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Iranian Daily: Iran Has Triumphed, and Has Overtaken the U.S. in the Middle East

(MEMRI) In a September 19, 2010, editorial, the Iranian daily Kayhan, which is close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, stated: In Iraq, the American strategy was based on preventing [outgoing prime minister] Nouri Al-Maliki from becoming prime minister [again] at any cost. Nevertheless, it is now clear that the White House must ultimately agree to the option that Iran supports for prime minister [that is, Al-Maliki]. What apparently will hasten the process [of his appointment as prime minister] is the exit of most U.S. Army battle units from Iraq - which will have a serious impact on [the U.S.'] bargaining power in the matter of the political balance within Iraq. In Afghanistan, the Americans have for some time been emphasizing that they agree that the only strategy that will work will be a regional one - one that will set Iran at its center - in order to resolve the chaos there. At the same time, the reason that America has so far refrained from officially asking Iran for help [in Afghanistan] was its desire not to give the impression that it had removed the Iranian nuclear issue from the top of its agenda. The Americans are gradually beginning to recognize that they are being forced to move towards Iran, and to begin to ask it for help. Iran is now increasing the quantity of low-level enriched material at Natanz, according to plan; it is now examining more advanced technology for centrifuges. More importantly under the current conditions, Iran has fully mastered techniques to enrich [uranium] to 20%, and this is of great strategic value. Of course, as has already been announced officially, Iran does not intend to bring its entire stock of low-level enriched material to 20% enrichment. However, its solution of the engineering and technical problems involved in enriching to 20%, and the fact that it has already stockpiled 20 kg of such material, will cause serious difficulties for the West in any sort of future negotiations. If the U.S. adds up the Iran strategy [that it has implemented] for the past two years, it will arrive at a final assessment: Iran has overtaken it. Besides the question of its next move [i.e., the U.S. decision regarding contacts with Iran], this assessment [i.e., that Iran is the premier superpower in the region] will have ramifications that cannot be ignored in future relations between Iran and the West.
2010-09-22 10:05:07
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