Is that the measure of religious freedom, i.e., more tolerant than Saudi Arabia? LOL. You need to get better informed about that wonderful place called Iran:
Iran Human Rights Report for 2014
The most significant human rights problems were severe restrictions on civil liberties, including the freedoms of assembly, speech, religion, and press; limitations on the citizens’ ability to change the government peacefully through free and fair elections ; and disregard for the physical integrity of persons, whom authorities arbitrarily and unlawfully detained, tortured, or killed.
International Religious Freedom Report for 2014 Iran
On July 28, the Secretary of State redesignated Iran as a “Country of Particular Concern†(CPC) and renewed the existing restrictions on certain imports from and exports to the country. The United States has no diplomatic relations with the country. The Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor addressed abuses and restrictions against Bahai, Christian, Jewish, and other religious minority communities in the country. Senior U.S. government officials publicly called for the release of prisoners held on religious grounds. The U.S. government supported religious minority groups in the country through its actions in the UN, including through votes to extend the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran and for resolutions expressing concern over the country’s human rights practices, including the continued persecution of religious minorities.
Syria was a fairly tolerant nation too under Assad and now we are supporting Al-Queada linked terrorists to overthrow Assad. It is truly bizarre.
Assad is a tyrannical dictator who has killed tens of thousands. Initially, this was a civil war with Syrians trying to remove him. AQ and ISIS came in later to hijack the revolution. Assad is just as evil as Saddam was. You can be against Assad and AQ and ISIS at the same time.
The biggest state sponsors of terrorism today are Saudis and their allies in the Gulf states, nothing Iran does comes close to what the Sunnis have done that is a simple fact.
Not a simple fact at all. The Saudi government is not a state sponsor of terrorism. They have not participated in the murder of Americans. The Saudi government is the target of AQ and ISIS and Iran. Please be specific as to what actions the Saudi Government is taking to sponsor terrorism.
State Department List of State Sponsors of Terrorism
but the US is under no obligation to form its foreign policy in order to suit the agenda of one of its allies
Just a strawman. Who ever said the US has an obligation to "form its foreign policy in order to suit the agenda of one of its allies'? Can you cite an example where this is happening.
If the Brits were doing stuff that got America into trouble the US would tell them to knock it off straight away and would be under no obligation to follow their bidding.
Are you saying that Israel is getting us "into trouble"? Be more specific as to where this is happening. I can certainly say the reverse is happening with the US nuclear deal with Iran. Israel must bear the consequences of Iran getting a nuclear weapon. Iran has promised to wipe Israel off the map.
If Israel wants to cosy up with the fundamentalist Sunnis of Saudi Arabia or, increasingly, Turkey that’s Israel’s business, I hope they know what they’re doing but Israel doesn’t get to set US foreign policy, it’s not supposed to work that way.
First, it is not working that way, especially under Obama. Israel is not setting US foreign policy. Israel must look out for its own national interests. Working with the Saudis (a US ally) and Turkey (a Nato member) doesn't sound so sinister to me. Israel had some real problems with Turkey in the past. Remember the boats that tried to violate Israel's blockage of Gaza?
I tend to ignore comments that use the adolescent term “lol” and then imply I said something I didn’t. I am not saying Iran is “wonderful”, go back and read what I said.
I said if the US chooses to pick a dog in the 1500 year fight between the Shiite Persians and the Sunni Arabs, and it is beyond my comprehension why the US would choose to step into that conflict but it clearly has, then Iran would be a better choice than Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies.
You seem to have a blind spot for Saudi Arabia, what causes this I have no idea. Iran is not a pleasant place, nor was Assad’s Syria, but compared to the barbaric, medieval, intolerant, backward desert kingdoms of the Arabian peninsula they are positive nirvanas (remember I said these things are relative, we are not discussing Sweden versus Switzerland here).
If it was me I would stay out of that fight, let them kill each other to their hearts’ content and then buy the oil off whoever is left standing. I see no need whatsoever to intervene in the Islamic civil war that started a thousand years before the US ever existed and will continue for another thousand years.
You on the other hand seem very keen to get involved and to act as ally and arms supplier to the hateful people who funded and carried out the 9/11 attacks (you can pick and choose which state-sponsored terrorists to condemn and pretend that only one side is doing it, I am not so naive, the Qataris and the Saudis are flooding cash to their Wahabist proxies and have been doing so for decades, the world and his aunty knows that only you seem to be unaware of it) and who are funding and supporting dreadful Islamist groups throughout the Middle East.
My opinion is stay out of the fight but if you have to get involved the shiites and alawites of Persia and Syria seem a lot more attractive than the head-chopping ghouls of the desert kingdoms. You disagree but seem incapable of giving a sound reason why the head choppers get your vote.