I never thought I would find another villain in Shakespeare's plays that is as evil as the villain Richard in Richard III. After reading Othello I now realize that Iago is as brutal of a villain as Richard. It is almost intriguing to see the way Iago has the capability to fool all the characters; even the wiser ones like Othello and Cassio. Men of high rank and reputation are fooled into thinking Iago is an honest man. In Act II, Scene III, Othello makes many references to Iago as "Honest Iago" (pg. 88) and even after Cassio loses his position due to Iago's maliciousness and trickery, he also refers to him as "honest Iago" (pg. 92). Iago himself even says repeatedly, "As I am an honest man . . ." (pg. 90) before saying what it is he wants to say. It is as if he must remind everyone how honest he is so that it may be easier for him to deceive them. If the characters in the play believe Iago really is honest, they would never suspect him of doing any harm. In reality, he is plotting endless destruction behind their backs. Not only does he want Cassio's position, which, by the end of Act III he has at least succeeded in having Cassio removed of his former position, he hates Othello and wants to ruin his marriage to Desdemona. These are not small acts of evil that Iago displays. He wants to intentionally hurt and ruin the other character's lives for his own benefit. This is common of all Shakespeare's villains but none seem so vile and evil as Iago.
It seems the only time he speaks the truth is when he is alone on stage. In his soliloquies he admits to his monstrosity in ways such as, "And nothing can or shall content my soul/Till I am evened with him, wife for wife,/Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor/At least into a jealousy so strong/That judgement cannot cure" (Act II, S. 1, pg. 81). He has no shame in admitting his evilness and Shakespeare does an amazing job in portraying how horrible, but yet extremely well crafted, his character is. You must not simply close read one passage, speech, or act in Shakespeare, but rather close read every single line, or word for that matter, because there is always something hiding underneath it all.
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I completely agree with your thoughts on Iago. Every time he enters a scene I literally sigh in disgust. The power of his manipulation is unreal. It is scary to think how easily he tricks people into believing he's an honest man. It makes one wonder how many Iago's we come in contact with in a given day?
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