I was reading up on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and stumbled upon the fact that the Iranians hate us Brits more than the US? Wtf?
Well, Britain, "little Satan", hold a special place in Iranian Demonology. It's the "hidden Hand" Iranian public opinion blames for everything from bombs exploding in the Arab south to rising prices and a struggling economy. Hostility to all things British runs deep in the national psyche: for many, Britain - far more than the US - is the real enemy.
This distrust all started in the 19th century when Iran became a pawn in the Great Game between Britain and Tsarist Russia. Iran's rulers were pressed to grant economic monopolies (notably oil) to British entrepreneurs, sparking mass protests led by the Shia clergy. In 1921, seeking a strongman to replace the teetering Qajar dynasty, Britain backed charismatic colonel Reza Khan who anointed himself Reza Shah, instituted the Pahlavi monarchy, and ushered in a reign of repressive modernisation. His son, the last Shah of Iran, who took over during the Second World War (the Allies suspecting his father of being too cosy with the Nazis) was even more repressive.
Forced to flee after a backlash by the Iranian people against the monarchy and the profiteering of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later BP), he was restored to power in a coup organised by MI6 and the CIA. So ingrained is Iranian distrust of Britain, however, that when finally deposed in 1979, the Shah told the US ambassador that he "detected the hand of the English" behind the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini. It certainly wouldn't surprise me.
Well, Britain, "little Satan", hold a special place in Iranian Demonology. It's the "hidden Hand" Iranian public opinion blames for everything from bombs exploding in the Arab south to rising prices and a struggling economy. Hostility to all things British runs deep in the national psyche: for many, Britain - far more than the US - is the real enemy.
This distrust all started in the 19th century when Iran became a pawn in the Great Game between Britain and Tsarist Russia. Iran's rulers were pressed to grant economic monopolies (notably oil) to British entrepreneurs, sparking mass protests led by the Shia clergy. In 1921, seeking a strongman to replace the teetering Qajar dynasty, Britain backed charismatic colonel Reza Khan who anointed himself Reza Shah, instituted the Pahlavi monarchy, and ushered in a reign of repressive modernisation. His son, the last Shah of Iran, who took over during the Second World War (the Allies suspecting his father of being too cosy with the Nazis) was even more repressive.
Forced to flee after a backlash by the Iranian people against the monarchy and the profiteering of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later BP), he was restored to power in a coup organised by MI6 and the CIA. So ingrained is Iranian distrust of Britain, however, that when finally deposed in 1979, the Shah told the US ambassador that he "detected the hand of the English" behind the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini. It certainly wouldn't surprise me.