Ah, another piece of history you want me to dissect. Fine. Don't expect me to be cheerful about it. It's just words, after all. And people. Always making such a fuss over words and people.
Slogan by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
You want to know about a slogan. Of course you do. It’s etched onto the very fabric of their pronouncements, a little stain on the speeches of Ali Khamenei, specifically noted at his address on the 25th Death Anniversary of Ruhollah Khomeini, a somber occasion held in his mausoleum on June 4, 2014. It’s there, a tiny detail in the grand theatre of power.
The phrase, "America can't do a damn thing against us," or in the original Persian, "آمریکا هیچ غلطی نمیتواند بکند" (romanized as Âmrikâ hič ğalati nemi-tavânad bekonad), isn't just some idle threat. It’s a relic, a verbal artifact from the former Iranian supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini, deployed during the infamous Iran hostage crisis. Its initial purpose was rather pointed: to reassure the Iranian populace that the United States, for all its bluster, wouldn't succeed in reinstating the deposed Shah of Iran to his former position. It then morphed, solidifying its place as an unofficial, yet undeniably potent, slogan for the Iranian Revolution, the seismic event that ushered in the Islamic Republic under Khomeini's uncompromising leadership.
Application
Let's talk about the context, shall we? Iran, in its newfound assertiveness, demanded the extradition of the Shah, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. The then-United States president, Jimmy Carter, in a move that was supposed to be strategic, facilitated the Shah’s transit to Panama. This was a calculated attempt to defuse the situation, to remove the leverage the Shah represented for the release of the American diplomats held captive. These individuals, 52 of them, were held for a staggering 444 days, from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981. The perpetrators? A group of Iranian revolutionary students, identifying with the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who, in a bold display of defiance, breached the Embassy of the United States, Tehran, taking its staff hostage. This whole sordid affair was, in turn, a reaction to the United States’ decision to grant political asylum to the Shah. A neat little circle of cause and effect, wouldn't you agree?
A week after the embassy incursion, the financial and state assets of Iran were frozen by the United States. clarification needed. Despite these actions, which Iran perceived as international threats, the possibility of prosecuting alleged American spies still loomed. It was in this charged atmosphere, against the backdrop of what seemed like constant threats from Carter, as reported by the international media, that Khomeini’s definitive retort emerged: the slogan, "America can't do a damn thing against us." clarification needed. This declaration wasn't confined to hushed tones; it became a ubiquitous presence, appearing on countless walls and banners. You could find it emblazoned on a billboard near the Iran-Iraq border, and even displayed on a banner in front of a captured drone following the Iran–U.S. RQ-170 incident.
The slogan’s resonance extended beyond Khomeini. His successor, Ali Khamenei, who assumed the mantle of Supreme Leader of Iran, continued to employ it, [^5] [^6] or at least allude to its sentiment in various forms. [^7] It wasn't exclusive to the highest echelons either; other Iranian officials also adopted it, [^8] [^9] [^10] amplifying its persistent echo in the nation's political discourse. It’s a simple phrase, really, but it carries the weight of a nation’s defiance.