“Suppose there’s someone who’s been bitten by
A poisonous snake, and he’s about to die:
What do you say, my lord, should happen to
A man who has the antidote but who
Insists on hoarding it, and will not give
The bitten man the means to help him live?”
(Shahnameh, Mazdak Story)
Such is the case with Russia who is holding out on a 2007 contract to sell Iran S-300, an advanced air defense system, worth $800 million dollars, using this as a playing card with the West for its own gain. And such is the case when a country is dependent on a superpower for help and protection. In the following, I hope to analyze two independent but inner-related narratives, when connected, will demonstrate how and why we have reached this point. The hand that fed us the poison is also holding the antidote.
The key word is
* A History Of Iran, Empire of The Mind, Michael Axworthy, Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810, pp. 192, 198, 203, 209, 210, 227, 237.
