The Seyyeds in Iran have a religious agenda, that is dictated from the likes of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, and not the Foreign Ministry. Ahmadinejad believes he is guided by some mystical force to establish the Caliphate state, and to ultimately reclaim Jerusalem for the return of the Shiite Mahdi. Iraq is the centre of the Shiite world and their holiest shrines are there. So to them everyone who is not Shiite is alien in that country. In that perspective “brotherly” comments from Ahmadinejad mean more than meets the eye. The US weakened the Sunnis who were the only force that stood up to the Shiites in Iraq. The US never managed to get any Shiite support in Iraq. So the US actually helped the Seyyeds’ cause, even though their biggest foe are the Seyyeds in Iran. In conclusion the Seyyeds have enabled the neocons to rise to power, and vice-versa. They both need each other in this post Soviet era to keep energy prices up with pseudo threats to each other.
