Iran is a ‘dangerous ally’ for the US in the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and could be used by the clerical regime as a springboard for their meddling and anti-Western scheming in the Middle East, a senior American General has warned.
Iran seeks a subordinate Shi’ite leadership in Iraq, and aims to enrage Sunni Muslims with it support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Hugh Shelton said.
He wrote in the Los Angeles Times: “Aiding and abetting Iran’s destructive role in Iraq or Syria would be a strategic mistake for the US that only exacerbates a profound crisis.
“Is Tehran an ally or a nemesis in the fight against Islamic State? At least initially, the US believed that Iran could play a constructive role in combating a mutual adversary. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, touting the age-old axiom ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’, suggested that Iran could be part of the solution.
“The only trouble is that Iran is a major part of the challenges we face.”
Iran immediately backed Shiite Muslim militant factions with training, money, weapons and intelligence following the rise of ISIS, then annexed Iraq as a ‘satellite state’ when prime minister Nouri al-Maliki rose to power, Gen Shelton said.
He added: “Iran now has more than 7,000 Revolutionary Guards and elite Quds Force members in Iraq, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
“Amnesty International has pointed to the presence of Iran’s proxy militias in Iraq as a key source of instability and sectarian conflict there.
“Obama’s policy toward the mullahs is at best deadly medication. Appeasing Iran to fight ISIS or religious extremists in Iraq or Syria and elsewhere is like taking opium to control blood sugar.
“Iranian clerics’ paranoia over domestic discontent has made meddling in regional countries, Iraq in particular, a cornerstone of Tehran’s foreign policy and survival strategy.
“Iran’s reasons for ‘fighting’ ISIS diverge considerably from US objectives. Whereas we seek a stable and non-sectarian government in Iraq, the mullahs’ interests are best served by the ascension of a subordinate Shiite leadership, enabling them to use the neighbor to the west as a springboard for their regional hegemonic, anti-Western designs.
“Iran’s role in the civil war in Syria is following a similar dynamic: Through its proxy Hezbollah — the Shiite Muslim political and paramilitary organization — Iran has served as Syrian President Bashar Assad’s battering ram against his people, killing and enraging Sunnis and fuelling ISIS’ exponential growth.
“Aiding and abetting Iran’s destructive role in Iraq or Syria would be a strategic mistake for the US that only exacerbates a profound crisis. It is a dangerous irony to even consider allying with Iran — which the US State Department still considers the world’s most active state sponsor of terrorism — to fight the terrorism inspired by ISIS.
“Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, who is well versed in the agenda and ambitions of Tehran’s mullahs, rightly describes a potential Western alliance with Iran against ISIS as akin to ‘jumping from the frying pan into the fire’.
“The eviction of the Iranian government from the region, especially from Syria and Iraq, must be part of the US strategy for countering ISIS and resolving the sectarian divides that drive extremism throughout the region, Rajavi says.”
Gen Shelton added: “She’s right. The US must think beyond ISIS to what kind of region will be left in its smouldering wake. As the US weighs its policy options, any scenario that leaves Iran in control of large swaths of the region must be rejected outright.”