Iran has a long history in regards to foreign influence and intervention, particularly in regards to the oil wealth of the country. As a result many Iranian’s have a pronounced fear of foreign manipulation, a sentiment which can be traced to the coup of Mossadegh in 1953. However, I cannot help but be appalled at how distorted this sentiment has become amongst many Iranian’s and American’s who claim to be anti-war or anti-imperialist.

All too often I have been confronted by misguided American’s who claim that my anti-regime activities will somehow legitimize a foreign invasion of Iran. Some even go so far as to claim that public hangings and amputations carried out by the regime are just part of “Iranian culture” and any criticism of them is somehow racist and will lead to a war with Iran. In actuality their position casts Iranians as inferior, as if somehow Iranians don’t have the same conception of torture or human rights that the Western world does.

Not only are the views of these America’s misguided and flawed, but it is quite ironic for them to claim that they are somehow enlightened and progressive, while attempting to instruct native Iranians on how to formulate a political stance in regards to their own country.

I have also encountered these arguments from Iranians as well, who claim that the regime is “better than a western puppet”, or that Ahmadinejad is somehow a champion of the third world, and other ridiculous arguments which legitimize the regime and its propaganda. The regime has very actively attempted to exploit anti-war sentiment following the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in order to prolong it’s own existence.

This policy was actively pursued by Ahmadinejad when he made very calculated inflammatory comments in regards to Israel and the United States in order to attempt to cast himself as somehow “anti-imperialist.” Yet in terms of actions Iran has done little for the people of the region that was not a purely political gesture, and has always pursued self interested policies of expansion and terror.  Pro-Iran lobby groups in the United States also took a page from this game plan as they have cloaked their lobbying activities in the guise of being “anti-war”, but only in rhetoric.

The reality is the regime has actively sold the wealth of Iran in order to maintain its own survival, and has continuously been backed by foreign entities keen on exploiting our natural resources. In order to defeat the myth of “anti-imperialism” pushed forward by misguided Americans and Iranians one need look only at the facts in regards to the most crucial resource in the world: Oil.

In the past weeks an adviser to Iran’s oil minister, Mehdi Hosseini, was quoted in the Financial Times article as saying the regime was ready to change its current system of oil contracts, which did not allow foreign companies to take equity stakes in Iranian projects. The new system is supposed to be a “win-win” type of contracts for, “ American or European” companies.

The Financial Times article was just one of  many articles from the past week in the international business press which demonstrate the very serious interest in the issue of Iranian oil, an interest which cares nothing for the lives of ordinary Iranians or the human rights situation in the country. The Economist, recently reported on the subject and discussed the appointment of Bijan Zanganeh, who “…hopes that offering juicy deals to Western oil firms will make them lobby their home governments to ease sanctions.”

This is the second term for Zanganeh; “who in his previous stint, in 1997-2005, ushered in what some Iranians remember as a golden age of oil investment.” Coincidentally this was the height of the regimes era of appeasement and wheeling and dealing with the West, a strategy which it appears set to repeat with Rouhani.

A BBC Persian report noted that “Certain media outlets even talked about offering certain projects to U.S. oil companies, a move that Tehran hopes will lead to improved relations with Washington.” In essence the regime is willing to sell the national resources of the country to America and other so called “imperialist powers” in order to ensure its own survival.  Surely these backroom deals are what my allegedly “anti war” friends in America are referring to when they say “give peace a chance.”

It no coincidence that the New York Times editorial board wrote a piece recently begging for no additional sanctions to be placed on Iran, and it’s not because they remember the spirit of Mossadegh and want to see Iran’s oil wealth return to its people.

In fact Iran has been engaging in a full scale offensive to attract oil companies to the country, and has enlisted their help as the most powerful lobby group in the entire world to help remove sanctions. “We’re willing to talk: Iran’s got tremendous potential,” a senior executive from a major US oil company who requested anonymity was quoted as saying in the Saudi Gazette. “Once sanctions are removed, we’d definitely be interested in investing, but the contract terms have got to be attractive.” Even if sanctions are not eased, Iran may seek to obtain waivers to circumvent sanctions and cater to foreign oil companies.

So where is the outrage by those who are against multinational oil conglomerates dictating foreign policy and interfering in politics? Where is the critique of the regime groveling at the feet of oil executives by auctioning off the assets of the Iranian people in order to survive? Is this any different than policies adopted by the Shah?

Many Iranian-Americans have shed crocodile tears over the suffering caused by sanctions on Iran, but the fact remains that sanctions have really hurt  the regime and oil companies, and as a result they are the ones calling for their removal. There is nothing more absurd and ironic to me than to listen to a self styled American “anti-imperialist” passionately advocate for a position shared by multinational oil companies.
The Iranian regime will continue to sell the nation’s oil wealth in order to finance the slaughter of the Syrian people, while perpetuating the fascist economic structure involving the IRGC and the corrupt clergy. It is truly disheartening to see Iranians and Americans knowingly or unknowingly defend the policies of the Islamic Republic without truly understanding just how far from Mossadegh they truly are.