Iran is one of the most civilised countries I ever visited - Israel attacking the nation only helps keep Ayatollah Khamenei in power, PETER HITCHENS tells SARAH VINE in new Mail podcast
Hitchens' perspective stems from his travels to Iran almost two decades ago - a visit that, he reveals, profoundly changed how he sees the nation.
The best-selling author argued that large swathes of the Iranian population dislike the ruling Mullahs and suggested that if western nations stopped threatening the Islamic republic, its despotic rulers might be toppled in a coup.
Recent weeks have seen escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, with both countries exchanging aerial strikes and missile attacks - a dangerous escalation that has some observers fearing the region could be on the brink of all-out war.
'Iran is one of the most civilised countries I have ever visited,' Hitchens said.
'The resistance by many of its people to the regime's attempts to turn them into obedient slaves is very strong.
Recent weeks have seen escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, with both countries exchanging aerial strikes and missile attacks
'There's a great deal of confident, private discussion about the regime – which people refer to with contempt. It's much more like a southern European country than a Middle Eastern country in many ways.'
Hitchens went on to state that foreign meddling in Iran's affairs not only led to the rise of the Ayatollah but continues to strengthen his stranglehold on power.
He said: 'If we treated Iran more intelligently, it could be easily reeled into the civilised world.
'The Mullahs really like to be threatened; it strengthens their grip on power. If that threat was relaxed, then their power would shrivel away.
'Iran had a legitimate government in 1953, and do you know what happened to it? We overthrew it.
'Britain cooked up a putsch to overthrow Mohammed Mossadegh, the prime minister of Iran, over oil.'
Many historians argue that foreign resentment from the 1953 coup contributed to the Shah's overthrow in 1979 and Iran's subsequent transformation into a theocratic republic.
With Israel declaring on Thursday that Iran's leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, 'cannot continue to exist,' Hitchens expressed fear over what another potential forced regime change might to do the country.
US President Donald Trump was coy over whether America would join Israel in attacking Iran, telling reporters: ' I might do, I might not.'
'When the people overthrew the Shah, no one wanted the Ayatollah', Hitchens began.
'Revolutions, wars, once they start – they get out of control. There is grave danger in knocking this current lot out.
'What will replace them? Will it necessarily be better? Just look at the chaos in Libya. Or in Syria, where we spent years and years destroying a country, only to accept an Al Qaeda operative as the new head of government.
'Iran is not Mordor – full of orcs. It's a real country, full of real people with differing opinions. There's something approaching a civil society there.
'And when left to their own devices, the Iranians have elected people who are genuinely opposed to the Mullahs.'
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