Iran, between Misunderstanding and Power??
By La Rédaction · Port-au-Prince
· 3 min read · Updated 24 April 2026
Translated from French — AI-assisted and reviewed by the editorial team. The French version is authoritative. Read the original · About our translation policy
In recent days, the world has been marked by a latent conflict opposing the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United States, and Israel. This tension is rooted in a tumultuous past between these actors, fueled by decades of political, ideological, and strategic rivalries. It also points to the often-overlooked history of a country that has spanned millennia and has always established itself as a pioneer and a central player in its region, the Middle East.
The Medo-Persian civilization, of which the Islamic Republic of Iran is the heir, is more than two millennia old. From Cyrus the Great to Darius I, Persian civilization distinguished itself by its political, cultural, and administrative richness, making ancient Iran one of history's first great empires.
The Islamic Republic of Iran as we know it today is the product of the 1979 revolution, which overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. The latter exercised an authoritarian monarchical power, consolidated after the 1953 coup d'état against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, following the nationalization of the Iranian oil company, then controlled by foreign interests.
Iran was one of the first countries in this region of the world to adopt a Constitution and a Parliament with democratic aspirations, as early as 1906, under the Qajar dynasty.
Under the Shah's reign, the proportion of university students represented approximately 7% of the study-age population; today, this rate is around 27%, testifying to a massification of higher education. With an estimated population of nearly 92 million inhabitants — more than Germany — and an area exceeding one million square kilometers, Iran constitutes a major demographic and territorial power in the Middle East.
Despite more than forty years of international embargoes and sanctions, the country trains more engineers each year than many Western countries, illustrating its capacity for resilience, adaptation, and investment in human capital. Relations between the United States, Israel, and the Islamic Republic of Iran have not always been marked by hostility. Under the Shah's reign, Iran, on the contrary, maintained excellent relations with Washington and Tel Aviv, characterized by close cooperation on both military and economic fronts. This dynamic brutally reversed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, led by the Shiite clergy. The new Iranian regime then adopted an ideology openly hostile to the West, considering the United States as the « Grand Satan » and Israel as the « Little Satan », thus breaking with the pro-Western diplomatic orientation of imperial Iran. The United States, Israel, and the Islamic Republic of Iran have primarily clashed through indirect conflicts, conducted by proxy actors (proxy wars). Iran notably relies on Lebanese Hezbollah, on its strategic alliance with Syria under Bashar al-Assad, as well as on the Houthi rebels in Yemen, to extend its regional influence and contain its adversaries without direct confrontation. Furthermore, the Islamic Republic of Iran remains one of the world's largest producers of natural gas and oil, although its economy is severely affected by embargoes imposed for several decades. To circumvent these sanctions, Tehran has developed parallel mechanisms, including a « ghost fleet » intended to clandestinely export its hydrocarbons, while strengthening close economic and strategic cooperation with « the Middle Kingdom », China. The Islamic Republic of Iran is generally presented in Western media as an authoritarian country, where women who do not wear the veil are systematically subjected to violence by the morality police. While certain repressive realities exist and cannot be denied, this representation remains partial and often reductive. Iran is indeed one of the few countries in the region where women hold important positions in society, whether in Parliament, higher education, scientific research, or intellectual professions. Iranian women are particularly present in academic and scientific fields, which testifies to a high level of education and intellectual emancipation. Moreover, despite the limits imposed by the political system, Iran distinguishes itself in its regional environment by the existence of an ancient political and electoral culture, marked by public debates, regular elections, and significant popular participation — rare elements in the Middle East. Wilfrid Joseph
Under the Shah's reign, the proportion of university students represented approximately 7% of the study-age population; today, this rate is around 27%, testifying to a massification of higher education. With an estimated population of nearly 92 million inhabitants — more than Germany — and an area exceeding one million square kilometers, Iran constitutes a major demographic and territorial power in the Middle East.
Despite more than forty years of international embargoes and sanctions, the country trains more engineers each year than many Western countries, illustrating its capacity for resilience, adaptation, and investment in human capital. Relations between the United States, Israel, and the Islamic Republic of Iran have not always been marked by hostility. Under the Shah's reign, Iran, on the contrary, maintained excellent relations with Washington and Tel Aviv, characterized by close cooperation on both military and economic fronts. This dynamic brutally reversed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, led by the Shiite clergy. The new Iranian regime then adopted an ideology openly hostile to the West, considering the United States as the « Grand Satan » and Israel as the « Little Satan », thus breaking with the pro-Western diplomatic orientation of imperial Iran. The United States, Israel, and the Islamic Republic of Iran have primarily clashed through indirect conflicts, conducted by proxy actors (proxy wars). Iran notably relies on Lebanese Hezbollah, on its strategic alliance with Syria under Bashar al-Assad, as well as on the Houthi rebels in Yemen, to extend its regional influence and contain its adversaries without direct confrontation. Furthermore, the Islamic Republic of Iran remains one of the world's largest producers of natural gas and oil, although its economy is severely affected by embargoes imposed for several decades. To circumvent these sanctions, Tehran has developed parallel mechanisms, including a « ghost fleet » intended to clandestinely export its hydrocarbons, while strengthening close economic and strategic cooperation with « the Middle Kingdom », China. The Islamic Republic of Iran is generally presented in Western media as an authoritarian country, where women who do not wear the veil are systematically subjected to violence by the morality police. While certain repressive realities exist and cannot be denied, this representation remains partial and often reductive. Iran is indeed one of the few countries in the region where women hold important positions in society, whether in Parliament, higher education, scientific research, or intellectual professions. Iranian women are particularly present in academic and scientific fields, which testifies to a high level of education and intellectual emancipation. Moreover, despite the limits imposed by the political system, Iran distinguishes itself in its regional environment by the existence of an ancient political and electoral culture, marked by public debates, regular elections, and significant popular participation — rare elements in the Middle East. Wilfrid Joseph
