Although some might question the U.S. policy of demonizing Iran (which no small number of analysts attribute to our strong ties with Israel), three recent reports suggest that concerns about the country's intentions are likely warranted [bold italics mine].
1. "Saudi King Visits Oil-Producing Area After Unrest" (Reuters):
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah visited the oil-producing Eastern Province on Sunday to launch development projects, following sectarian tension there among the kingdom's restive Shi'ite Muslim minority.
The visit "reflected the king's desire to have a first-hand knowledge of citizens' requirements and follow up on the progress of development projects," newspapers quoted local governor Prince Mohammed bin Fahd as saying.
An official said the monarch would launch projects worth 54 billion riyals ($14.4 billion), mainly in the power generation and petrochemicals industries to create more job opportunities in a region that generates most of the kingdom's revenues.
The six-day visit will also see the monarch chair a weekly cabinet meeting in Dammam, a few miles away from the town of Awwamiya where firebrand preacher Nimr al-Nimr breached a taboo last month by suggesting in a sermon that Shi'ites could one day seek their own separate state.
The king will also host ordinary citizens from the region where they can present complaints, in keeping with a long tradition of previous rulers.
The secession threat, which diplomats say is unprecedented since the 1979 Iranian revolution provoked anti-Saudi protests, followed clashes between the Sunni religious police and Shi'ite pilgrims near the tomb of Prophet Mohammad in the city of Medina, in the western region of the vast desert state.
Saudi officials say Shi'ites make up less than 10 percent of the population, although diplomats believe the figure is closer to 15 percent. Most live in the Eastern Province.
"The challenge here is how we can go beyond (problems) via affirming our national identity, which is how we measure whether we have achieved a modern state...," al-Riyadh daily said in an editorial comment hinting at lack of development in some areas.
Many Shi'ites say they continue to suffer second class status in a state whose official brand of mainstream Sunni Islam sees them as virtual heretics.
The rising influence of Shi'ite Iran, after the 2003 Iraq invasion empowered its Shi'ite majority, has revived official fears that Shi'ites could become a fifth column against the Saudi state, analysts say.
Shi'ite districts of the Eastern Province are visibly less affluent than other parts of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter which has enjoyed huge oil revenues in recent years. The Sunni southwest near Yemen is impoverished.
"This is a very important region for the country," a Western diplomat said. "The king spends a lot of time in Riyadh and Jeddah. One can actually wonder why he does not spend more time in the Eastern province."
2. "Ahead of Critical Elections, Clinton Says U.S. Will Never 'Sell Out' Lebanon to Syrian Interests" (Associated Press):
Ahead of an election that could oust the U.S.-backed Beirut government, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that Washington supports "voices of moderation" and never will make a deal Syria that "sells out" Lebanon's interests.
The June 7 vote could boost the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies, possibly paving the way for renewed Syrian influence over Lebanon.
"The people of Lebanon must be able to choose their own representatives in open and fair elections without the specter of violence or intimidation and free of outside interference," Clinton told a news conference after meeting with President Michel Suleiman.
"Beyond the elections, we will continue to support the voices of moderation in Lebanon and the responsible institutions of the Lebanese state they are working hard to build. Our ongoing support for the Lebanese armed forces remains a pillar of our bilateral cooperation," she added.
Syria dominated Lebanon for nearly three decades before it was forced to withdraw its tens of thousands of troops four years ago in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. There have been concerns among anti-Syrian factions in the pro-U.S. parliamentary majority that the Obama administration's talks with Syria could weaken American support for Lebanon.
In a possible sign of a new diplomatic openness between the U.S. and Syria, American officials noted that Clinton's Air Force plane flew to Lebanon from Kuwait directly through Syrian airspace, instead of bypassing it as such flights usually do.
Clinton said she delivered a letter from Obama to Suleiman expressing strong support for a free, sovereign and independent Lebanon. She said U.S. attempts to engage Syria and Iran are not being done at the expense of that support.
"There is nothing that we would do in any way that would undermine Lebanon's sovereignty," Clinton said. "I want to assure any Lebanese citizen that the United States will never make any deal with Syria that sells out Lebanon and the Lebanese people. You have been through too much and it is only right that you are given a chance to make your own decisions," Clinton said.
"It's a complicated neighborhood you live in and you have the right to your own future," she added.
Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Mussawi said Clinton's visit could have a negative impact on the pro-U.S. factions in the country. Speaking on the group's Al-Manar TV after Clinton arrived, Mussawi said it was too early to tell whether the Obama administration has reassessed its policy.
But, he added, American "interference in the past was never positive." He also criticized what he termed a "double standard and deception," when the U.S. calls for Islamic factions to participate in elections and then refuses to accept the results if they win.
Clinton first trip to one of the most volatile countries in the Middle East lasted a little less than three hours. She would not speculate on the results of the election and what the U.S. would do if Hezbollah wins, stressing a free and fair elections.
U.S. officials have said they would review aid to Lebanon, including military assistance, depending on the composition of the new government. The United States has provided $1 billion in aid since 2006, including $410 million in security assistance to the military and the police.
Although the U.S. and Israel regard Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, the militant Shiite group shares power in Lebanon's current government and along with its allies, has veto power on major decisions. A strong showing by Hezbollah would further boost Iranian and Syrian influence in the Mideast and could harm Arab-Israeli peace efforts.
While urging free and fair elections, the Obama administration is treading carefully. The Bush administration encouraged the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006 and then saw the radical Hamas movement win handily and badly damage efforts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
Reflecting that concern, Clinton met during her brief stay with just one senior official, Suleiman.
U.S. officials say her meeting with Suleiman only is because the U.S. doesn't want to be seen as taking sides in the elections. Suleiman is considered a consensus leader and neutral in the political struggle.
Even if it wins, Hezbollah cannot rule alone because of Lebanon's complex, sectarian power-sharing system in which the major of the 18 sects must be represented in parliament and the Cabinet.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says the group knows that trying to dominate Lebanon's politics would destabilize the country. In the past four years, Lebanon has nearly tumbled into a repeat of the 1975-90 civil war as the pro-Syrian and pro-U.S. camps struggled for the upper hand.
Hezbollah has taken the strategy of a low-key election campaign with a moderate message, aiming to show that a victory by its coalition should not scare anyone. Nasrallah has even said that if the coalition wins, it would invite its opponents to join in a national unity government to ensure stability.
Before leaving Lebanon, Clinton stopped at Hariri's grave to lay a wreath. She renewed U.S. support for an international tribunal based in the Netherlands to try his killers. "There needs to be an absolute end to an era of impunity for political assassinations in Lebanon," Clinton said.
3. "Egypt Summons Iran Envoy Over Hezbollah Spat" (Agence France-Presse):
The foreign ministry summoned an Iranian official on Tuesday after Iran criticised Egypt's claim that it had arrested members of Lebanon's Hezbollah for allegedly planning attacks in the country.
Foreign ministry official Mohammed el-Zarqani summoned Mohammed Rajabi, the head of Iran's special interests office in Egypt, to express key US ally Cairo's "absolute rejection" of the criticism, a statement said.
Strained ties between regional heavyweights Egypt and Iran, which severed diplomatic relations almost 30 years ago, have deteriorated further since Egypt accused a Hezbollah cell earlier this month of plotting attacks in the country.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has accused Tehran of using the Shiite militant group Hezbollah to gain a foothold in the most populous Arab country, saying that Iran wished to make Egypt its "maid of honour."
Iranian officials have said Egypt's case against 49 suspects accused of belonging to Hezbollah and of planning attacks inside the country was spurious and an attempt to influence upcoming Lebanese parliamentary elections.
Zarqani told Rajabi that "Egypt would not accept statements such as these and (Iran's) hostile position, warning that Egypt will not stand silent with folded arms when confronted with such positions," the statement said.
Egyptian security officials say 25 members of the alleged cell have been arrested. Official media have reported that a Lebanese commander of the group admitted to plotting attacks on resorts in Egypt.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah confirmed that the man, identified as Sami Shihab, was a Hezbollah agent and that he had been tasked with smuggling arms to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
But he denied that the cell, which he said consisted of no more than 10 members, had planned attacks in Egypt itself.
Cairo and Tehran broke off diplomatic ties a year after Islamist revolutionaries overthrew the pro-Western shah of Iran in 1979.
Iran opposed Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel and named a street in Tehran after the assassin of then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, who was killed by an Egyptian Islamist militant in 1981.
A Gulf News commentary by Abdullah Al Shayji, Professor of International Relations and the Head of the American Studies Unit at Kuwait University, "Iran's Shadow Over Arab World," provides further background on the regional power and its history -- as well as its aggressive ambitions in the Middle East.
Last week I was part of an Al Arabiya television programme with an Iranian participant and other Arab panelists from various political backgrounds. The topic was timely: 'Iran and the Arabs - Friends or Foes?' Any assessment to determine whether someone is a friend or a foe must take a stock of the relationship - is it symmetrical and based on a balance of power, or is it lopsided and favours one over the other? Does one side exploit, interfere and weaken the other side and undermine its security and prosperity? Answering such queries provides the exact yardstick to judge whether the relationship is friendly or hostile.
Historically, the Arab-Iran relationship has been based on much rivalry, competition and mistrust. The Persian Empire from 550 BC to 630 AD was among the most powerful, until the Islamic caliphate was able to topple that empire and spread Islam as the religion and Arabic as the language.
The majority of the Iranian people today are Muslim. And there is a continued influence of Arabic on Persian, which uses the Arabic script. Also, almost 60 per cent of the Persian language is derived from Arabic.
The Persians look down upon the Arabs, and always sought dominance over them, even during the days of the Shah. They always interfered in Arab affairs.
We must admit that Iran is a major regional power, while the Arab world is fragmented and lacks a coherent approach. There is a lot of bickering. While the Arab side by and large longs for a strategic partnership with Iran - an alliance that could strengthen both parties - the Iranians do not share that view. They believe their strategic interests are better served by a fragmented and disoriented Arab order.
Iran under the Shah was a major power and the 'policeman of the Gulf'. The Shah boasted that only Iran was capable of preserving peace and security in the Middle East. Iranian-American writer Trita Parsi quotes Golam Reza Afkhami, the Shah's adviser, in his outstanding book Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the US as saying: "No one could match Iran's culture, or history. It is important to realise this to understand why the Shah did what he did."
To give another example of the Iranian bravado and arrogance, Parsi says that the Shah's minister of court wrote in his diary in 1971 (the year Iran occupied the three UAE islands) that "Iran was rapidly assuming leadership not only over the& Gulf, but over the Middle East and its entire oil".
The Shah's hubris was cloaked in Iranian nationalism, and he bequeathed it to the Islamic regime in Iran. This regime, under the garb of Islam, engages in a show of rhetoric against the Great Satan, imperialism and Zionism. They know this sells on the Arab and Muslim street and among the masses, where Iran is winning the battle of hearts and minds among Arabs and Muslims for standing up for the oppressed and the downtrodden against the West and Israel.
Three reasons could be advanced to explain Iran's mindset and strategic thinking and why Iran feels emboldened about spreading its influence from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean Sea. The first is the historical baggage that Iran has carried for centuries by being an imperial power with a rich and vibrant civilisation.
Second, Iran through the centuries has sought to weaken others, and followed the old divide and rule strategy. It employed this principle successfully and smartly against its Arab rivals.
Third, it engages in a game of chess and not a boxing match with the Americans. It plays its cards -the nuclear programme, Afghanistan, Iraq, Gulf security, oil, Hezbollah and Hamas - carefully.
Furthermore, Iran leads the so-called axis of resistance in order to project power and be taken seriously by the Americans in particular, and the other powers that have a stake in the region in general. Iran's game is being played and fought in the Arab theatre.
It is against Arab interests and is splitting the Arab world. Iran is interfering in Arab affairs from Bahrain to Morocco. It also interferes in Iraq, and has allied itself with Syria. Iran has the audacity to support non-state actors against their own regime to further weaken the Arabs.
The final conclusion of the Al Arabiya programme on Iran and the Arabs was typical of any conference or panel on Arab-Iran relations. Iran is exploiting the Arab world.
What exacerbates the situation is the Arabs' lack of resolve to make Iran pay heavily for its interference in their affairs. They continue to lack the deterrence and the counter-tactics and as long as this persists, Iran will be the regional power by default and because of infighting and divisions in the Arab world.
When will Arabs learn?
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