Iran's strategic culture is profoundly shaped by its 500-year history of civilizational survival, a perspective Washington often overlooks by focusing solely on 1979. Its geographically fortified plateau absorbed approximately seventeen invasions between the 7th century and 1906. The Safavid dynasty, beginning with Ismail I in 1501, established Twelver Shiism as a "defensive architecture" and "ideological moat" against Sunni rivals, a strategy informing Iran's "forward defense" doctrine (_defa-e moghaddam_) via groups like Hezbollah and Houthis.
A pivotal event was the August 1953 CIA and MI6-backed coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, who nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The CIA allocated $1 million, used Kermit Roosevelt Jr., and financed Ayatollah Abol-Qasem Kashani, resulting in Mossadegh's arrest and a new oil consortium favoring Western firms. This instilled Iran's conviction that Washington prioritizes its interests over agreements. The 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, where Iran suffered 7,000 deaths in Khorramshahr and faced $30-40 billion in Gulf Arab funding for Iraq, further cemented its military doctrine of endurance.
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