|
 That prospect alarms Iran's rivals, including Israel and Saudi
Arabia, which argue that Tehran is only being emboldened in its
quest for regional dominance.
How this plays out depends on whether — for the sake of closer ties
with the U.S. and Europe — Iran eventually ends some of the policies
that have disturbed the West, such as backing proxy militias in
Middle East hotspots. So far, there are no signals from Tehran.
Here's a look at Iran's regional involvement and the potential
impact of the nuclear deal.
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SAUDI ARABIA
The Saudi monarchy and other Sunni Muslim rulers in the Arab Gulf
are eager to counter Shiite Muslim-led Iran.
The Gulf countries view any normalizing of ties between Tehran and
the West as a direct threat to their own stability. Saudi Arabia has
accused Iran of funding Shiite rebellions in the Gulf countries of
Yemen and Bahrain and whipping up fervor among the kingdom's Shiite
minority.
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SYRIA
In Syria's civil war, Iran is siding with President Bashar Assad,
while Saudi Arabia is backing rebels trying to topple him. Iran has
given significant financial support to Assad and is also believed to
have sent military advisers to Syria, trained pro-government
militiamen and directed one of its proxies, Lebanon's Shiite Muslim
Hezbollah group, to fight alongside Assad's troops. Saudi Arabia has
sent weapons and money to the rebels, most of them Sunnis.
It's unclear what effect the precedent of successful nuclear
negotiations will have on Syria's civil war and on efforts to broker
a political resolution to the conflict.
The West acknowledges that Iran is a major player in Syria, but the
U.S. and the Syrian rebels remain opposed to Tehran taking part in a
proposed peace conference that Washington and Russia are trying to
convene.
Assad ally Russia, meanwhile, wants Iran at the negotiating table.
It may all be a moot point, since it's unclear whether the peace
talks will even take place. Assad's government and the rebels
disagree on the ground rules.
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[to top of second column] |
IRAQ
Iran and the United States have considerable influence over Shiite
and Sunni political groups, respectively, in Iraq. If they were to
reach an agreement on Iraq, as they did on the nuclear issue, they
could play a major role in defusing sectarian tensions.
Such tensions have been running high, with sectarian attacks,
including assaults on Shiite and Sunni mosques, taking place almost
daily.
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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS
The issue of Iran has loomed in the background of U.S.-mediated
negotiations on the terms of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The talks resumed in late July after a five-year break.
Israel has argued that it cannot take security risks in a deal with
the Palestinians because it faces a potential existential threat
from Iran. It could now make that point more forcefully, with Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintaining that the nuclear deal
endangers Israel's security.
The nuclear deal has also strained Israel-U.S. ties and might make
it more difficult for Washington to exert pressure on Israel on the
Palestinian issue, should it decide to do so.
Palestinian negotiators on Sunday praised the nuclear deal as a
precedent in which the international community came together to
solve a difficult issue. They said the major powers should do the
same to try to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has
festered for decades.
However, the U.S. has been unwilling to share its role of mediator
with others, and Israel has been staunchly opposed to broader
international involvement in the negotiations.
[Associated
Press]
Associated Press writers
Karin Laub in the West Bank, Aya Batrawy in Dubai, Sameer N. Yacoub
in Baghdad and Ryan Lucas in Beirut contributed to this report.
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
