... security system of their own. Iran has been relying on its regional influence, including religious and cultural influence, to build so-called
Islamic resistance
by financing projects to create and maintain cross-border non-governmental actors in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and — some analysts believe — Yemen. [
2
]2 Some experts explain Iran’s policy by its desire to consolidate a fairly large territory in the Middle East predominantly populated by Shiites. The very term Shiite Crescent, coined by King Abdullah II of Jordan, has been
used widely
by the Arab media (such as Qatar’s Al Jazeera) and in Israeli publications, and has caught on in the English-language press. In reality, however, Iran’s ...
Pursuing an active policy in Syria up to direct involvement in the military conflict seems to be bringing Moscow both fresh opportunities and new risks, both internal and external, that range from the palpable to the obscure.
Risks
The most obvious risks are image-related. While ...
... several decades. And now the main theater for this confrontation lies in Iraq, whose western and central regions have become home to the Islamic State (IS), territory claimed by a group of radical Islamists
[22]
.
AFP / LOUAI BESHARA
Elena Suponina:
Shiites and Sunnis: The Danger of Major War
from Syria to Pakistan
Emergence of a major Islamist entity in close proximity to its borders constitutes a direct threat to Iran's national security. Hence, sources suggest, Iranian troops have already entered Iraqi territory to support local Shiite militias ...
... Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain.
Thus, of 34 million Muslims in Iraq, Shiites make up about 60 percent, while the number of Sunni Muslims, according to various estimates, varies from 20 to 30 percent
[5]
. Recently, the Shiites in Iraq fell from power.
Shiites also live in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan
[6]
. In Pakistan, the Shiites make up from 13 to 20 percent, but since the population of the country is about 190 million people, they constitute a fairly big community
[7]
.
Different communities ...
