TEHRAN- Not only has Iran become enemy number one in the United States but Americans with Iranian roots are perceived as terrorists, anti-Americans and have become targets of hate and discrimination. So much so that many even deny their Iranian heritage.

This is not by accident, but by careful Israeli design, with Saudi Arabia a junior partner in the quest to shape America’s foreign policy interests in favor of Israel’s agenda and in the process lining the pockets and coffers of corrupt American politicians. Sadly, such tactics will in time, when fully played out and exposed, turn more and more of the world against the United States and Americans against Israel and its Jewish sympathizers, further fueling anti-Semitism and cementing divisions across the Middle East.

At the outset, let me be clear. The regime in Tehran is not a collection of boy scouts, as are not the regimes almost anywhere in the world, especially in Israel, Russia and the United States. Yes, Iran has made serious mistakes in its dealing with the United States, but the U.S. has hit back with more than it has received and relations have so deteriorated that I believe they are irreparable for the foreseeable future. Both sides need to erase the past and make a “Grand Bargain.” Let me provide an abridged version of how we got here, the key stumbling blocks, what the future holds and how we could avoid the worst for us and for others around the world.

Iran’s reconciliation with the United States is a hostage to Israel.

Iran’s cardinal sin goes all the way back to the early days of its Revolution in 1979 when Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy and took 52 hostages after the Shah was given a visa to enter the United States for medical treatment. The Iranian government then endorsed the hostage taking and as a result became a party to this tragic act—Iran’s original sin. The U.S. froze Iran’s external financial assets, something that could be clearly justified. The U.S. media played up this hostage taking on the nightly news for 444 days, sowing the seeds of hatred toward Iran. The U.S. then stood by and did nothing, maybe even secretly encouraged Saddam Hussein’s unprovoked invasion of Iran; and then along with its European allies supplied Iraq with internationally outlawed chemical weapons that killed and maimed Iranians on and off the battlefield during the eight-year war. Iran was isolated and Iranians suffered, with hundreds of thousands casualties and a destroyed economy. In the years after the war, U.S. sanctions were piled on, most dramatically under President Clinton, especially banning major investment in Iran and its exports of oil, supported with secondary sanctions on any country that defied U.S. sanctions. Iran suffered under sanctions, but also in part because of its own economic mismanagement under the weight of corruption. Then after 9/11, also acting in its own self-interest, Iran supported the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan with its Afghani ally, Ahmad Shah Massoud and the Northern Alliance, and did its best to improve relations with the U.S. While there was a short respite, matters deteriorated when it was alleged that Iran was enriching uranium. So more sanctions were piled on. But then with the U.S. war in Iraq, shocked by the rapidity of Washington’s success, Iran tried to cozy up to the U.S. in its fight against ISIS, but later its interests clashed with the United States and it supported its Shia allies. The U.S. shot down an Iranian airliner under circumstances that were murky. Relations again deteriorated. More sanctions, especially harsh financial sanctions, were imposed, crippling the Iranian economy at the tail end of the Bush presidency and the early days of Obama’s term in office. 

All along, the pro-Israeli U.S. media played up a one-sided account of Iranian transgressions and made reconciliation ever more difficult.

Biden is unlikely to revive the JCPOA with Iran because Israel is against it.Sadly there were terrorist attacks around the world, with a few attributed to Iran, harming Iran’s international relations. All the while the worst terrorist attack anywhere occurred on U.S. soil, namely 9/11, but Saudi Arabia was spared much criticism and was not sanctioned by the United States. Yes, Iran is different. It is naked. It has no corporate backers with heavy business interests in Iran and no lobbyists and political supporters in the United States. Then came the Iran nuclear agreement (JCPOA). President Obama resisted Israeli and Arab lobbyists and signed the agreement with the goal of delaying Iran’s nuclear program, especially to prevent refining uranium to weapon grade and building nuclear warheads. Iran upheld its side of the agreement, but President Trump withdrew the United States and the agreement collapsed a few months later. President Trump added insult to injury by ordering the assassination of Iran’s top general, Soleimani. Iran avowed a commensurate response. Then President Biden campaigned on restoring the JCPOA, something that has been stalled because of U.S. political considerations. Biden is stalling because Israel objects to rejoining the agreement. Israeli and Arab backers in Congress, Republicans as well as Democrats, object to moving forward as it would be a touchy subject before the mid-term elections in November. Yes, Iran has become a toxic topic in American politics. Bash everything Iranian and withhold the hand of reconciliation. It would not be an exaggeration to say that America’s regional policy in the Middle East is not American but Israeli-American! 

Why? How has this come about? The Jewish lobby in the United States has vilified anything and everything Iranian. Why? Israel claims that Iran is an existential threat. Although Israel’s military equipment is supplied by the United States—top-of-the-line jet fighters, one of the best air defense systems in the world, an arsenal of over 250 nuclear warheads and U.S. commitments to come to its defense—and it still fears Iran? This is not believable. Moreover, given America’s blind support for Israel, Israel does whatever it wishes, knowing that America will always back it up. It is so bizarre that about a decade ago I stated that Iran’s reconciliation with the United States is a hostage to Israel. Clearly some Arab governments have recently seen the light and developed diplomatic relations with Israel although Israel continues to illegally occupy Palestinian lands, treats Palestinians as second-class citizens in ways that are a blight on Israel and all Jews who suffered in the Holocaust. 

Israel has damaged America’s reputation worldwide. America is not only alienating hundreds of millions of Arabs, but also close to two billion Muslims around the world. Not only has Israel mistreated Palestinians in ways that are akin to apartheid, but the fear of the Jewish lobby has pushed American presidents to use the veto at the UN Security Council more to support Israel’s illegal occupation and mistreatment of Palestinians than for any other cause. Israel will not agree to making the region a nuclear free zone, something that Arab countries and Iran have supported for years. Again, the U.S. supports this Israeli policy, a policy that could ignite a catastrophic war and result in widespread nuclear proliferation. We have given more aid to Israel than to any other country. But Israel is a country with a per capita GDP that exceeds that of France and all the while American children go hungry. Do we pamper and follow Israel’s dictates because Israel is such an indispensable ally and is always ready to support us? No! Israel would not co-sponsor the U.S. Resolution at the UN Security Council in 2022 in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine, but later relented at the General Assembly. Israel would not agree to supply Ukraine with much needed air defense systems. Why? Israel wants to preserve its relations with Russia. Israel clearly supports the U.S. when it is convenient. Today, President Biden is unlikely to revive the JCPOA with Iran because Israel is against it. And if Israel is against it, its supporters in the US will not support Biden’s party in elections.

While most, if not all, that I have said is well known, what is less appreciated is that such blind support for Israel not only tarnishes America’s standing on the world stage, but hurts Israel and Jews around the world. Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is condemned by much of the world. Simply look at the number of UN Security Council resolutions that the U.S. has vetoed. Consider America’s acquiescence to Israel’s settlement expansion, harassment of Palestinians and total embargo of Gaza. While America espouses noble values when it comes to human rights and international law, all is forgotten when it comes to Israel. The world sees this glaring duplicity every day and blames American Jews and not just the state of Israel.

While the Jewish lobby in the U.S. may have engineered over-the-top support for Israel, its most worrisome outcome and legacy may be to stoke the fire of anti-Semitism here at home and around the world. Jews have disproportionate representation with the U.S. Senate and House, Federal judges, CEOs, Wall Street, academia and other positions of power in the U.S., and sadly many use this power to stifle any discussion of U.S. support for Israel and to reward politicians who blindly support Israeli policies. Criticism of the Israeli-Jewish lobby and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians can have dire consequences for a young professor’s career on most campuses. As Americans observe the power of U.S. Jews and the harm they do to U.S. national interests, anti-Semitism grows, especially at a time of historic domestic upheaval, divisions and inequality in the United States. Concerned citizens could benefit by reading In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

Finally, what does all this say about future of Iran-U.S. relations, Israel’s outlook and Iran’s options? Today, Iran is Israel’s enemy number one. The Israeli-Jewish lobby will spare nothing to isolate Iran and to starve the country any way it can. Be it through U.S. sanctions, terrorism and alliances with terrorist organizations such as the MEK. This is becoming clearer to the regime in Tehran by the day. No matter what concessions they make to the U.S. and whatever agreement they reach, they will be torpedoed by Israel. The die has been cast. There can be no lasting and meaningful agreement between the U.S. and Iran unless America acts in its own self-interest and stops prioritizing Israeli interests. Iran has little choice but to abandon the NPT and to walk away from the JCPOA. It will become totally allied with China and Russia, forced to develop a few nuclear warheads, defying American and Israeli threats. There could be a terrible regional war with nuclear proliferation to follow. As for Israel, it is approaching an inflection point—will it be a liberal democracy or an autocratic Jewish state? 

The only ray of hope for Iran-U.S. relations would be the election of a powerful American president with strong backing in Congress who would support Israel but with “tough” love and engage Iran in a grand bargain—settling all points of contention and removing all sanctions. How likely is this? Is there green cheese on the moon?