Iranian specter, Shia militias pushing Arab league to take stronger stance

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Arab foreign ministers strongly criticized Iran and its influence in the region during an emergency meeting held in Cairo on Sunday, calling for a united front to counter Tehran.

Held under the auspices of the Arab League, the meeting came as the fight against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria begins to wind down and heightened tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran over Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri’s resignation.

Hariri, who resigned on Nov. 4, is one of the latest officials to criticize Iran’s influence spreading from Tehran to the Mediterranean and accusing the Shia Islamic Republic of destabilizing neighboring countries.

In a declaration after the meeting, the Arab League accused Hezbollah – an Iranian-aligned Shia militia operating in Syria and supporting the regime of Bashar al-Assad – of “supporting terrorism and extremist groups in Arab countries with advanced weapons and ballistic missiles.”

“The kingdom will not stand by and will not hesitate to defend its security,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir told the assembly, Reuters reported. “We must stand together.”

The emergency Arab foreign ministers’ meeting was convened at the request of Saudi Arabia with support from the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait at the same time as the 9th Halifax International Security Forum in Canada.

During the forum, Head of the Kurdistan Region’s Department of Foreign Relations Falah Mustafa Bakir raised alarm bells about the specter of Iranian interference in regional politics.

“Tehran wants to become a regional superpower. Iran is the most influential country in Iraq today,” he said, noting that it had already engaged against western interests when it attacked the Kurdistan Region through its network of Iranian-supported Shia militias.

“Iranian threats have gone beyond all limits and pushed the region into a dangerous abyss,” Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said.

Similarly, nearly 50 US Congressmen last week wrote to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressing their concerns about the military presence Iran has established in Syria in the course of the country’s protracted civil war.

The Congressmen asked Tillerson to develop a strategy that would address the question of “how the United States plans to prevent Iran from gaining a permanent foothold on Israel and Jordan’s doorstep, and how to block Iranian arms exports to Hezbollah.”

“A permanent Iranian presence in Syria would connect Lebanon-based Hezbollah to Iran via Iraq and Syria, posing a significant threat to Israel, Jordan, and United States interest,” the Congressmen warned.