A few days ago, an Iranian cleric called for a “Greater Iran which would rule over the entire Middle East and Central Asia (emphasis added).” While this cleric is not technically speaking for the government of Iran, he is surely expressing the will of many of the hard-liners that currently govern Iran. This hard-line Shiite cleric defines a “Greater Iran” as reaching “from Afghanistan to Israel, bringing about the destruction of the Jewish state.” His views echo the statements of Iran’s current President who called for “wiping Israel off the map.”
These Shiite declarations ought to send shivers into the hearts of all the Sunni Arab governments in the Mideast (and Central Asia). It is evident that the hard-line Shiites of Iran want nothing less than the re-establishment of the ancient Persian Empire, albeit an Islamic one this time. This kind of radical Shiite declaration coming from Iran’s clerics can only serve to drive the Sunni governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, etc. even further into the arms of the Israelis as the Israelis are the only Mideast nation with a nuclear arsenal which can act as a counterbalance to Iranian imperialism. If the “Greater Iran” ever came into being, the Sunni Islamic governments in the Mideast fully realize that they would be marked for removal (in a best case scenario) or extinction (in a worst case scenario).
Previous blogs have documented the increased trend toward strategic and intelligence cooperation between the Israelis, the Egyptians, the Saudis, the Jordanians, etc. None of these nations want to become mere provinces of a new “Greater Iran” ruled over by Persian Satraps. Expect Israeli-Sunni Arab cooperation to continue to grow not only behind the scenes but openly as well. Previous blogs have reported that Israeli intelligence leaders have met with the intelligence chiefs of the Sunni Arab nations and that an Egyptian newspaper openly praised the head of the Israeli Mossad for delaying the Iranian nuclear weapons program. The Israelis have reconnaissance satellites that, no doubt, take regular photographs of everything in Iran. I’ll bet these photos are being shared with the Sunni intelligence chiefs, and that this action is helping cement closer cooperation between the Israelis and the Sunni governments.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100515/D9FN9INO3.html
