IRAN'S OVERTURES TO IRAQ SHOULD WORRY THE U.S.
By Mike Evans
When the foreign ministers of the Organization of the slamic Conference gathered in Turkey last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi conferred with his Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari.
The two discussed the latest wave of terrorism in Iraq and the prospects for enhancing bilateral relations after the U.S.-led coalition transferred power to the Iraqis. According to a report in The Persian Journal, Kharrazi stressed the common Islamic values that underlie the relationship, which he said should guarantee a long friendship.
"The Iraqi interim government should establish sound relations with its neighbors," Kharrazi said.
Barely a week later, an Iraqi government spokesman expressed interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's interest in visiting Iran. He cited a letter from the Iraqi premier to Iranian President Mohammad Khatami two days before in which he called for cooperation with Iran.
Should the world be happy about this budding friendship between two former bitter enemies? No. The world should be alarmed at what could be the ascendancy of Iran, a country known to be a major backer of international terrorism — and hellbent on developing its own nuclear arsenal.
The United States has tried using political and economic sanctions to contain Iran's radical government ever since extremists seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. These have been a resounding flop against this oil-rich nation that trades with all of Europe.
Sanctions ineffective
Sanctions have not stopped Iran from exporting its "Islamic revolution" to Shiite-controlled Lebanon and sponsoring Hezbollah terrorism against Israel. And now the International Atomic Energy Agency is sounding the alarm about Iran's nuclear development.
Containing Iran will be a struggle for President Bush. He may have freed Afghanistan from the Taliban and deposed Saddam Hussein, but the U.S. also defeated Iran's enemies on two of its borders.
Iran's predominantly Shiite population is developing ever closer ties with Iraq's Shiite majority, which is sure to dominate the new Iraqi government. The two neighbors share cultural and religious ties that likely will grow stronger.
This past week, Zebari said Iraq's government had intelligence that neighboring countries are backing the insurgents. "Since we started to look at the security situation, we have seen how foreign governments have been helping terrorists," he said.
These countries surrounding Iraq, according to the U.S. State Department, are worried that the success of a Shiite-led government in Iraq could embolden Shiites in other Gulf states. In Kuwait, Shiites make up 30% of the population. Just over the border is Bahrain, 70% of its people are Shiite. In the oil-soaked eastern province of Saudi Arabia, Shiites are also a majority.
U.S. lives at stake
American lives are being put in harm's way each day to protect the birth of this new Iraqi democracy. But as terrorist bombs continue to claim innocent lives, the current and future rulers of a democratic Iraq appear to be embracing the kind of country Bush has called the "axis of evil."
How can the U.S. support the democratic ally of a country whose rulers refer to our nation as "the Great Satan?" And how can the U.S. lead the war against terrorism if Iraq is in an incestuous relationship with a leading terrorist state? This is a major dilemma.Besides cultivating its fellow Shiites in Iraq, Iran also has been flexing its muscles recently, clashing with the United Arab Emirates over fishing rights and capturing eight British sailors in three boats that were patrolling near the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
No one should think Iran's "Islamic revolution" is over. Current rulers have not abandoned the worldview of their founder, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who declared Saudi Arabia's rulers unfit to be the guardians of Islam's holiest cities, Mecca and Medina.
When the United States launched its invasion of Iraq last year, a major concern of the Bush administration — not to mention Iraq's Sunni Arab and Turkish neighbors — was the danger of eventual Iranian dominance over a Shiite-ruled Iraq.
This is on its way to becoming reality.
Michael D. Evans is a Middle East analyst and author of The American Prophecies, published by Time Warner.
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