INSIGHT VORTEX

(image Courtesy: The New York Times through Google) Historical Perspective  To understand why America and Iran are at war today, we must go back more than 70 years. After World War II, the world was divided between two superpowers — the United States of America and the Soviet Union (USSR). Both countries competed for influence across the world, and the Middle East, sitting on top of the largest oil reserves on earth, became one of the most important battlegrounds of this rivalry. Iran, located between the Soviet Union to the north and the warm waters of the Persian Gulf to the south, was perfectly placed — both as a threat and as an opportunity. American leaders feared that if the Soviets gained control of Iran, they would gain direct access to the Gulf, control a major oil supplier, and be able to cut off energy to Western Europe. To prevent this, the United States moved decisively. In 1953, the CIA and British intelligence jointly organized a coup — called 'Operation Ajax' — ...