Iran has always been the target of invaders and has outlived them all

Iran has always been the target of invaders and has outlived them all Submitted by Hamid Dabashi on Mon, 03/16/2026 - 05:48 For Iranians, the current assault is part of a much longer history in which repeated invasions have tested the country's civilisation but never succeeded in breaking it An Iranian flag flutters as a digger arrives to remove debris from buildings destroyed in US-Israeli military strikes on the capital Tehran, on 15 March 2026 (Atta Kenare/AFP) On Iranians have a very long historical memory. The way they talk about the Alexander invasion of Persia in 344 BC, it is as if it happened last week on Tuesday. The subsequent Arab and Mongol conquests of the seventh and 13th centuries happened just a few days ago.