Three decades after visit, Prince Charles sees a very different Iran

Iran went from a well-respected country to the pits of hell because of the Mullahs. I hope this year is the year they get rid of the scum of the earth without outside intervention.

http://www.nj.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0686_BC_Iran-ThenandNow

THEN: Prince Philip, the father of Prince Charles, and Princess Anne attended $500 million celebrations marking 2,500 years of the monarchy in Iran, amid the ruins of the ancient capital, Persepolis. The guests, a who's who of world leaders, wined and dined on peacocks, truffles, 2,000 pounds of caviar, and vintage champagne. More than 180 chefs and helpers were flown in from Maxim of Paris. Philip was given two thoroughbred stallions.

NOW: Prince Charles meets in Tehran with President Mohammad Khatami for an hourlong discussion. Later, he visits the ruins of a devastating earthquake in the city of Bam and is offered dates by survivors.

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THEN: Iran was at the height of its military and economic power. Though a top oil producer, many lived in poverty.

NOW: During its 1980-88 war with Iraq, Iran launched an arms development program to compensate for a U.S. weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter plane. Last year Iran introduced the Shahab-3 missile, with a range of about 800 miles.

Although Iran is the second-biggest oil producer after Saudi Arabia in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, revenues aren't what they were in 1971. Many Iranians have to hold two or three jobs to make ends meet.

Iran's population has more than doubled, to 66.5 million.

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THEN: Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was pro-Western and close to the United States. Three years earlier, he had crowned himself and taken the title of "King of Kings, Light of the Aryans."

NOW: The shah was toppled by the 1979 Islamic revolution led by anti-American clerics. The hard-liners promised democracy but rule with an iron hand. Reformers, who hold the presidency and parliament, have their hands tied by a system that requires final approval from the hard-line system. Government corruption is rampant.

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THEN: Miniskirts were the rage among women and sexy cinema posters were ubiquitous in Tehran, although many considered them offensive. Alcohol was available.

NOW: Women must cover themselves from head to foot in public to abide by an Islamic dress code. No racy advertisements. Islamic laws prohibit alcohol consumption, and none is available for purchase. Homemade booze, or smuggled alcohol, is secretly delivered to homes by bootleggers.

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THEN: In the streets of Tehran, the Peykan, an Iranian-assembled car modeled after the British Hillman Hunter, was king of the roads.

NOW: The streets of Tehran are still clogged with Peykans, but most are dented and barely running.

to those who think the right wing extremists should be in charge in this country.

"...Islamic revolution led by anti-American clerics. The hard-liners promised democracy but rule with an iron hand."

That sounds sorta like what is being 'promised' in Iraq. We need to make sure that doesn't happen.

Its too bad what the people in Iran have had to put up with for all these years. Hope the reformers can somehow take-over. Its seems like we should be doing something to help. The Islamists are a disaster anywhere they rule. They're incredibly repressive and irrational.

that can ultimately affect all of us. And yes fundamentalism of any kind always plays into the agenda to control and dominate.

We have oppressed those countries, and in response to this exploitation and domination, and from a place of their own stress, fear and oppression, they in turn seek to control and oppress, most often the women, who often find outlets perhaps on being much stricter than usual on their own children and the cycle erodes the healthy patterns due to the oppression and exploitation from the top.