US-Europe World Affairs

The profound fascination of the Iranian people with American culture, political structures, and history is deeply rooted, stretching back decades—even before the Islamic Revolution. Historically, Iran was one of the closest allies of the United States in the region. However, the Russian-backed revolution 1979 altered Iran’s system, by destabilizing the country.

Yet, over the last five decades, Iranians’ fascination with the United States has only grown stronger. Today, Iranians—both young and old are more eager than ever to embrace American culture and see the U.S. as a vital partner. They see the United States rightly as a superpower. In schools, universities, they study only American English and science, in medicine they have adopted the American medical system by following guidance mainly form the FDA.

Iranian people consistently express admiration for the U.S. They respect Israel, Japan, Europe, Canada and other nations, but their aspirations remain centered on the United States.

Despite decades of hardline rule and geographical distance, the U.S system continues to remain as the gold standard in Iran across virtually every domain—from science, medicine, art and design, sports, history, economics and even political science.

The people in Iran dream of being America’s closest ally in the Middle East. And it’s precisely this potential alignment that China, Russia, and certain regional actors fear—so they actively resist any regime change that will bring a closer partnership between the United States and Iran in the region.

In this context, it is vital to look more deeply into the historical and cultural landscape of Iran. Among the countries in the Middle East, including Türkiye. Iran stands apart in its distinct pre-Islamic heritage: its people traditionally followed Mithraism and Zoroastrianism before the Arab-Islamic conquest. Even though the authoritarian Islamic regime has tried for decades to prevent, still a large number of Iranian population retain a strong cultural connection to their pre-Islamic heritage and belief, added with the exceedingly increasing number of people converting into Christianity.

Published by (1) the Israeli government recently, the Iranian people have been the most pro-American populations in the Middle East, only second to Israel. In my two decades of journalistic observation and experience, I should like to add that the Iranians are not only the most pro-American in the Middle East after Israel, but they are the most pro-American populations in the world.

Acknowledgment: Video Iranian’s support for the U.S- Israeli military operation to liberate Iran. Hamburg Germany March 2026 ©U.S. Europe World Affairs.com. (1) Announced by Prime Minister Netanyahu in an exclusive interview with the Fox News in U.S early this year. I obtained the interview video. Article by Catherine S. Schmidt, Director and Editor in Chief.