AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Mo Hongyan, a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University and an expert on Iranian affairs, spoke about the situation of the Islamic Republic after the third imposed war, stating, "Iran, with its ancient and long-standing civilization, relying on its brilliant indigenous assets, has made great progress in scientific, industrial, and military fields. Based on this element of self-belief, it possesses very high national self-confidence on the global stage."
Iran's Revolution Is Rooted in Its Nationalism
The Chinese scholar, who has conducted decades of research on the Persian language and Iranian culture, added, "In Iran's geography, concepts such as self-reliance and self-esteem, which originate to some extent from the religious roots of its people, have a different definition than in other regions. During the Pahlavi era, Iran had a pro-American government and, therefore, had very good interaction with Israel. But reaching the current situation and the hostility between these countries goes back to the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The nature of this revolution is largely related to the very strong self-esteem of the people of this land."
She continued, "During the Pahlavi era, although the economy was growing rapidly and people of that time often spoke of Westernization and the manifestations of modernity in Iran, on the other hand, the Shah was practically a puppet for the United States. Therefore, opposition to the Shah was not only from the religious class, but various social strata in Iran rose up against the Pahlavi regime and revolted to overthrow it in the form of a religious revolution. I repeat, this issue is related to the matter of national self-esteem."
Mo Hongyan stated, "Iran is a major regional power whose territory, throughout history, has twice extended to an area as vast as three continents: Asia, Europe, and Africa. This matter and the undeniable dominance of this country in West Asia have become a source of pride and national self-confidence for Iranians. On the other hand, in the contemporary era, the entire Arab region became colonies of England and France, and South Asia was also a colony of England, while Iran, despite extensive attacks from various areas and Western conspiracies and the machinations of some stooges, never became anyone's colony."
"This is one of the important sources of national self-esteem that does not allow any foreign force to interfere in its internal affairs or give orders. Therefore, the Shah, who was fully pro-American, was never popular among the majority of such a nation. The Iranian people felt they lacked the right to independence and autonomy, which is why all classes of people rose up against the Pahlavi regime. Of course, the Pahlavi regime was also repressive and corrupt, but in my opinion, the main reason for its downfall was that Iran's national self-esteem did not allow foreign forces to interfere in the country's affairs."
This academic figure in China said, "After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the new government adopted an anti-American policy, and this anti-American sentiment reached its peak due to the United States' collusion and scheming against the legitimate interests and rights of the Islamic Republic. Especially in November 1979, when Iranian students, aware of the U.S. embassy's activities in covertly gathering information in Iran, seized it. This event froze Iran-U.S. relations."
She continued, "During the Pahlavi era, Iran-Israel relations not only had no conflict but were established within the framework of common interests, especially in military, intelligence, and even energy fields. In July 1980, the Israeli government passed a law declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This law faced severe condemnation from the international community, but Israel continued on its path. We must know that Jerusalem is a holy city for the followers of the three monotheistic religions and is also the third holiest city in Islam. Exactly one year after the Iranian Revolution, Israel, aware of this status of Jerusalem, made this decision. Adopting this policy seemed to be a very great provocation against the fledgling government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In fact, Iran during the Pahlavi monarchy had not participated in the previous wars of the Middle East, but after establishing its new government in 1979, when the occupying Zionist regime intended to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, at a time when the entire Arab world, or in other words, the Sunni-majority countries, had abandoned their resistance against Israel, Iran once again showed manifestations of its religious self-confidence and stood against this ideological threat. Although Iran's Shia faith is the minority of Muslims, when it saw that the entire Arab world had abandoned resistance against Israel, it shouldered the banner of opposition to the Jewish people and, despite high costs, formed its anti-Israeli foreign policy to protect the interests of the Islamic Ummah."
Iran's Nuclear Issue Is a Geographical Necessity
Referring to Iran's nuclear issue, Mo Hongyan said, "Iran, considering its civilizational aspect on the international stage, has never had large rivers in its homeland. In the current situation, its largest river is the Karun, which is not really a large river, and its water volume, from our perspective, is very small. Therefore, Iran cannot use hydroelectric energy. On the other hand, the Iranian plateau is hot and dry and does not have usable wind energy for electricity generation. Therefore, the peaceful use of nuclear energy is an important foundation for the country of Iran and the life of its people. For this reason, Iran strongly emphasizes the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, because it has acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."
She added, "Religiously, Iranians do not accept nuclear weapons and believe that striving to acquire nuclear weapons, or current weapons of mass destruction, is forbidden (haram). According to the statement of Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, consistent with the fatwa of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Republic has never sought and does not seek to produce nuclear weapons. This is a very simple issue for Iran, meaning it does not need to prove again and again that it lacks nuclear weapons. But for some countries, especially Israel, citing this same policy, or better to say using this as a pretext, they have defined conditions for sanctions, threats, and recently an attack against the Iranian nation and even Iran's welfare infrastructure. Why? Because the Iranian government is anti-Israel. They are very afraid that Iran might have nuclear weapons capable of destroying Israel, or that its ballistic missiles might reach Israel. The war that began on February 28 has precisely the goal of overthrowing the current Iranian government, of course with the pretext that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and has reached the threshold of building them, and that if not attacked in time, this weapon will be built. These positions are taken and implemented at a time when the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency has openly stated that there is no definite evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons!"
The professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University noted that over a hundred historical sites were damaged in Iran following the third imposed war, and some national monuments were completely destroyed. She said, "I have probably been to Golestan Palace five times, and based on my observations, I must say that this palace carries an important part of Iran's post-Islamic culture. On that day, I was very busy and did not watch the news. When I heard in the evening, I thought it had been bombed; I was very shocked and couldn't believe it. I said it's impossible. Then I saw some photos; the bomb hit around the palace, and the inside was also very damaged. The stained glass windows of this magnificent building were shattered, and pieces of valuable identity artifacts of the people of this land were scattered on the ground. Watching this scene was truly painful. Truly painful! These are the shared cultural heritage of humanity."
Iran Is the Everlasting Victor of Great Wars
Referring to Iran's 7,000-year civilization in shaping the present character of its people, Mo Hongyan stated, "If you do not know the history and culture of Iran, you cannot understand why its nation is so resistant to global powers. First of all, one must explore pre-Islamic history. That is where all of Iran was directly in conflict with Europe and fought against the Roman Empire. After the division of the Roman Empire, it faced the Eastern Roman Empire. Throughout Iranian history, in great wars and conflicts with the Roman Empire, it can be said that Iran was always victorious and never defeated. It may have been defeated in small and local wars, but not in great wars. For example, in the Battle of Carrhae (53 BCE), one of Rome's three great men, Crassus, attacked the Parthian Empire of Iran with his army, but Iran, with fewer forces, was victorious, and the entire Roman legion under Crassus's command was destroyed, and Crassus and his son were killed. Then Antony, the famous young commander of the Roman Empire, again attacked the Parthian Empire of Iran and was again severely defeated. These two wars were very massive, and Rome gained no benefit."
She continued, "After the division of Rome, Iran directly faced the Eastern Roman Empire. At that time, Iran was ruled by the Sassanid dynasty, and in the confrontation between these two empires, great wars occurred, in all of which the Sassanids defeated the Eastern Romans. Also, in the Battle of Edessa in 260 CE, Sassanid King Shapur I led his army and captured the Roman Emperor Valerian. The entire Roman legion was captured and employed as workers in Iran. A bas-relief at Naqsh-e Rostam in Iran depicts the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before the horse of Sassanid King Shapur I. This bas-relief is the pride of the Iranian people, and recently, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi posted it on his personal social media account, writing, 'A country with only 250 years of history has the delusion of wanting to destroy a country with three thousand years of history.' This is the source of Iran's national confidence in the face of intense Western pressure, because we know that Europe and America are the direct heirs of the Roman Empire. Therefore, in confronting the West and America, Iran is full of national confidence. This is part of pre-Islamic history."
The prominent university professor from Beijing noted, "After the advent of Islam in 651 CE, the Sassanid dynasty was defeated by the Arab army, and Iran fell under foreign rule, first the Arabs, then the Seljuks, Mongols, and Timurids. From 651 CE, when the Arabs conquered Iran, to 1501 CE, when the Safavid dynasty established a great unified government, took 850 years. I always tell my students, think about it: which country or nation in the world can endure all kinds of rain and storms for 850 years and not wither? This shows its national resilience."
She added, "During these eight centuries, Iranians established several unsuccessful small local governments, but they did not despair. With their cultural resilience, they maintained the continuous line of their history and identity. On the other hand, with their culture, they also attracted the conquerors, as Marx said: 'Conquerors of a lower culture are often conquered by the conquered nations of a higher culture.' This part of Iran's history shows the resilience and strong will of Iranians. Therefore, I say the Iranian nation is full of national confidence, national self-esteem, national pride, and is also a very resilient and steadfast nation."
In conclusion, Mo Hongyan, recalling a conversation whose video was uploaded by Xinhua News Agency, said, "I want to mention another strange aspect of the Iranian people. They very much value enjoying life; that is, they truly enjoy life. Once, I was traveling with an Iranian family by car from Tehran to Tabriz. On this journey, in my mind, I wanted to quickly reach a scenic spot, but after one or two hours of driving, they would look for a tree, lay out a blanket in its shade, and eat the tea, bread, and various foods they had brought. They were very calm and unhurried, experiencing the beauty and pleasure of life peacefully and in an immersed manner. It was the same at tourist spots. I wanted to see everything quickly, but after seeing one place, they would find the shade of a tree, sit down, drink tea, eat some food, and rest. This was very impactful for me, who is captivated by the issue of speed."
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