Shiites of the region and Iran
Abdul Nabi Al Shuala wrote in Bahrain on 3/11/2019: The Shiite Arabs are now reinforcing their understanding that the Iranian regime is neither qualified nor empowered to protect and defend them, if we assume that they need protection or defense.
And that the Arab countries where Iran has intervened to support them and protect the Shiites are now in a more difficult situation. It is enough to look at their situation in Iraq as only one example; this is the situation of millions of Arab Shiites in other states, let alone in Iran itself.
Far from claiming this system of religious sanctity, regardless of its good or bad intentions, the ruling regime in Iran remains a political system that is no different from others in putting its national interests above all else, and whoever believes otherwise is illusory.
On this basis, the ruling regime in Iran will not care or pay attention to the Shiite Arabs in the Arab countries except within the limits of its plans, projects, interests and national goals, both legitimate and illegitimate, and therefore we do not see any interest from Tehran, for example, the Shiites of Azerbaijan, whose exceed 70 percent of the population, or the Shiites of Pakistan, compared to its preoccupation with its interest in Arab Shiites in the name of ‘protection’ and ‘defending’ them without authorization or invitation under different pretexts.
Ayatollah Ahmad Alam al-Huda, the imam of the Mashhad mosque and a member of the Assembly of Experts, has revealed Iran’s ambition by saying: “Iran today is not only Iran, and is not limited by geographical boundaries. Today, the Popular Mobilization in Iraq is Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon is Iran, Ansar Allah in Yemen is Iran, the National Front in Syria is Iran, Islamic Jihad and Hamas in Palestine are Iran, they are all Iran, Iran is no longer just us!”
From all this, it is assumed that the Arab Shiites, and others, should know that the regime in Iran will not hesitate at any moment to use them as a card for bidding and barter, and will abandon them when it is in their interest to do so, and this is a natural behavior that should not surprise anyone because all countries work for their interests.
The basis of the demands of the demonstrators in Iraq and Lebanon should not be of concern to Iran. They are demanding the improvement of their living conditions and eliminate corruption. If Iran likes the interests of the Shiites, it must stand by their demands, not against them.
By its own admission, Iran has intervened in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. Have the Shiites in these countries become better? Perhaps they have benefited from something, but the majority of material and moral support and gains and benefits went to the politicians and the ‘government of the people’, but the ordinary Shiites have got almost nothing.
In a meeting with the Iranian Ambassador in Kuwait – the meeting was organized by the Kuwaiti-Iranian Friendship Association – we expressed to the Ambassador our fears about Iran, which is rich in everything, should concentrate its efforts on the internal situation of Iran and leave the Arab countries alone. No more, no less.