Iranians are fighting in Syria

[pak-one]

Re: Iranians are fighting in Syria

@khoji

It is not just Iran that is the main actor. It is also Israel, America, Suadis, and Russia. So why mention Iran alone in case of Syria?
And why would you call Iranian mullahs intolerant? Even if they support Syria, it is not because of sectarian reasons but because of political reasons (Israel).
Saudi dictators, on the other hand, supported Bahraini dictators purely on the basis of sectarian hatred.

I agree that Israel, America, Saudis, Russia are actors in Syria, however let’s be clear here: Iran is not supporting Syria for political reasons pertaining to Israel nor is this a sectarian issue (Alawites are Shi’a? Really?), but rather it is Iran’s aspirations for regional hegemony that is driving this support for Syria. Syrian-Iranian cooperation exists not just in bilateral matters but also serves as a conduit to Hezbollah and until the recent Arab Spring, Hamas. Iran has used Syria to drive its political hegemonic ambitions in the Middle East and the Arab world in particular. Until the Shi’a dominated government Iraq (where Iranian support is on sectarian grounds), Syria had been the sole Arab ally through the Iran-Iraq War.

All of this talk does not take away from the fact that Iran is a regional power (with or without proxies) and has more capabilities (economic, political, and defense) than all of the Arab nations in the region. There is a reason why Israel is afraid.