One kernal of truth to the report might be found in the fact that Azeris constitute the largest minority group in Iran. Persians are of course the majority (61%), Azeris are the largest minority (16%), then there are Kurds (10%), Lurs (6%), Arabs (2%), Baluchis (2%), and Turkmens and other Turkic tribes (2%). So that Persians have only a small majority in Iran, and the Azeris are a restive group, with close ties to their fellow Azeris across the northern Iranian border in Azerbaijan. Therefore, it is quite likely that Azerbaijan would support an Israeli attack on Iran, if only because they would be one of the first countries to be threatened by an Iranian nuclear weapon, but also because they would seek to annex the northern Azeri-speaking provinces of Iran. We should never forget that there is a two-pronged basis for the Iranian threat to obtain nuclear weapons, first is the unique feature of being the only fully Shia Islamic country in the world. But, second we should not forget that before Islam, Persia was a great empire throughout central Asia and the Middle East, as far west as Egypt. The current attempt to assert Iranian hegemony throughout this region owes a great deal to the desire to reassert Persian rights over most of the Arab world. No wonder the Arabs are worried and no wonder the Saudis and the Gulf States want to arm the opposition to Pres. Assad of Syria, Iran’s main ally in the Arab world. Also, the Turks consid… >>>
