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Iran Looms Large in Libya Decisions
(Wall Street Journal) Gerald F. Seib - The Iranian factor forms the backdrop to the argument about whether to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. Those pushing for intervention worry that if Gaddafi survives, Iran will see that leaders who give ground to democracy protesters are swept away, while those who brutally crush protesters are the ones who hang on. For Iranian leaders already disposed to crushing their own pro-democracy dissidents, the message will be clear. The narrative Tehran's leaders have been spinning is that the U.S. and its Zionist allies are waiting to take advantage of any Mideast unrest to seize control of the region and its oil assets. This Iranian narrative holds that the protesters in Tehran's streets are either active or unwitting agents of this insidious American conspiracy.