24th Dec, 2012 –
Arabian Gulf leaders have stressed that Iranian interference tops the agenda for the GCC summit in Manama. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said: Iran is using these circumstances to interfere in Arab internal affairs. We would have understood their position if it is for the good. Unfortunately it is spreading division.” Let’s take a look at what this Iranian interference means in practice:
Syria: Iran has admitted military support for the Syrian regime. Experts agree that this financial, military and logistical support is large and has allowed the regime to continue murdering Syrian civilians months longer than would have otherwise been possible. Hezbollah has been involved in training pro-regime militias
Lebanon: Iran sends copious weapons and funding to Hezbollah and other paramilitary groups. Iranian threats to use Hezbollah and other proxies to bring chaos and bloodshed to Lebanon and the region in the event of threats to Iran.
Bahrain: Iranian leaders have continued to provocatively describe Bahrain as a province of Iran. Parliament speaker Ali Larijani advocated “incorporating” Bahrain into Iran. Iran provides financial and ideological support for Bahrain oppositionists and militants. Iranian TV channels fan the flames of sectarianism and Iran’s leaders have called for the violent overthrow of the Government.
Bahrain-Iran relations have been strained since the 1981 discovery of a Iran-sponsored coup attempt in Bahrain; with suspicions of an Iranian role in unrest in the mid-1990s. Supreme Leader’s advisor, Hussein Shariatmadari, called for Bahrain to be annexed as Iran’s 14th province.
Saudi Arabia: An Iranian plot was exposed to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to Washington. The same plot encompassed numerous other targets.
Recently a computer virus wreaked havoc across the Saudi national oil company’s computer systems. Iran was the most likely culprit.
Straits of Hormuz: Iran threatens to close the Straits and paralyze global transport of oil if Iran is attacked.
Palestine: Iran funds and arms Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other militants. Iranian rockets recently allowed militants to launch strikes against Tel Aviv.
Gulf States: Iran spy networks and sleeper cells have been found to be operational. Gulf states have aired concerns of the risks to the region of Iran’s nuclear programme. Beyond the strategic risks of an Iranian bomb, states are concerned about pollution risks and potential for catastrophe of a programme which is clandestine and improperly supervised.
Yemen: Iranian funding and ideological support has been documented for Huthi rebels and separatists.
Iraq: Iran provides support, funding and training to Shi’i militias responsible for sectarian attacks, often killing dozens of Iraqis. Iran continuing to use pressure to influence and hamstring the political process in Iraq.
Qatar: Qatari authorities in 2011 arrested four members of a cell with links with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards who planned to attack targets in Bahrain, including the interior ministry, the Saudi embassy and King Fahad causeway
Afghanistan: Iranian weapons convoys for insurgents have been impounded.
Israel: Iran’s leaders threaten to wipe Israel off the map. Israel’s leaders threaten military action if Iran gets close to acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Arabian Gulf and Suez Canal: Repeated provocations by Iranian ships
Egypt: A history of broken and poor relations. Notably over the 1981 Iranian decision to name a street after the assassin of the Egyptian President.
Morocco: Relations severed with Iran in 2009 with accusations of Iranian ideological interference in Moroccan affairs, as well as in other Arab nations.