inducted into NATO, we simply don’t know.