The mutual resentments that have fueled tensions between the US and Iran have simmered for nearly half a century
For millions of younger Americans, the sudden explosion of Iran onto the national political stage and consciousness may seem like a bolt from the blue.
Yet for older generations and those with deeper historical awareness, Donald Trump’s announcement on Saturday of strikes against a distant foe is more like the outcome of a collision long foretold.
The military operation’s code name, Epic Fury, provides a clue. The underlying mutual resentments that have fueled tensions between the United States and Iran are indeed epic and have simmered dangerously for nearly half a century before, finally, boiling over into open warfare.
Iran has occupied a place deep in the American national psyche since the Islamic revolution of 1979, one of the most momentous events of the 20th century; the revolution toppled the pro-western monarchy of the reining shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and provided the inspiration for the spread of radical political Islamism with which later generations would become familiar through acts of terrorism.
