Why Iran and much of the Arab world view the US and the West as they do

In 2026 the Trump administration probably is unaware or ignores this history and why it very likely affects the Iranian actions we have been dealing with for decades and why Mr. Trump’s efforts at war and negotiations are failing. He is too arrogant for strategic thinking or rational negotiations which is why he began the war.

All this history is significant because abused people, families, generations have long memories especially when it comes to grievances and personal tragedy.

I spoke with a Palestinian woman in Israel a few years ago and tears came to her eyes as she pointed to a house and described how her mother and father had been thrown out of their home by Israelis.

The First Crusade — 1096–1099

The First Crusade began after Pope Urban II called for a military expedition in 1095. Crusader armies departed in 1096 and captured Jerusalem on July 15, 1099.

Israel — 1948

Modern Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948, as the British Mandate for Palestine was ending. [British administrative control over the territory of Palestine, formally established after World War I and lasting from 1923 until 1948.]

The United Nations had voted for partition of the territory into Jewish and Arab states on November 29, 1947. 

The displacement of Palestinians began before Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948.

Fighting between Jewish and Arab forces began after the UN partition vote of November 29, 1947. By May 1948, substantial numbers of Palestinians had already left their homes.

Then, after Israel declared independence, neighboring Arab states entered the war, and the displacement continued.

U.S. interference in Iran — 1953

The most important instance was the 1953 Iranian coup.

Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh had nationalized Iran’s oil industry and was in conflict with Britain and the Shah. The CIA, working with British intelligence, conducted Operation Ajax, helped organize political opposition, propaganda, demonstrations and other covert activities aimed at removing Mosaddegh.

Declassified U.S. government documents explicitly describe the objective as bringing about the fall of Mosaddegh’s government and replacing it with a pro-Western government under the Shah. The coup succeeded on August 19, 1953. 

This episode is particularly significant because it contributed to the long-term hostility between Iran and the United States and is an important part of the historical background to the 1979 Iranian Revolution and U.S.-Iran confrontation.

And so it continues…