The Iranian regime’s “expansionist and interventionist” tendencies have become a cause of concern in the region, academics in Turkey say.
“Iran’s increased influence in Iraq, and its support of Syria’s Assad, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Yemen’s Houthis as well as its cooperation with Shias in Pakistan and Afghanistan have become quite bothersome for countries in the region, and its peoples,” Mehmet Sahin, associate professor and vice chairman of the Ankara-based Institute of Strategic Thinking, told Anadolu Agency Wednesday.
The countries in the Persian Gulf see the Iranian regime as a threat to their regional security , Sahin said, adding that last month’s nuclear deal signed between Tehran and world powers constituted another cause of major concern in the region.
“Saudi Arabia, in particular, is concerned about this deal” and are concerned that will make the regime “interfere even more in the affairs of regional countries,” Sahin added.
Professor Tayyar Ari, head of Uludag University’s International Relations Department, said that Tehran’s support for Shia elements had played a role in not only in Iraq’s current situation, but it was also a factor in destabilization of the region.
“Instead of preventing this, Iran pursues a policy which is rather augmentative. There is also a widespread notion that it will become an even bigger threat considering its nuclear capacity,” Ari said.
Pointing out Iran’s “well-established expansionist policy which takes advantage of regional political instability,” Ari said that Iran’s military and security structure were “totally focused on this.”
“By tradition, it is inclined to expand its area of influence through taking advantage of and instigating the sectarian and ethnical structures in other countries. All things considered, we can predict that Iran will continue to pursue its current policy, which still remains a big threat against regional stability,” he added.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Adel Al-Jubeir stated on Monday that the Iranian regime has been blatantly interfering in the internal affairs of several Arab countries.
While on a trip to Berlin, Al-Jubeir commented that the regime in Iran was continuing to interfere with Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen during a joint press conference held with German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.