Two Fronts Are Aligning in Region
Interview with Dr. Seyed Hadi Seyed Afqahi, Senior Researcher in Middle Eastern Affairs (Part 4)

In an interview with the Tebyan, Dr. Seyed Hadi Seyed Afqahi elaborates on international permutation of forces, particularly regarding their stances on developments in the Middle East.
Seyed Afqahi, opining on elections in Syria and Iraq said: “The region is witnessing alignment of two fronts each of which has been made of three layers. The first layer is formed by the big international players like BRICS [an association of five major emerging national economies including the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa], United States, and NATO, and other layers comprising of Resistance Front with such countries as Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Hezbollah, Palestine, Iraq and Yemen, getting closer to this front. 

BRICS and Resistance Front Pull the Rug from under US

Expounding on the new alignments in the region, Dr. Seyed Afqahi said: “This alignment becomes more critical day by day because big players annoy each other. For instance, the uprising in Brazil, crisis in Ukraine and Russia’s backyard, the issue of Hong Kong that is the backyard of China, BRICS and Resistance Front pull the rug from under the United States. There was a time when the United States and Saudi Arabia had their hegemony in Yemen and Syria but today, they are both out of their control. In case of pro-democracy movement in Bahrain, the United States is really helpless.”
Explaining more on the crisis in Bahrain he said: “They jailed Sheikh Ali Salman, the rational and civil personality in Bahrain, for vague accusations, while demonstration in Bahrain is the best example of civil opposition. As in Iraq, they expected reinstatement of Al-Ebadi would tilt him toward Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Zionist regime, but today, we see that Iraqi Foreign and Defense Minister Heidar al-Ebadi consier Iran a reliable ally. Therefore, the more critical the alignment in the region, the more critical developments we will observe in future.”

Translated by: Sadroddin Musawi