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The Great Satan (Persian شيطان بزرگ Shaytân-e Bozorg) is a derogatory epithet for the United States of America in some Iranian foreign policy statements. Occasionally, these words have also been used toward the government of the United Kingdom.
The term was originally used by Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini in his speech on November 5, 1979 to describe the United States whom he accused of imperialism and the sponsoring of corruption throughout the world.
Ayatollah Khomeini also occasionally used the terms Iblis (Diabolis - the primary devil in Islam) to refer to the United States and other Western countries.
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Iranians have considered the United States and the United Kingdom as Imperialist states, who have a long history of interfering in Iran's internal affairs. In 1907, the Anglo-Russian Agreement between Russia and Britain divided Iran into spheres of influence, challenging Iran's moves toward independence. At the height of the Cold War, the administration of the U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a joint Anglo-American operation to overthrow elected prime minister, Mohammad Mossadeq, in the pretext that his nationalist aspirations would lead to an eventual communist takeover. The operation was code-named Operation Ajax. At first, the military coup seemed to fail, and the Shah fled the country. After widespread rioting —and with help from the CIA and British intelligence services— Mossadeq was defeated and the Shah returned to power, ensuring support for Western oil interests and snuffing the perceived threat of communist expansion. General Fazlollah Zahedi, who led the military coup, became prime minister.
Ayatollah Khomeini was exiled to Turkey for his outspoken denunciation of the Shah's Status of Forces bill, which granted U.S. military personnel diplomatic immunity for crimes committed on Iranian soil. From Turkey, Khomeini moved to Iraq in 1965 and remained there until 1978 before moving to Paris for four months. He then returned to Iran and led the 1979 Iranian revolution.
The United States supported the Shah starting from the 1950s, but this waned toward the end of the 1970s, particularly under the Carter administration. The Iranians hated the Shah, and felt that the U.S was against them. When Saddam Hussein came into power, the U.S also at first supported him.[1] Demonstrators commonly chanted slogans such as "Independence, Freedom, and Islamic Republic".
Khomeini is quoted as saying on November 5, 1979, "[America is] the great Satan, the wounded snake."[2] The term was used extensively during and after the Islamic Revolution,[3] but it continues to be in used in some Iranian political circles. Use of the term at rallies is often accompanied by shouts of "Marg bar Amrika!" ("Death to America" is an inexact translation of "Marg Bar Amrika", but is supposed to mean "Down with America").[4] The term has also found in political statements of Muslim and anti-American activists throughout the world. It is used in academic journals and media.[5]
The term has been discussed extensively and addressed within the context of U.S.-Iran relations by some members of the United States foreign policy establishment.[6]