ABSTRACT
The pace of events in Iran is moving so fast and the changes are so unprecedented that it is difficult to say anything conclusive. If relations with the United States, and for that matter even with Western Europe, are not mended in the post-Khomeini period, the direction of Iranian history will be altered for many years to come. For instance, because the landmass of Western Asia is vast and sparsely populated, Iran entered the old "Great Game" by improving on the rail links of the Indo-Persian Corridor, the instrument of land penetration that the Shah hoped would ultimately extend to the vast railway network of former British India. To understand why the revolution in Iran took place under the guise of religious fervor, it is necessary to examine the traditional role of religion in Iranian society and politics. The Gulf and the narrow Strait of Hormuz are not US waterways: They are sea-lanes leading to the Indian Ocean.
