3 Comments
User's avatar
Bob Keeler's avatar

The roots of that Iran-related emergency in 1979 go back to 1953, when the United States and the United Kingdom helped to overthrow the democratically elected prime minister of Iran, Mohammad Mossaddegh. That set up a quarter-century of autocratic rule by the shah, and it ultimately led to the revolution and to the hostage crisis. It’s called blowback.

Expand full comment
Richard Galant's avatar

Very true, Bob. It was the “original sin” of US-Iran relations.

Expand full comment
Paul Vitello's avatar

Thanks for explaining the origin of these presidential powers. I did not realize they were created as recently as the 1970s. Nixon’s ghost — still haunting us.

Expand full comment