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After Lebanon, There's Iran

[Christian Science Monitor] Vali Nasr - When the war in Lebanon ends, the U.S. will have to piece together a whole new strategy for dealing with Iran - especially its nuclear program. The Israeli-Hizballah war has boldly ratcheted up Iran's regional stature. Hizballah surprised Israel and the U.S. by successfully testing a number of Iranian-made advanced weapons systems. It was Iranian clerics and Revolutionary Guards commanders who first organized Hizballah in the 1980s. Since then, Tehran has bankrolled and armed Hizballah's war machine. Many among the current leadership of Iran's Revolutionary Guards have served tours of duty at Hizballah's headquarters in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. Iran's leaders see Hizballah as an ally and an asset. Hizballah is a fruit of the Iranian revolution - the only time its seed found fertile soil outside Iran. Tehran cannot back away from Hizballah without acknowledging that the revolution is over. Iran's hard-line leaders, looking to rekindle revolutionary fervor at home, see their own values reflected in Hizballah. Nor will Tehran easily give up on a pro-Iranian force in the heart of the Arab world and an important instrument in confronting Israel and the U.S. The writer teaches at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and is adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
2006-08-11 01:00:00
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