Iran has no strategic regional ally: ex-IRGC chief

[gambit]

No allies indeed...

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Politically, what Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba was eloquently quoted as saying is also true. He said that we are in trouble with regards to what Iran is doing in the region today, so just imagine what Tehran will do when it has nuclear capabilities! Indeed imagine Iran's mentality and behavior after it gains nuclear capabilities and realizes that no country in the world is capable of entering a war with it. Therefore what is truly wrong is the reluctance of our politicians to express their opinions and concerns towards the most dangerous threat that is facing our region in a hundred years, not the opposite!

?We cannot live with a nuclear Iran? ? Arab diplomat - RT

"I think it's a cost-benefit analysis," Mr. al-Otaiba commented. "I think despite the large amount of trade we do with Iran, which is close to $12 billion … there will be consequences, there will be a backlash and there will be problems with people protesting and rioting and very unhappy that there is an outside force attacking a Muslim country; that [protests are] going to happen no matter what."

“We cannot live with a nuclear Iran,” the ambassador told his audience.

The ambassador concluded that his country would never accept a nuclear Iran.

"The United States may be able to live with it," he said. "We can't."

That last bit about the US is very significant. That 'We' naturally include Israel. What the UAE ambassador is saying is that 'We' will tacitly allow Israel to attack Iran's nuclear facilities if the US will not take the offer. Israel has been around for slightly over half a century but it is the theological Iran that is the greatest regional threat in over one hundred years.

Still think that the Saudis and others will not allow airspace access to Israel?

 

[somebozo]

The problem with Iran is its mullahs who under religious pretext are bullying everyone. Afghanistan strategically ended in stalemate due to Iran and Pakistan paying a heavy price for it. It instead became a battle ground of arab vs persian, Shia vs sunni bigotry with both sides trying to fund maximum arms and build madrassas exploiting Afghan people religious sentiments.

Then there is Mullah rehotric of exporting revolution. Where do they want to export it?? Then Iran threating GCC nations as their 14 proviences. The poor international integration of iran. When Iran was secular and peaceful and not making headlines every day, neighbouring countries did not pass on these kind of comments. But now under ahmedinejad, Iran is turning into a rouge threat!

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

we should avoid too much religion talk here, but i can say with full conviction that the OIC will be useless if it cant get 2 important Islamic nations like Saudi and Iran to discard its stupid differences and set aside blind nationalism for a few seconds

and it would be great if the west could stop fuelling the fire for such divisions by isolating Iran and encouraging other Muslim countries to do so.





p.s. Iran can do with MUCH better leaders and much better system....confrontational, radical Islamist theocracy and dictatorship is not what that country needs

 

[Nahraf]

The problem with Iran is its mullahs who under religious pretext are bullying everyone. Afghanistan strategically ended in stalemate due to Iran

The world blames Pakistan for meddling in Afghanistan. The Talibans were trained and equipped by ISI and Pakistan army. The Taliban started imposing Sunni and Pakhtun rules on diverse Shia and Dari population and its opposition later resulted in Northern Alliance.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

The world blames Pakistan for meddling in Afghanistan.

How convenient, you forgot about the soviets and the anti-soviet drive (‘’free world’’ effort)

The Talibans were trained and equipped by ISI and Pakistan army

A huge % of the weapons were already in Afghanistan…..we are a poor country, we cannot be bank-rolling other regimes, governments and proxies –at least not to the same extend that your country does. We gave them diplomatic support.

The Taliban started imposing Sunni and Pakhtun rules on diverse Shia and Dari population that later resulted in Northern Alliance.

And would you claim that Northern alliance represents Afghans? Has it ever succeeded in uniting Afghanistan? Are they responsible enough to end the drugs trade, or are they themselves complicit in it (e.g. Karzai’s brother)

I seek your analysis, agha

 

[ای ایران]

The problem with Iran is its mullahs who under religious pretext are bullying everyone. Afghanistan strategically ended in stalemate due to Iran and Pakistan paying a heavy price for it. It instead became a battle ground of arab vs persian, Shia vs sunni bigotry with both sides trying to fund maximum arms and build madrassas exploiting Afghan people religious sentiments.

Then there is Mullah rehotric of exporting revolution. Where do they want to export it?? Then Iran threating GCC nations as their 14 proviences. The poor international integration of iran. When Iran was secular and peaceful and not making headlines every day, neighbouring countries did not pass on these kind of comments. But now under ahmedinejad, Iran is turning into a rouge threat!

You have a very skewed and warped account of things. The wars in Afghanistan had nothing to do with 'Arabs vs Persians' or 'Shia vs Sonnis'. The civil-war was a result of Afghan infighting and secondly Pakistani intereference in trying undermine the Najibullah regime, attempt to install Hekmatyar in his place, and then finally the Pakistani involvement in aiding the Taliban's take-over of much of that country. Iran had no real involvement in Afghanistan's civil war until after the 1998 fall of Mazar-e Sharif and the outrages the Taliban committed there against Iranian diplomats, Shia Afghans and ethnic Hazaris, Turkmen, Tajiks and Uzbeks in the west and north of the country.

Also, Iran does not build "madrassas" or have any kind of equivalent to the types of religious seminaries that exist all over your country. The word madresse in Persian just means school, it is not a seminary and Iran does not build religious seminaries for Shias in Afghanistan. Shias in Afghanistan are not even that ideologically close to the Islamic Republic. They have their own marja'iya and so on.

And the early revolutionary desire of wanting to "export the revolution" died during the mid-1980s after Iranian forces were unable to capture Al-Basrah or make any serious advances into Iraq. Plus, Iran's fundamentalist leadership were only interested in 'exporting revolution' to the Middle East, not to Afghanistan, which they did not care about.

Finally the I.R does not threaten to take over the GCC countries. Only Bahrain is rarely mocked by Iranian officials as being a former Iranian province when GCC countries push things too far with Iran.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

yes anyone with basic knowledge of language knows that madressah means, thanks for your analysis

i dont believe in imposing will, religion or views on others forcefully. it's wrong of taleban to do that, it's wrong of Iran to do that (who exports revolutions?)

 

[ای ایران]

yes anyone with basic knowledge of language knows that madressah means, thanks for your analysis

i dont believe in imposing will, religion or views on others forcefully. it's wrong of taleban to do that, it's wrong of Iran to do that (who exports revolutions?)

The right-wing among the Islamists during Iran's revolution, which included Ayatollah Khomeini, wrongly believed that Arabs would welcome Iranian support in fomenting revolutions in their own countries like Iraq, Lebanon etc because the right-wing Iranian Islamists at the time did not care about Iran or being Iranian they saw themselves initially as just Shia and Muslim. The pragmatic and left-wing Islamists did not see things this way, and neither did the other factions to the revolution like the socialists, communists, secularists etc But because of the use of force and terror to control the Iranian people and to eliminate the opponents of Khomeini, in addition to the early ideological fervour and zealotry during the early 80s, the right-wing Islamist discourse came to dominate Iran during the early post-revolution period.

It is only that one faction that believed in "exporting the revolution".

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

i'm sorry to see that less wiser councils prevailed

far left far right makes no difference. My personal opinion is that Mullahs or any religious figures should never be calling the shots or setting the agenda for a country

it never works

 

[Nahraf]

How convenient, you forgot about the soviets and the anti-soviet drive (‘’free world’’ effort)

We are discussing post-Soviet withdrawal era in Afghanistan.

A huge % of the weapons were already in Afghanistan…..we are a poor country, we cannot be bank-rolling other regimes, governments and proxies –at least not to the same extend that your country does. We gave them diplomatic support.

ISI oversaw the distribution of weapons and they had stockpiles that were later supplied to Talibans

And would you claim that Northern alliance represents Afghans? Has it ever succeeded in uniting Afghanistan? Are they responsible enough to end the drugs trade, or are they themselves complicit in it (e.g. Karzai’s brother)

Neither Northern Alliance nor Taliban represent all Afghans. The Taliban has support among Pakhtuns while Northern Alliance among Dari speakers. Drug trade is fueled by Afghan farmers who benefit immensely due to this cash crop.

I seek your analysis, agha

I am not an Agha. Your presumptions and prejudices are your problems.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

We are discussing post-Soviet withdrawal era in Afghanistan.

you cant discuss that without keeping in mind what i had mentioned

ISI oversaw the distribution of weapons and they had stockpiles that were later supplied to Talibans

during the anti-soviet operations, yes this is absolutely true. As for post-civil war, we recognized them politically. I don't know anything about the logistics of those weapons or who took what. The nation was already awash in weapons.

Neither Northern Alliance nor Taliban represent all Afghans. The Taliban has support among Pakhtuns while Northern Alliance among Dari speakers. Drug trade is fueled by Afghan farmers who benefit immensely due to this cash crop.

okay.

I am not an Agha. Your presumptions and prejudices are your problems.

I beg your pardon. Pray tell me what presumptions and prejudices are you referring to.

 

[Pasban]

Then there is Mullah rehotric of exporting revolution. Where do they want to export it?? Then Iran threating GCC nations as their 14 proviences. The poor international integration of iran. When Iran was secular and peaceful and not making headlines every day, neighbouring countries did not pass on these kind of comments. But now under ahmedinejad, Iran is turning into a rouge threat!

I do not see how Iran is exporting any revolution at present. Also, how is Iran treating the GCC countries as it's provinces when the situation is actually in reverse with some member states, such as UAE, claiming Iranian territories and the Saudi King stating that "Iran has not right to exist" and so forth.

Neighboring Persian Gulf countries did not make such devious comments on Iran prior to revolution because of Iran's close attachment to the US at the time and that too especially in terms of armaments. The post-revolution period allowed for the opportunity to arise for them to be brought forward.

 

[ARSENAL6]

I wonder what category does Pakistan belong too in the eyes of Iran.

EXCATLY ! You took the words out of my mouth.