It's time the United States and other powers were told - as the risk of war against Iran increases - to "cool it", writes Arthur Chesterfield-Davies.
Rhetoric is rising towards war with Iran.
Iran might be getting nuclear weapons, which it is not allowed, even though the United States and Israel have them.
Sanctions are already imposed and Iran is accused of being a "rogue state", which is code for dialogue being impossible and radical action necessary.
An alternative approach is to look at the situation from a historical perspective. Iran (previously called Persia) is a major centre of Muslim culture.
From 1095 to 1291, the Christian countries launched a series of "Crusades" against the Muslims.
Most of the battles were in the Mediterranean so Iran was less affected, but the memory of warring religions lingers.
In World War 2, Iran was invaded and a pro-British Shah was installed who exported oil through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
Almost all the profits went to Britain. In 1951, there was a democratic revolution and the government nationalised the oil company.
The US CIA organised a counterrevolution and put another Shah back into power, with a slightly better deal for Iranian oil.
Secret police were organised, democratic leaders suppressed and political dissent only survived in the more extreme mosques that the secret police could not infiltrate.
When the Shah was eventually overthrown in 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini, a radical Muslim in exile in Paris, had the only organised political force remaining and hence took power.
The revolution caused a considerable shake-up in the Iranian army, so Saddam Hussein of Iraq made a bid for supremacy in the Middle East and launched the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, which raged for eight years.
The US and Western powers armed Iraq, and ignored the fact it used chemical weapons.
After the war, Iran tried to get US help to rebuild its oil facilities, but the US passed laws preventing any dealing with Iran.
In terms of what foreign governments do in the Middle East, it might be noted that in 1981 Israel bombed Iraq's nuclear facility.
Iraq felt the US would not oppose its invasion of Kuwait as it had been good about it invading Iran, but Iraq was then invaded twice by the US and Western powers, in 1990 and 2003.
The pretext for the second invasion was that Saddam had "weapons of mass destruction". This was despite a UN inspection team saying he did not have such weapons.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has not been allowed to inspect parts of Iran, but Israel is also said to have nuclear weapons and has not allowed inspection.
Two top Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated recently.
In the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970, non-nuclear states were encouraged to sign and not develop nuclear weapons if those with weapons agreed to phase them out.
In 40 years, this "phase down" has not been significant.
It may be true the Iranian regime is an unpleasant theocracy which does not respect human rights and persecutes religious minorities and political opponents. But it is a realistic government.
It has not supported the Taliban in Afghanistan, though it shares a border with Afghanistan.
There are always political elements that want a war. The US military is suffering huge budget cuts. Arms manufacturers need to sell their weapons. Israel might believe it is better to destroy a potential nuclear site now than let it develop.
If so, the US is less likely to stand up to Israel before an election because of the power of the Jewish lobby in campaign financing.
Most people in the West do not want war. There will be an increased threat of terrorism, which at best leads to fear, expense and inconvenience.
The price of oil will increase, adding to the recessionary environment.
The bellicose statements on Iran need to be tempered with sensitivity and reality.
The West should stay calm and let progressive democratic forces rise in a less stressed Iran. It is time governments were told to "cool it".
Arthur Chesterfield-Evans is the executive director of the Sydney Peace Foundation. He is a medical doctor with an interest in preventive health. He has a masters degree in political economy and lives in both Sydney and Outram.