Iran 101: Into the mind of the enemy
“It all begins”, he
explains, “with the way you perceive the world.”
Eliyahu Yossian is a Jewish, Israeli expert on Iran. Unlike
self-styled experts trained in Western think tanks, Yossian was born and raised
in Iran, escaping the country to Israel as an adult. His expertise is a product
of cultural immersion and continued training with Israel’s elite intelligence
community – with one major difference between him and other experts: Yossian
thinks like an Iranian.
Since October 7th, I've been following Eliyahu Yossian,
attending one of his lectures and listening to others online. Initially
featured on TV news panels at the war's start, he's no longer invited by
mainstream (left-wing) stations. Yossian explains this shift, stating: “I
dismantle their mindset and that makes them uncomfortable. Particularly the
analysts and generals who have been presenting the same ideas to the public for
30 years. What are they supposed to do? Admit they were wrong? Regular people
are a different story. They want to understand. They are willing to think
differently.”
Yossian's focus is on Israel, yet his teachings, address the
global threat of Iran and hold relevance for people worldwide.
The
notion that "Everyone is the same. Deep down, and we all want the same
things" is a fundamental misconception.
Yossian starts his lecture by highlighting the ignorance
embedded in the first part of this idea. We are not all the same. Israeli
society which is mostly liberal, and secular (Western/global) is very different
from that of Iran. The simplicity of the examples he uses highlights how deeply
embedded these differences are.
Body language:
He began by asking volunteers to demonstrate how they count to five on
their fingers. Every person in the audience began with a fist and extended
their fingers as they counted, ending up with an open hand. Then he showed us
how he counts – beginning with an open hand and folding each finger to end up
with a closed hand.
Who among us has ever taken the time to think about the implications this or
any other culturally acquired gesture has on our mindset?
Speech patterns:
Next, he spoke about the difference in language patterns. In Hebrew, like
in English, the action appears at the beginning of the sentence and the rest is
detail: “I want to go to the store and get…” In Persian, the elaboration comes
first. One needs to focus and read through all the details to get to the
action. This small difference in syntax has huge significance when, for
example, preparing and agreeing on the details of a contract.
Conception of time and power:
“What is your favorite game?” Yossian asked the audience.
All the answers were sports, measured by predefined limits in either time or
points: soccer, tennis, basketball etc. He contrasted this with Iran's choice
of chess and checkers, games without time constraints, emphasizing the goal of
one side killing the other. In chess, the purpose of all the pieces is to
protect their king and you win by killing the opponent's king. The king is the
piece that moves the least. Yossian asks: “We’ve all seen world leaders fly to
different countries for summits. Have you ever seen Iran’s rulers fly? They
don’t. Everyone comes to them.”
While Westerners jump to action and want immediate results, the Iranian mindset
is focused on strategic planning and moving others to create the desired outcomes.
In other words, “Everyone is the same” is a misconception
based on a lack of knowledge about other cultures.
Next Yossian began to unravel the deeply ingrained Western assumption that all
people have the same basic aspiration to live in comfort, take care of their
family, and go about their business in peace. This assumption is an idea, not a
fact, veiled arrogance that erases the possibilities of different value
systems.
Yossian asks: “If I give 100 shekels to a capitalist and 100
shekels to a socialist will they use it the same way? The amount of money is
identical. What is the difference between the two? The worldview of the person
choosing how to use the money.
In other words: If we try to understand the enemy through our mindset, using
our value system we will fail. The only way to be able to understand and
correctly predict their actions is to respect them enough to learn their
culture, mindset, and value system and see the world through their eyes.
1.
You can’t buy what
the other party isn’t selling
Yossian asked how many people in the audience read the Hamas
Charter. Or the Fatah Charter. Or the Hezbollah Charter. These terrorist
organizations play major roles in our lives (or lack thereof) and yet few
people have read their Charters, their Mission Statement. If you will, their
user manuals.
Although there are differences in style between the Hamas
and Fatah charters, they spell out the same goal. According to Yossian the
Hezbollah charter is much more sophisticated in its presentation of ideas but
it too spells out the same goal - extermination of the Jewish State.
Yossian asks: “Do they say what they want? Did they write it
down? Do they act accordingly?”
I’m sure the same sick feeling of realization rose in the
pit of every audience member that did in mine.
“So why,” he asks, “do we keep suggesting they want things
other than what they say?”
Their mission statement doesn’t say that they want jobs, a
better economy, or comfortable living. They certainly don’t say they want to
live side by side with Jews. Why do “experts” keep assuming that offering jobs
or economic incentives will change the way the believers in these charters
behave? We keep trying to buy peace (or at least quiet, temporary pauses in
conflict) but they aren’t selling peace or even quiet.
You can’t buy something that the other party isn’t selling.
Yossian explains: “The liberal secularist believes in
individualism, seeks individual comfort, and believes that everyone else wants
the same. No amount of money will buy away someone’s ideology. The Middle East
is fueled by ideology based on theology. Here actions are dictated by God.”
In other words, when your actions are fueled by the belief
that God demands that you kill Jews or at least support the killing of Jews, no
amount of individual comfort or easy living will change the motivation to kill
Jews.
Aryans, not Arabs
Iran, explains Yossian, literally means “the place where
Aryans live”. Although Islamized, Iranians see themselves as Aryans, not Arabs,
originating from the same tribe that split off centuries ago and eventually
became the inspiration of the Nazis. This was not the first time I’d heard that
there is a connection between Iran and Aryans but I had not heard it explained
the way Yossian did. It seems that the historic connection is debatable but
there is no doubt that the Aryan concept is deeply embedded in Iranian culture.
Yossian presented numerous examples of this: poetry that describes Iranians as
fair-skinned, with blue eyes and blond hair, and popular songs from before and
after the Islamic revolution that praise and elaborate the importance of
keeping their blood pure.
Listening to an American-sounding rap song, it would be easy
to assume the music to be a sign of modernization and aspiring to be part of
the Western world. The lyrics were a slap in the face. The song was an
Aryan-supremacist declaration of hate against Afghan migrants in Iran, that
they must be dominated, pushed out and most of all that Aryan blood must not be
mingled with their inferior dirty blood.
Mudbloods.
The examples Yossian brought were the songs Iranian university
students listen to in their nightclubs. Nightclubs seem very Western. Going to
university seems very modern and familiar. The content is utterly foreign.
Yossian explains that the Aryan worldview dictates Iranian
foreign policy. Other analysts explain Iranian relations with their proxies in
complex geopolitical terms. Yossian cuts to the core principle that dictates
decisions and actions: “For Iranians, Arabs are like a disposable cup. You
drink from it and when you are done, you throw it away. You will never see an
Iranian blow himself up on a bus. They have Arabs for that kind of dirty work.”
Allies and proxies
The Abraham Accords created an alliance of, what Yossian calls,
“Semites against the Aryans”. Arab countries that don’t border Israel and don’t
hold mission statements declaring they must exterminate the Jewish State could
choose to ally themselves with Israel – not for love of Zion but for the fear
of Iran.
Over many years, Iran has spread proxy tentacles across the
Middle East, basically taking over a country every seven years. These are not
allies because they are not seen as equal but rather tools to be used for
Iranian interests. Yossian explains that Iran leverages ideology and historic feelings
of being underprivileged and dishonored to motivate its proxies. Iran also
invests enormous amounts in their education and training, playing the long game
to grow local believers in their cause.
Various analysts have put forward different explanations for
the October 7th massacre. Obviously, the potential normalization of
relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia would ruin Iran’s long-term plan to
dominate the Middle East. But why did Hamas attack alone when there could have
been a much more devastating scenario of a coordinated simultaneous attack on
all fronts – from Hezbollah in the north, the Houthis from Yemen, Arabs from
the PA-controlled territories, and Israeli Arabs? These analysts say that Hamas
chose that specific Saturday because the Nova festival was an easy, tempting
target. Supposedly it was Hamas’s recklessness and desire for glory that led
them to attack Israel alone. Hezbollah adamantly declared that Hamas didn’t
warn them they were about to attack. Iran was supposedly very angry that Hamas
ruined their plan.
To me, something about their anger seemed contrived. But who
am I to say?
Hezbollah has been attacking Israel with missile and drone
attacks, creating enormous destruction but nothing near what will happen when
they fully join the war – something I have worried about since October 7th.
When I asked Yossian why Hezbollah hadn’t joined the war more fully he said:
“Shia doesn’t fight for Sunna.” Hezbollah has loyalty to Shia Iran, not to
Sunni Hamas thus they can allow Hamas to do the fighting while symbolically
showing their participation in the mutual goal of killing Jews. When I asked
Yossian what will make Hezbollah go to all-out war he said: “When Israel
attacks them.”
Peace is not for sale in the Middle East. What do we do?
Common sense isn’t very common these days but Yossian’s
logic is straightforward:
1.
We must understand that we
are in the Middle East and learn to “speak the language”, i.e. deal with our
enemies in terms that are meaningful to them (which might differ greatly from
what is meaningful to us).
2.
Then we must stop looking
for easy and fast solutions. There are none.
3.
Then we must strive for
victory
We of the liberal-secular West idealize peace. The
nationalist believers of the Middle East idealize victory. But even that is a
term that has become ambiguous to Westerners. What does victory look like?
It’s not about shaking hands and making up. There is no
pluralism in victory. Victory is when your enemy is so thoroughly crushed that
they beg you for peace. Thoroughly crushed means you have taken away everything
that the enemy cares about and are unquestionably the master of their future.
The only way the enemy will ever give us peace is if we are
victors.
This concept is problematic for the liberal secular
post-modern Westerner. It sounds extremist. Violent. Non-inclusive.
Nationalist. And, in a way, that is correct. If my enemy believes that God told
him to kill me and multiculturalism forces me to embrace his beliefs there is
no way for me to defend my life, family, or nation. I prefer survival over
multiculturalism. I choose my culture. My nation. My family.
A strong identity and belief in the righteousness of a cause
carries nations through generations. Striving for personal comfort does not.
The Jewish People survived for centuries not looking for comfort but by having
a strong identity and believing in the righteousness of our cause: “Next year
we will be in Jerusalem, rebuilt.” Jerusalem is irreplaceable. If we were
looking for comfort, we could be next year in Berlin or California. The goal of
rebuilding what is ours is transferred from one generation to the next –
identity and connection to our ancestral homeland. This simple but powerful
mantra holds the Middle Eastern map to victory – patience. If we don’t succeed
this year, we will do it the next. Or in the next generation. Every opportunity
we must do what we can.
This, says Yossian, is the answer. Teaching a strong
identity, righteousness in our cause, and whenever possible, building. Where
there is Jewish life, the enemy must retreat. Where there is Jewish life, we
win.
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