Wolfgang Günter Lerch on Iran and the West

In the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Wolfgang Günter Lerch looks back on the 30-year history of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its relations with the West: "'Interference from abroad, a conspiracy by foreign powers' is the cheap explanation Iranian politicians give for their own failures whenever there are difficulties. … The regime needs this imaginary foe to justify itself. It is also an expression of a fear of isolation that has grown over the centuries and among other things is a result of the Shi'ites minority position within Islam. The EU should not take too much notice of this and crank up the pressure. Iran has long complained that it is not treated with respect or put on 'an equal footing'. But the West, and above all the Europeans, has tried many different approaches in the course of thirty years without ever getting through, and Europe too has its dignity. Considering the present situation a course of constant 'openness' won't get it any further."

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