“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(After the session Jane asked me what country ancient Persia was now. At first, although I was certain I knew the answer, I said Afghanistan. Then I changed my answer to Iran, which is the correct one. She said she felt that Seth may have alluded to our improving our relations as a nation with Iran, though this may be hard to believe at present. [Actually, according to the dictionary, the present country of Afghanistan was part of the ancient Persian Empire.]

(She referred to Iran. I said I’d draw her a map of the region after supper, but never did. I explained the position that Iran is in geographically now, however, what with Russia occupying Afghanistan on Iran’s eastern border. Iran hates the Communists, but us also. “Maybe they hate us even more,” Jane laughed.)

[...] The generally explosive predicament in Iran, for example, has been considerably aggravated by Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan over the recent Christmas season: Now the unbending revolutionary government of Iran, following its own fanatical interpretation of the Moslem religion, must contend with at least an implied threat on its eastern border as the godless Russians occupy Afghanistan. [...]

(“Afghanistan?” I asked, as Jane, in trance, had trouble with the word.)

Indeed: Afghanistan comes to mind here, as a particularly lucrative environment.

One of the tactics leaders in the West are still pursuing is to organize world opinion against the Soviet stay in Afghanistan and the war between Iraq and Iran. [...] Russia may simply annex Afghanistan as the years pass. [...] A look at a map will show what I mean: Iran has Iraq and Turkey on its western border, with Russia to its north and Afghanistan on its east; Pakistan lies on Iran’s eastern border also; south of Iran, across the narrow Persian Gulf, cluster the mix of large and small wealthy states on the Arabian peninsula. The Moslem Kurds of Iran and Iraq, minority peoples with strong roots in eastern Turkey, are rebelling against the military forces of their respective countries; and Pakistan has become a place of shelter for refugees from Afghanistan. [...]

[...] See Note 1 for Session 919, in Chapter 7 of Dreams, wherein I reviewed not only Iran’s concern over the Russian invasion of its eastern neighbor, Afghanistan, in late December 1979, but also Iran’s border clashes with its western neighbor, Iraq, during the past year. [...]

[...] And Russia continues its remorseless occupation and subjugation of Afghanistan.

Just as the native mujahedin—resistance fighters—of Afghanistan consider it their religious duty to battle the Russian invaders (even while thousands of their countrymen take refuge in Pakistan to the east and in Iran to the west), so do the Iranian fundamentalists think it their religious duty to export their revolution until an Islamic empire extends from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf.

[...] These events must interact with each other on many levels: The revolution in Iran came to a head with a change of leadership in February 1979, after a ruler long favorable to the United States had been deposed; the accident at TMI took place in March 1979; the American hostages were taken in Iran in November 1979; Russia invaded Afghanistan at Christmastime 1979; and less than 10 months later Iraq invaded Iran. [...]

[...] in Afghanistan. [...]

[...] I mentioned the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, on Iran’s eastern border, and how the coldly secular Russian philosophy clashed with the Iranians’ fanatical Moslemic orientation. [...]

[...] You were blunt men, yet highly emotional, living for some time near Constantinople, but ranging far, even to Afghanistan, and on several occasions meeting bands from Rome.

I had meant to mention earlier that your daughter and sister were brothers in a previous life in Afghanistan. [...]