Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2737 A Phone Call from an Old Friend (Third Update, Please Subscribe)

Iraq.

It is not only Iran's neighbor, but also SEA's most important ally in the Middle East.

After saying the name, Li Yixuan met his father's gaze but did not directly answer his father's question:

"Iraq is the key to everything."

"Oh"

With a soft voice, Li Yi'an gestured for his son to continue.

"After the changes in Iran, many imperial soldiers had to flee to other countries to protect themselves in the face of persecution by the cleric and others. The vast majority of them fled to Iraq. Currently, there are about 40,000 former Iranian imperial troops in exile in Iraq, including not only the air force, but also the imperial guards and army and navy units."

These people are staunch supporters of the Iranian Empire, and no one desires a return to Tehran more than they do. Gaining their support would fundamentally change the situation in Iran.

As Li Yixuan spoke of all this, he kept looking at his father, pondering in his mind that his father had some plans from Iraq to Saigon.

This is clearly an opportunity.

If the SEA can seize the opportunity to control the entire country of Iran, just like it did Iraq, it would mean that the SEA controls almost all of the oil in the Middle East, and also means controlling the world's oil pipelines.

Did Father have planned all of this long ago?
Or did the father foresee that all of this would inevitably happen?
Thinking of this, Li Yixuan's gaze towards his father also changed.

Li Yi'an remained silent, only gesturing for him to continue:

"They are looking forward to returning to Tehran, and this crisis is an opportunity if this hostage crisis cannot be properly resolved."

Therefore, we can seize this opportunity to join forces with the United States to increase sanctions against Iran, and at the appropriate time, support their return to Tehran.

With a slight nod, Li Yi'an finally broke the silence.

"They do look forward to returning to Tehran, but how should they do so?"

Tehran will definitely return, but the question is, in what way should it return?
This is the most important thing; after all, you can't do something for someone else's benefit.

"It is well known that the reason why Pahlavi went into exile was because the various factions in the country did not accept his continued rule, nor did they accept his passing the throne to his son."

In a sense, the Iranians have abandoned the Pahlavi father and son. So the question now is—whom should we help return to Tehran?

Li Yixuan's question was very straightforward.

"So who do you think it should be?"

“Sadar”.

Looking at his father, Li Yixuan's tone became firm.
“Sardar is the son of the princess. It is well known that the princess has the best reputation in all of Iran. During the Iranian revolution, there were calls for the king to pass the throne to the princess.”

Li Yixuan turned his gaze to his father and then said:

"Therefore, at present, the most suitable candidate is Her Highness the Princess, and most importantly, she is one of our own. And Sadar—he is currently in Iraq."

Sadar is in Iraq!
The air force officers who flew the planes to Iraq successfully brought Sadar to Iraq.

That kid was originally on the front lines.

Of course, he went there for a plan as well.

Before going to Iraq, Sadar had visited this place. Li Yi'an talked with him for a long time that day, and his mother was also there.

Li Yi'an has already expressed his support for him.

Hearing Li Yixuan mention Sadar, Li Yi'an nodded slightly and said:

"This was indeed part of the plan, and it's good that you could think of all this."

In addition to praising him, Li Yi'an said:

"So what position should we take in this matter?"

The question returned to its initial point, and Li Yixuan answered:

"As I said before - to issue a strong condemnation, and at the same time, to work with the United States to impose even harsher sanctions on Iran."

Such sanctions should be more severe than they are now, and the entire Western world must participate.

Hearing his suggestion, Li Yi'an countered with a question:
"So, with such intense pressure, will Tehran give in?"

Will they compromise?
Li Yixuan was stunned for a moment, then he shook his head and said:
"Compromise is impossible, at least not until that elder consolidates his power and purges the moderates from within. They will absolutely not compromise, and—"

Meeting his father's gaze, Li Yixuan's tone became increasingly firm.

“When the occupation of the embassy becomes a flag, a symbol, they are even less likely to compromise easily.”

Unless there is a crisis of war, compromise is not necessarily an option, since they need this matter to divert domestic attention.

In diverting attention, the event itself has become a banner, a benchmark that is uncompromising and unyielding.

This will put them in a difficult situation.

After a brief pause, a cold smile appeared on Li Yixuan's face.

“So all we need to do is let them win. Let them win, let them think they’ve won. When they’re caught up in winning big, especially winning, they won’t notice anything else.” His son’s repeated mentions of “winning” made Li Yi’an burst into laughter. He said:
"Alright, let them win. Winners always need to win."

-

What happened next?
Then the whole world—almost every television station—was broadcasting the same scene. Thousands of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Amid cheers, they tore down the American flag and replaced it with a white flag that read "God is great." They then detained dozens of American diplomats as hostages in their demand for the U.S. to hand over Pahlavi.

Of course, the students also issued a statement, represented by Masoumeh, a female student. Speaking passionately to the camera, Masoumeh accused the United States of supporting Pahlavi and demanded his extradition to Iran.

American diplomats appeared before people like clowns, and were taken hostage just like that.

The world was in an uproar.

The whole world was stunned by this sudden hostage crisis in Iran.

They never expected that someone would occupy the embassy and take diplomats hostage.

As television stations in Europe and the United States reported this news, many reporters even used a gloating and sarcastic tone to comment on the Iranian hostage crisis.

It's fair to say that the United States lost all face on this day.

Just as the news was reporting this, Li Yi'an received a phone call.

The call came from across the ocean; it was from an old friend.

Reagan, who had just won the party nomination, saw the news about the Iranian hostage crisis and the occupation of the US embassy in Tehran, where diplomats were taken hostage. He immediately called Li Yi'an to ask for his advice. Li Yi'an, speaking to his old friend, said:

"Given the long-standing friendly relations in South America, we will strongly condemn Iran and further escalate sanctions against it."

"Your Excellency, this suggestion is truly unexpected."

Somewhat unexpectedly, Reagan spoke in a deeply meaningful tone:

"It seems you didn't say that during the Indonesian crisis."

The reason for mentioning the Indonesian crisis is that the SEA acted extremely toughly at the time, while the current protests are clearly somewhat unexpected.

"That's different. We have to take into account that Iran borders the Soviet Union. Although the Soviet Union doesn't like Iran either, who knows what the Soviet Union would do if we took a hard line? The Soviet Union was too powerful."

Li Yi'an spoke with an air of authority and power, and Reagan on the other end of the phone remained silent for a moment, as if he had figured everything out.

"Isn't that the root cause?"

"Haha, Ronald, you know me best!"

Li Yi'an said it bluntly.

"To be honest, I'm thinking about whether it's feasible to form a coalition to attack Iran."

"But Washington won't do that."

Reagan knew very well that he would never choose such a military action from the perspective of the White House.

"Therefore, ultimately the White House needs to make the decision; Chang'an is just an outsider."

Reagan paused for a moment, then agreed, before directly steering the conversation toward the election.

For Reagan, who has just won the party nomination, his biggest concern now is next year's general election.

The reason he made the call was to seek Li Yi'an's opinion, as he was worried that this incident might become a highlight for Carter—resolving the hostage crisis and thus helping him win the election next year.

Listening to Reagan's concerns, Li Yi'an said.

"Iran will absolutely not release those hostages easily. The reason they launched this operation is to divert domestic attention..."

Over the phone, Li Yi'an analyzed Tehran's thoughts for Reagan, and then said:
"Perhaps at the beginning, after the crisis, people will give the White House their full support based on unity, which will also lead to an increase in his approval rating. However, if Tehran does not release the hostages easily, Carter will only have two options left: one is to take military action to rescue them, and the other is to delay indefinitely and resolve the issue through diplomatic means."

But how feasible is the former?

Reagan remained silent on the other end of the phone; the possibility of Carter taking military action was extremely slim.

"The White House will most likely resolve this through diplomatic means."

When Li Yi'an expressed his agreement, he continued.

"As long as no direct military action is taken, the hostage crisis will continue to drag on, ultimately affecting your competition next year. He will shift the focus entirely from the domestic economy to diplomacy and national security, which is Carter's weakness. Diplomacy is Carter's biggest shortcoming."

Over the past few years, people have long seen Carter's weakness and incompetence, and the hostage crisis only reinforced this impression. This, in turn, highlights Ronald's strength and confidence.

Li Yi'an continued:

"For Carter, the hostage crisis is a persistent wound, a daily news reminder that is like a 'bleeding wound,' constantly eroding public trust in the president."

Therefore, this will help you win next year's election.

As Li Yi'an finished speaking, he could hear the breathing on the other end of the phone suddenly become much heavier.

This brought a smile to his face; this was the allure of power.

(End of this chapter)