Ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad, Iraq, November 7. Alaa al-Marjani / Reuters
Con Coughlin, The National: Tehran finds itself in a desperate battle to maintain its influence over Lebanon and Iraq
Throughout the Arab world there is a growing resistance to Iran’s attempts to meddle in their affairs.
For all Iran’s efforts to establish a powerful network of allies throughout the Middle East, Tehran’s attempts to achieve its long-held goal of regional domination are currently experiencing their most severe challenge in years as a result of the anti-government protests that are taking place in Lebanon and Iraq.
A definitive report published in London this week by the influential International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank sets out in detail how Iran has spent decades building what it calls “networks of influence” throughout the Middle East in an attempt to gain an advantage over its many adversaries.
But while the IISS’s report, “Iran’s Networks of Influence in the Middle East”, provides worrying detail about the extent of Iran’s malign meddling in the affairs of neighbouring Arab states, Tehran now finds itself in a desperate battle to maintain its influence over Lebanon and Iraq, countries which, until the recent wave of anti-government protests erupted, were key targets for Iranian attempts to consolidate its grip over vital areas of the Middle East.
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WNU Editor: This could get very bloody .... A New Arab Spring Is Unfolding in Iraq and Lebanon. But Things Could Get Bloody If Iran Gets Its Way (Bessma Momani, Time).
