Although violence in war-ravaged Iraq has come down in recent months, neighboring Iran’s political and military shadow hangs over the country’s majority Shiite population which is undoubtedly of great concern to the United States of America.
There is no doubt to the fact that Tehran’s hardliners desperately want a Shia-dominated government in Baghdad to enjoy the political benefits arising out of an ideologically similar neighbor. But for this to happen, the Iranians know that Iraq should be freed from American influence.
With Iran’s nuclear standoff still to be resolved and heading for a fresh set of talks with the European Union later this month, Tehran keeps on supporting the armed Shiite insurgency in Iraq further isolating itself from the west and particularly, the United States.
Given the future repercussions of the continuing Iranian influence in Iraq which could see Saudi Arabia mark its presence in the devastated country on the side of the Sunni insurgency leading to further destabilization, Tehran is set to supply arms, ammunition and moral support to armed Shia groups due to some ambitious geo-political reasons.
The radical Iranian leadership knows that the Iraqi situation and the nuclear standoff are somewhat related to each other. If the US is unable to resolve the standoff to its own liking and go ahead with tough countermeasures against Tehran, the Islamic Republic can cause enough problems for US forces stationed in Iraq.
To the Iranians, the continued instability in Iraq is a way of engaging the Americans and preventing Washington to launch an all out war against Tehran. Various reports from Iraq have suggested that Iran has huge investment interests in southern Iraq, a Shia stronghold, which is a clear sign that the Islamic republic has gained immense support among the Shia population and this is bad news for the US which is trying to set up a democratically elected, secular west-oriented government in Baghdad.
Iran, on the other hand, does not want a secular Iraq as this would isolate Tehran further in the region given the bad relations that the radical leadership has with other middle-eastern nations, particularly Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, etc. Given the rich reserves of oil Iraq has in its disposal, a pro-western Baghdad government would gain immense share in the world market further jeopardising Iran’s importance in the global oil market.
The continued Iranian defiance of the IAEA, EU and the US regarding the nuclear issue is a clear sign that Tehran wants to buy time to gather support for its cause, but the talks scheduled to be held later this month would show how far president Ahmadinejad has gone to diffuse the situation. No doubt, Iran is set to corelate the nuclear issue with its influenc in Iraqi politics.
Source: Yahoo
