Iran and Austria; From Shah Ismail to Haider and Hassan Rouhani

Hassan Rouhani's trip to Switzerland and Austria was accompanied by the hope that economic relations with these two countries would somewhat neutralize the pressure of U.S. sanctions. Particularly, the long history of relations between Tehran and Vienna made this hope not entirely unfounded, but the conditions both within Austria and in the international arena are different enough that they do not favor the success of Rouhani's trip. Austria (Habsburg Empire) has been more or less alongside Iran since the Safavid era and the formation of the rift between Iran and the Ottomans. Shah Ismail Safavid found a non-strategic ally in the Habsburg Empire in his ideological and political challenge against the Ottomans. The cultural, economic, and scientific relations between Iran and Austria are also relatively long-standing. The translation of Hafez that delighted Goethe and led him to write his East-West Divan was done by an Austrian who, although he never set foot in Iran, was proficient in Persian. Austrian botanist Theodor Kocher was also the first foreigner to reach the summit of Damavand in the mid-19th century. Austrians were among the prominent professors at Dar al-Funun during Amir Kabir's era. They also built the artillery facilities and brought the telegraph to Iran, and the first mapping efforts in Iran, particularly the first map of Tehran and its surroundings, were also done by Austrians. The foundation of modern medicine in Iran also goes back to Austrians. In 1749, Maria Theresa (1717-1780) established the central archive of the Habsburg family, which today is part of the Austrian state archive. This archive contains a collection of political, diplomatic documents, and personal records of the Habsburg family, including some historical documents of Iran-Austria relations. In the last decades of the 19th century, an Austrian engineer named Albert Joseph Gasthalter received the title of 'Khan' from the court for his services in constructing new roads in Iran. 'Wagner Khan' became the name of the specialist who built and organized the artillery facilities. The first and second heads of Iran's postal facilities were also Austrian, and for a long time, Iranian stamps were printed in Austrian printing houses. During World War I, Iranians fell in love with Germany and Austria, which ended in failure. With the collapse of the Habsburg Empire and the establishment of Austria on its ruins after World War I, relations were reestablished, and the formation of the National Bank of Iran was largely credited to Austrians. An Austrian was also one of the first heads of this bank. In some branches in the provinces, Austrians were in charge. In the decades before World War II, when unemployment was at its peak in Austria, many skilled Austrian workers went to Iran during Reza Shah's era and played a major role in geological and geographical research in the country. Before the 1979 revolution, relations with Austria were at their peak. The Shah had a secret in Austria and often received treatment there. The party popular in Tehran, which became pro-Israel, caused a slight interruption in relations between the two countries due to the revolution. However, later it became a significant refuge and station for the Islamic Republic in the West. The assassination of Qasemloo and his companions in 1990 also took place in Austria without significantly affecting relations between the two countries. Two years after this assassination, Kurt Waldheim, the President of Austria, became the first president of a Western country to visit Tehran. Eight years later, Waldheim's successor became the first leader of the European Union to visit Iran. At lower levels, even Jörg Haider, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, was welcomed in Iran. The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament in 2004, who is now under house arrest, did not hesitate to say during his meeting with Haider that the reason for the negative comments about Haider in the West was due to his frankness and candor. The meeting of the Austrian delegation with Mehdi Karroubi in 2004 also included Haider on the left side of the image. In terms of military cooperation and exchanges, there were good relations between the two countries during Khatami's presidency, and even Shamkhani, the then Minister of Defense, was invited to Austria, which was interrupted during Ahmadinejad's presidency. However, in 2012, the former Austrian Minister of Defense visited Tehran, which was not necessarily a personal trip. In any case, Austria, both in its imperial form and as a smaller country, has worked with various governments in its relations with Iran and has rarely been unwilling to upset our governments. In this context, Hans Fischer, the former President of Austria, can be seen who was in Tehran two years ago and placed his hands in Rafsanjani's hands. The image of the Shah placing his hands in the hands of François Jonas and Bruno Kreisky (the right and left leaders of Austria) is also included, as well as the record of healthy cultural, scientific, and economic relations and the assistance of Austrians to Iran's progress, along with the stains resulting from the racist closeness of the two countries during World War I and II and the lack of serious willingness to clarify the 1990 assassination case. However, the conditions these days, while Hassan Rouhani is in Austria, have changed significantly. Jörg Haider, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, who was welcomed in Iran, was later killed in a car accident. Now his successors in the Freedom Party are part of the ruling coalition, with the difference that, unlike Haider, they have distanced themselves from anti-Jewish positions or praising Hitler. Now, the anti-Semitism of Haider's party has given way to opposition to political Islam, which partly means opposition to all Islam and instilling the fear that Europe is about to surrender its identity to Islam. Movements based on extremist Islam and its terrorism have also provided a suitable context in part of society for these advertisements and ideas. In the context of changing views on Israel and shifting from anti-Semitism, Christian Strache, the leader of the Freedom Party, stated in a letter last June on the occasion of 'the reunification of Jerusalem' (the occupation of East Jerusalem by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War) that it is entirely incomprehensible why the Austrian embassy is not in Jerusalem. He deemed Israel entitled to build wherever it wished. In this context, the foreign minister of Austria, appointed by this party, was tasked with showing goodwill to Israel by sending the Austrian ambassador in Tel Aviv to participate in the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, which was established by Trump's controversial decision. The discussion within the Austrian government to follow the U.S. government's decision continues, as it does in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and other places where populist rights are in power. Rouhani's remarks, Austria's opposition, and the cold welcome of Soleimani occur in such conditions that Kurz, the Chancellor of Austria, felt it necessary to speak with Netanyahu just hours before today's meeting with Hassan Rouhani to calm him that Austria would not establish warm relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and would not recommend such a thing in his capacity as the rotating president of the European Union. Rouhani's relatively unconventional statement, where he again uttered the term 'illegitimate Zionist regime' in the heart of Europe, and Soleimani's applause for him was practically a pass to Netanyahu to accuse Austria and Switzerland of appeasement with Iran in his speech on Wednesday. He also saw the opportunity to refer to the ambiguous case of the assassination attempt on the Mojahedin gathering and the arrest of an Iranian diplomat in Austria. However, the condition that Iran had shared with Austria two weeks ago, that Rouhani should not be questioned by reporters in joint press conferences in Switzerland and Austria, fortuitously helped to keep the mentioned ambiguous arrest from becoming too prominent in Vienna, just as Europeans, while the JCPOA is under pressure, do not want it to become prominent. But Austria is also facing the threat of Andrew Peek, the head of Iranian affairs at the U.S. State Department, who was in Austria at the head of a large delegation a few days before Rouhani's trip to remind the companies in this country that they must choose between the U.S. and Iran, and he expressed confidence that these companies would choose the U.S. If his prediction is correct, it means that Rouhani's success on this trip faces a significant question mark. This reality may once again clarify that Europe cannot firmly stand by Iran without a specific change in Iran's regional policy, a reality that may become evident on Friday during the presentation of the European proposal package to remain in the JCPOA, which may not align with Iran's demands.