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Iran's Attempted Rapprochement with Egypt: Implications for Sunni-Shiite Relations
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall - The Arab Spring has reinforced the conflict between the Arab states and Iran. While Iran continues to see the Islamic manifestations of the Arab Spring as an opportunity to promote its Islamic hegemonic aims, upheavals in the Arab world have in fact widened the gaps between Iran and the Arab states. This is mainly due to Iran's unequivocal backing of Syria, where Assad keeps trying to crush the opposition, and Iran's support for the Shiite opposition in Bahrain. The Sunni Arab camp is undergoing a process of consolidation, with a closing of ranks in the Arab world along Sunni Islamic and less Arab-nationalist lines. Iran is realizing that, even though Egypt has assumed a more Islamic coloration, it is still under the influence of the "moderate" Arab states - Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states - and is sustaining its relations with both the U.S. and Israel. Iran's progress in its nuclear program is intensifying fears among the Arab states. In their view, Iran's nuclearization would create greater space for its political subversion, terror, and the export of its radical brand of Shiite revolution. IDF Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael (Mickey) Segall is an expert on strategic issues with a focus on Iran, terrorism, and the Middle East.