Iran: Middle East's neocolonial power

, competition between the United States and Iran

dubai, United Arab Emirates (prHWY.com) March 3, 2013 - By Hatef Mokhtar
Since the first days of the Arab uprisings, competition between the United States and Iran to establish dominance over Middle East has drastically intensified as each seeks to leverage to its benefit the regional shift precipitated by the Arab Spring. For the first few months, it appeared that Iran would emerge as a clear winner. However, Iran's ability to project power in the region has been challenged significantly by several factors including Saudi rivalry, Syrian unrest, and domestic discord.

Iran's response to the Syrian upheaval exhibited a flagrant disregard for the ground reality in the country, tarnishing its image throughout the region. The fall or paralysis of Bashar al-Assad--each a distinct possibility--would indeed deal a critical blow to Iran's ability to project power in the Levant. Syria is Iran's single Arab ally, and it facilitates Iran's partnerships with Hezbollah and Hamas.

In an attempt to spread its ideology through the Middle-Eastern region, Iran has reportedly waged a battle on all fronts (economic, cultural, social etc) through careful organization and planning. The Revolutionary Guard agents have been mobilized and sleeper cells in foreign countries have been formed. It is clear that Iran has a broader plan for the Middle East and seems to be reliving the imperial memories of former colonial powers like the US and the Soviet Union.

A statement made by Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was very telling: "Egyptians' high aims, national demands, and resurrection of glory could be achieved in the very near future." Lest this is dismissed as Persian gloating, Iran reemphasised its foreign policy which includes "supporting the Resistance in the Middle East."

This particular policy has been in rigorous practice in the past decade. US government and private sources engaged in aid distribution have witnessed Iran's financial and ideological reach into the Arab world. One senior official in Washington with experience in many of the countries undergoing political flux commented: "By the time American and Saudi aid reached those areas, the Iranians' cash and presence had gained local people's empathy and loyalty."

Iran covertly provides the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt with millions of dollars for political and religious endeavours. Iran directs resources through the Brotherhood to build up radicalism among poor and middle class Egyptians. The uprising also enabled 34 leaders of the radical Islamist party to escape Egyptian custody and they're naturally beholden to Tehran. "You can call this an Islamic revolution," predicted Essam el-Erian, a prominent Brotherhood leader.

Likewise, Iranian diplomats and news media have heralded the return of fundamentalist preacher Rached Ghannouchi to Tunis after more than two decades in exile. Having established ties with Ghannouchi during his years in London, Iran's mullahs anticipate he could propel the Harakat al-Nahda al-Islamiya or Islamic Renaissance Movement to the forefront of Tunisian politics. Essentially, Tehran seeks an outcome through Ghannouchi like that of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's return to Iran from Paris decades ago.

Hezbollah's Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah was not only trained at a madrasa at Qum but later represented the organization in Tehran. The transformation of Hezbollah from an anti-Israeli militia into an Iranian-guided, street-savvy, Shiite political party becoming the kingmaker in Lebanese politics is a major triumph for the Islamic Republic's foreign policy. Mullahs trumpet the Iran-Hezbollah alliance as a fundamentalist, Islamist counterthrust against moderate Sunni Arabs.

Iran is backing Shiite rebels in their bid to seize territories along Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia and also Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Despite not fully trusting those terrorists, the Shiite mullahs have not hesitated to utilise them as yet another front to spread Tehran's influence and ideology through violent battles and street protests in Sana'a and other towns. Their long-term goal, as it appears from these activities, is to reign over the Arabian Peninsula on both ideological and political fronts.

Thirty-three years ago, Iranians came together for freedom. They hoped to oust a monarch and build a representational and egalitarian society. Their aspirations were cut short when Khomeini and his cohorts seized control and imposed an internally tyrannical, externally anti-Western, Islamic state. Khomeini outsmarted Iranian politicians seeking plurality, first by claiming he would fulfil their expectations and then, once they had acceded to his supreme leadership, by brutally removing them from the political scene. His governmental heirs are now employing the same tactic for the followers in the Arab Middle East.

Even as the US and the EU remain transfixed by demonstrations in Tunis, Cairo, Amman, and Sana'a, and by the new order in Beirut, and react cautiously rather than proactively, Iran decisively shows its hand. It's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other powerbrokers in Tehran have proven themselves to be more single-minded about domination than even Arab politicians and rulers. They work to influence events in Arab countries, trying to move them in the direction of religious rule rather than secular representational governance so that a "new Middle East takes shape" with Iran as the major player.

The principle tenets on which Iran is spreading its influence in the region are discussed below:
* Home to sacred shrines and central to Islam, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is believed to be the most important target of Iranian activity. The regime seeks to infiltrate Saudi society, especially in the North Eastern parts of the country, where the population shares an affinity with Iranian religious figures.
* Interference in Bahrain has also intensified. An increasing number of Bahrainis are of Iranian origin, and Shiite religious authorities are strengthening links to the Jaafari jurisprudence schools in Qom, Mash'had and Tehran.
* In Kuwait, Iranian efforts are focused on reviving the Husseiniyahs (places used by Shiites to commemorate the assassination of Imam Hussein) and supporting relevant Kuwaiti figures. Kuwaiti Shiites were also assisted in forming political and popular movements to stand guard against any official anti-Iranian decisions taken by the government.
* In Yemen, Iran's involvement in providing political and material support to the rebellious Houthis in the North is no secret.
* As Iran continues to support the Syrian regime, Gulf countries have been threatened by its capacity to destabilise the region. The Iranian presence in Syria has barred them from being able to take any stance that could be seen as a conspiracy or interference in Syria's internal affairs. If they were to choose to go along with American and European efforts to topple Bashar Al-Assad, Iranian support to the Syrian regime would seriously complicate these steps.
* Iran's position towards Lebanon and Hezbollah, considered one of its most important strategic allies in the Middle East, mainly depends on regional politics. The country is also conditioned by Iran's fears of repercussions left by internal and external pressure on Hezbollah. Such pressure includes the indictment by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, the future of Hezbollah's weapons, and restrictions resulting from the escalating conflict between the March 8 coalition (in which Hezbollah is a member) and the March 14 coalition, composed of the new opposition.
* An examination of the Shia and Kurdish efforts to build legislative and political pillars in a post-Saddam Iraq indicates a major Iranian role. All plans undertaken by the American administration in Iraq were carried out in tandem with the Iranians, or at least through Tehran-affiliated forces.
* In the Arab Maghreb, Iran is relentless in its efforts to spread its sectarian ideals through continued diplomatic presence and its privileged relationship with Algeria. It is spreading its Shia doctrine in the Moroccan society, especially among university students. It has done so by building on the sympathy and support for the Lebanese group Hezbollah among Arab citizens. In European countries, Iranian intelligence agents have tried to infiltrate Moroccan immigrant groups, which are present in large numbers. They try to paint a positive image of Shiaism that would encourage a shift to Shia beliefs so that these can later be disseminated among local communities when the immigrants return to Morocco.

These movements and their undisclosed objectives - such as exporting the Islamic revolution to Arab and Muslim countries - have stirred fears in the rest of Arab Maghreb. Iran is known to be seeking the establishment of new Shia regions in Northern Africa, as an extension for its already-strong presence in West Africa.

In a decisive reaction to these attempts, the Kingdom of Morocco decided to sever all diplomatic ties with Iran as of March 6, 2009, after the Iranian diplomatic mission in Rabat was charged with meddling with Moroccan identity, essential religious values and the unity of its royal Sunni doctrine. Morocco deemed such actions a blatant interference in its internal affairs, especially given that Tehran had previously summoned the Moroccan chargé d'affaires to protest King Mohammed VI's position on the crisis in Bahrain.

However, as the Arab Spring unfolds, it is increasingly clear that Iran has much to overcome in expanding its influence throughout the Middle East. Even Arab Shias, like those in Bahrain, do not align with Iranian ideologies as much as many assumed they would, often seeking the guidance of Iraqi and Lebanese clerics instead of Iran's. If Iran cannot become the single spiritual and political beacon to the Arab Shia community, it stands little chance of leading the Sunni Arab majority.

The Arab awakening against authoritarian pro-Western governments marks the beginning of a new struggle between secular democracy and Iranian theocracy. Being on the defensive as supporter of the threatened regimes, the West faces a rough road ahead to steer the inevitable changes in its preferred direction. How the US and EU handle the Arabs' aspiration and the Iranians' challenge will be an important factor in determining the future of the Middle East.

If Egypt establishes full-fledged relations with Iran, then it would not only compromise with its own sovereignty and Sunni demographic balance but also threaten the stability of Israel but by and large the whole Arab region. It would also affect the Gulf that Iran has been eying since its ideological inception after the Islamic revolution, which in no aspect has remained Islamic afte

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