The WikiLeaks Cables That Call for Attacks on Iran: An Alternative Analysis
PBS / POUYA ALIMAGHAM
07-Dec-2010 (2 comments)

With WikiLeaks' release of more than 250,000 confidential diplomatic cables between the United States and its allies, politicians and Iran specialists are falling over themselves to highlight the Islamic Republic's supposed regional isolation and the putatively unanimous dismay with which its nuclear program is viewed. Israeli Premier Benyamin Netayahu, for instance, leveraged the leaks to vindicate his official stance on Iran, declaring, "The documents show many sources backing Israel's assessments, particularly of Iran...that Iran is the threat."

The cables illustrate that senior officials in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, and Israel have been privately soliciting the United States to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, alleging that its nuclear program constitutes an "existential threat." The cables also expose the duplicitous behavior of some, particularly Saudi Arabia, whose ambassador to Iran only recently described Saudi-Iranian relations as "brotherly" and urged further cooperation, citing "common viewpoints" that necessitate "the continuance of consultation between the two countries."

As news agencies continue to scour the files, it is still too early to make sweeping conclusions. Nevertheless, a closer look at the cables released thus far coupled with recent developments in the region suggests an alternative analysis: Iran is not in fact isolated but is an emerging regional power whose rise itself proves that there is no conse... >>>

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Iran is an influential regional super power

by IranMilitaryForum.net on Tue Dec 07, 2010 09:05 PM PST

A brief survey of 2010 illustrates how Iran's influence in the region is growing both through state relations and on the popular level. Indeed, poll results indicate that in contradistinction to the private communications of the Arab regimes named above, most citizens of the Arab world do not perceive Iran to be a threat and view with approval the possibility of an Iranian nuclear bomb. (Israel is, of course, excluded here as a non-Arab country.)

Iran-Iraq relations are a major case in point. On March 7, 2010, Iraqis went to the polls to elect a new government. The elections, however, failed to produce a clear winner and an eight-month political deadlock ensued in Baghdad. One by one, Iraqi politicians made their way to neighboring Iran to facilitate a breakthrough, implicitly acknowledging the Islamic Republic as the main powerbroker in their country. This is an important point that must not be understated. While in 2003, it was the U.S.-led coalition that brought down the Ba'athist regime, facilitating the electoral process in which Iraqi politicians now contend for power, today, it is Iran and not the United States that is the main arbiter in Iraq. So decisive is the Iranian role that it has led to envy among its rivals and efforts to compete. For example, Saudi Arabia tried to supplant Iran as mediator by inviting Iraqi politicians to Riyadh on October 31. Iraqi officials refused, voicing, of all things, "fears over foreign interference." That a Saudi role in ending the electoral standoff is considered unacceptable external meddling while countless Iraqi politicians have visited Iran seeking support for their respective factions further attests to the latter's burgeoning role.

Iranian influence in Iraq is not limited to political parties; it also extends to the street. Indeed, it is rumored that Iran is orchestrating the transformation of the Sadrist movement -- led by populist Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has been in Iran for the past few years -- into a Hezbollah-esque state-within-a-state.

Elsewhere, Iranian-Syrian relations have never been better. When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Syria in February 2010, his counterpart, President Bashar al-Assad, announced an agreement annulling entry visas between the two countries, explaining, "This agreement would result in more communication and enhancing the common interests of the Syrian and Iranian peoples.... Bilateral relations cannot remain confined to the political domain for decades.... I believe this agreement will push relations along this direction, and will further enhance the relations at all levels and in all sectors."


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mahmoudg

delusions of grandeur

by mahmoudg on Wed Dec 08, 2010 07:57 AM PST

Iran is a weak military power.  The region knows it, so do the US, hence why any attack will precipitate in ths regime falling within days.  Their postures are more for projecting the power they do not have.  When the majority of the inhabitants of a Nation are against its ruling elite, then that regime is doomed.  It will falter and it will perish.  beit by the hands of its own citizens of that of freedom fighitng forces of external powers.  The end result is that this Islamic Rapist Cultist regime is doomed and its days are numbered.


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