If Tehran were to accept President Obama’s offer to “unclench its fist” and shake Washington’s hand, what then? America is still apologizing for its role in the coup of 1953, as if it were a finite matter spanning over a few hours or days. In truth, the more lasting and serious grievance of Iranians has always been about the greater problem of which the coup was only a symptom: The U.S.’s lack of regard for their suffering under the Shah.
Is Washington also prepared to renew apologies and self-flagellate in, say, 2020, for its disregard of the people’s suffering today by shaking the very hand of the apartheid rulers that is dripping with the blood of Iran’s children?
