(Israel Hayom) Dore Gold - The recent changes in the Middle East have not only melted the borders between Syria and Iraq, but also between Iraq and Iran. In the past, Iraq served as a buffer state separating Iran from the rest of the Arab world. With the Iraqi buffer removed, there will be a territorially contiguous line from Tehran to Jordan's eastern border. General Qassam Suleimani, the commander of the Qods Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, was quoted as saying that Iran could control events in Jordan, the same way it operated in Iraq and Lebanon. Days later the Revolutionary Guards denied that Suleimani made such a statement. Yet Al Jazeera reported on March 16 that Iran was already at Jordan's doorstep, deploying its Revolutionary Guards, as well as Hizbullah forces (and those of other Shiite militias from Iraq and Afghanistan) in southern Syria adjacent to the Jordanian border. Iran is clearly exploiting its nuclear talks with the West in order to establish its hegemonial position and erect a new regional order from Yemen to Kurdistan. The writer, a former Israeli ambassador to the UN, is president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
2015-03-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive