Iraq: Iran's backyard?
Photo: AP
Report: US indirectly strengthened Iran
Report by team of UK researchers claims that bringing down Iraq, Afghanistan regimes created political vacuum filled by Iran. Researchers add that Israeli-Palestinian conflict contributes to instability in region
The war on terror declared by the US has aided the strengthening of Iran and the increase of its influence in the Middle East, a report by the British think tank Cheltenham House claimed.
The authors of the report – including historians and Middle East scholars – said that the war being waged by the US in Afghanistan and Iraq managed to neutralize these countries and rule out their regional influence, creating a void that was filled by Iran.
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and the conflict in Lebanon were other factors blamed for the strengthening of Iran in the report.
The authors said that if the area does not become stable, Iran will continue to grow more powerful.
The report, parts of which were published in British newspaper The Guardian, said that Iran was quick to fill in the political vacuum left by the crashing of the Afghanistan Taliban regime, and the bringing down of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
No new stable regimes took their place, the report concluded.
The authors also claimed that the occupation of Iraq brought the US opposite results, causing Iran to become a power that influences Iraq.
Tehran sees its former rival as a backyard from which it can operate at will, the report said. It added that the situation is similar in Afghanistan, where Tehran has much influence.
The report added that the West should go to the depth of ties being held by Iran and its neighbors to understand why Tehran feels it can stand against pressures being applied against it by the West.
Iran was 'very important' – for political, economic, social, religious, and military reasons, and should therefore be treated seriously, the report concluded.
