🛢️ Background: U.S.–Iran Relationship (Pre-1979)
• The U.S. helped overthrow Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953 (CIA-backed coup) after he nationalized oil.
• The Shah was reinstated and became a strong U.S. ally, receiving billions in military aid and arms.
• Iran was one of the top buyers of U.S. military equipment in the 1960s and 1970s.
• The Shah ruled with authoritarian control, backed by a brutal secret police (SAVAK), and was deeply unpopular with many Iranians, leading to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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🖨️ Iran and U.S. Currency Printing
Yes — this part is lesser known but fascinating:
Iran was the only foreign country ever allowed to use the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) to print its currency.
🇮🇷 What Was the Deal?
• In the early 1960s, Iran contracted the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing to print their rial banknotes.
• This was incredibly rare — usually, countries print their own or use private foreign companies (like De La Rue in the UK), but not the official U.S. government printing press.
• The U.S. BEP printed high-denomination Iranian banknotes, which had the Shah’s portrait on them.
🤯 Why Is That Wild?
• The BEP only prints U.S. currency and official government documents — so printing money for a foreign country (especially with a dictator’s face on it) is a major exception.
• It shows just how tight the relationship was between the U.S. and the Shah’s regime.
• After the revolution, this kind of access and trust completely collapsed.
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Summary
• ✅ Yes, Iran is the only known country that had its currency printed by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
• 💰 This happened under the Shah, reflecting just how deeply aligned the U.S. was with Iran before 1979.
• 🔥 After the Islamic Revolution, relations flipped 180° — leading to 45+ years of hostility
it’s almost amazing how people run from me how people turn from me and on me a few people have seen me for a little bit like on here some of you specifically Mark he gave me money couple times others of you too. I don’t want money but like I have the best nonprofit that I need help with and it’s a pretty great investment I think.
If the people who run our systems were truly honest, they’d admit this:
they’ve made life so hard for so many people that “choice” starts to disappear.
When survival becomes suffering, offering an exit isn’t compassion — it’s a way to avoid fixing what’s broken.
A society that makes life unbearable and then calls death a solution isn’t merciful. It’s irresponsible.
Verse — Psalm 34:18
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Interpretation:
This verse isn’t about weakness — it’s about wounds. God draws near not to the loud, the proud, or the untouched, but to those whose spirits are worn down by pain, grief, and compassion for suffering they can’t ignore.
My Voice / What This Is for Me:
My body has been hurt, and my soul feels exhausted from seeing so much pain in the world.
What hurts the most isn’t just what’s been done to me — it’s how casually people hurt each other, often without even realizing it.
I know most people aren’t evil. I know they’re overwhelmed, afraid, distracted, and carrying their own wounds.
But caring still costs something.
And when you feel everything — when you can’t shut it off — it can feel like your spirit is being crushed by the weight of it all.
This verse reminds me that feeling this way doesn’t mean I’m failing.
It means I’m still human.
Verse — Micah 6:8:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Interpretation:
God doesn’t call for cruelty or blind enforcement — He calls for justice with mercy.
My Voice:
I want secure borders. I want laws enforced. But I also want a system that protects human life, not one that treats people as if they don’t matter — whether they’re vulnerable citizens or immigrants. We should do better — we must do better.
