The Iranians have long-standing unfinished business with Britain. The British ambassador's residence, attacked by mobs on Tuesday, was the location of the historic 1943 meeting between Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt known as the Tehran Conference. The Iranians still remember the Aug. 25, 1941, British-Soviet invasion of their country. They remember how the British ousted Reza Shah Pahlavi, an acolyte of fascism and supporter of Hitler, to replace him with his son. They remember how the British and Soviets wrested control of their oil fields. All this explains the vehemence with which the president of the Iranian parliament on Wednesday decried British haughtiness. It also explains why the street where the British Embassy sits is named after Bobby Sands, a revered member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). On Nov. 21, Britain banned all financial transactions with the Iranian Central Bank. The U.S. and Canada also announced sanctions, but stopped short of completely severing financial ties. Britain's step was brave for two reasons. First, because the U.K. was the first European country to impose such harsh sanctions, and second, because British diplomats were the only ones exposed to a potential Iranian backlash. The U.S. does not have an embassy in Tehran while Canada maintains limited diplomatic representation in the Islamic Republic. British Prime Minister David Cameron said Iran faces "serious consequences" for failing to protect the British Embassy. Ever since the incriminating report of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the world has been anticipating an escalation between Iran and the West. Could this be it? The British Embassy attack was carried out with the ayatollahs' consent. Iran's ruling extremists actually want an escalation. For them, the bomb is an insurance policy. The fact that Moammar Gadhafi, who dismantled his nuclear program in 2003, was ousted from power this year constitutes proof that abolishing your nuclear program could culminate in the downfall of your regime. Britain's heavy sanctions will not stop the race toward a nuclear bomb. Tehran does not particularly believe anyone will attack it militarily, and therefore it does not believe in compromise. Tehran also believes its machine of repression can handle citizens who take to the streets to protest the sanctions' impact on their daily lives. Tehran does believe there is covert war underway against its nuclear program (that includes assassinations of scientists, bizarre computer viruses and mysterious explosions) and that the U.S., Israel and Britain are involved. If, in fact, there was an explosion at the Iranian nuclear facility in Isfahan this week, the Iranians would be convinced Britain had a hand in it.
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