Conspiracy theories, political culture, and politics
Harassment of improperly dressed women, public executions, and publicizing nuclear power projects have been cited as ways the government of President Ahmadinejad has tried to distract Iranians from the problems of poverty, unemployment, and gasoline shortages. It's a way of trying to hide the political weakness of the government.Now, there's a new distraction. A subversive plot by an old enemy. No, this time it's not the foreign devils from the USA. This time it's the sneaky devils from the UK. Is this an Iranian version of American anti-communism? Robert Tait, reporting for The Guardian (UK), seems to imply that the paranoia among conservatives in Tehran is like the paranoia preached by Joseph McCarthy in Washington, DC.
I'd be interested in learning the results of more investigation about the mysterious tunnel. I wonder if there's any chance we'll hear more?
Iran accuses Britain of digging tunnel to ferry spies into embassy
"Ascribing sinister motives to Britain has long been an integral part of Iranian culture and political life. But now pro-government hardliners have accused the country they label the 'old fox' of plumbing new depths of chicanery by digging a tunnel to ferry spies and prostitutes into its embassy in Tehran."Iranian authorities claim to have uncovered a long subterranean passage leading to the embassy compound, which occupies a large area in the centre of the Iranian capital. The tunnel was reportedly found by builders digging in a nearby alley...
"At a time of heightened paranoia over supposed western-backed plots to topple Iran's Islamic regime, conservative hawks have seized on the alleged discovery to stir up fears about Britain, whose meddling in Iranian affairs in the 19th and 20th centuries has left an enduring effect on the national psyche.
"Raja News, a fundamentalist website linked to the wife of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's official spokesman, claimed the tunnel had been used for trafficking prostitutes and spies. It quoted an unnamed security official who attributed the information to a former employee of the embassy...
"The claims play to deep-seated prejudices about Britain, which many Iranians believe continues to dominate their affairs by stealth...
"Iran is angry at Britain's leading role in attempting to block its nuclear programme through UN security council sanctions. Britain's ambassador to Tehran, Geoffrey Adams, told the semi-official Fars news agency last month that the west had lost Iran's confidence on the issue."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 9:13 AM
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