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By hosting a major international conference on combating terrorism over the weekend, Tehran boosted its foreign policy objectives and simultaneously delivered a timely jab at the western governments for their misuse of terrorism "as a means for pursuing their illegitimate goals," to paraphrase Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

The two day conference featured delegates from 80 countries and international organizations -- UN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Organization of Islamic Conference, Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), etc.. -- as well as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Iraqi President Jalal Talebani Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

It underscored, among other things, closer relations between Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, at a sensitive and testy times in Washington's relations with Kabul and Islamabad, and also served as a reminder to India that its concert with the US against Iran may translate into being outmaneuvered in the region.

Concerning the latter, the mere fact India's permanent representative to the UN escalated the rhetoric against Iran by calling for the implementation of sanctions on Iran is a fresh reminder of the growing divide between Iran and India, which are still trying to sort out the mechanism for India's payment for the billions of dollar of oil that it has r... >>>