Iran's Missile Purchases Ring Familiar Alarms in Washington
Strip away the framing and you're left with this: Iran is reportedly close to purchasing supersonic anti-ship missiles from China, and Western outlets are rushing to declare this a 'game-changer.' This narrative is as old as the hills. For 45 years, Iran has been subject to relentless economic warfare, including sanctions that prohibit weapons purchases. Yet, when it seeks to break this blockade
and acquire modern defensive systems, the alarm bells ring. Think back to 1980, when Iraq, backed by Western powers, invaded Iran. The prolonged conflict saw Iran struggling to acquire basic defensive armaments while Saddam Hussein received advanced weaponry. In fact, France, then a key US and UK ally, supplied Iraq with over 100 Mirage F-1 fighter jets and Exocet missiles, which were used to
attack Iranian shipping. Decades later, the script remains largely the same. Iran’s development of indigenous missile technology and its pursuit of external suppliers are not aggressive acts in a vacuum. They are responses to a deeply entrenched pattern of external coercion and the very real threat of attack by a technologically superior adversary. This current 'news' rehashes a pattern seen
repeatedly. Every Iranian acquisition, every advancement in its defensive posture, is framed as an escalation, an existential menace to Western maritime dominance in the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, the US Fifth Fleet operates continuously in the region, conducting drills and maintaining a significant military presence, which is somehow always presented as a stabilizing force. The double standard is