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Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-03-08/as-trump-makes-threats-iran-makes-friends
Iran Is Expanding Its Reach
(Bloomberg) Donna Abu-Nasr - In Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north, Iran is successfully building enclaves of fervent support way beyond the Middle East, an example that Iran wields growing influence in unexpected places. "Iran is on its own crusade, its own global war, believing that the U.S. is out to get it," said Paul Salem, vice president of the Middle East Institute in Washington. "They're building networks, under religious slogans, that they can use in any fight." Saudi cables released in 2015 by WikiLeaks reveal concern about Iran-driven Shiite expansion from Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Nigeria in West Africa to India and China in Asia. For the Iranians, it's about gaining an advantage anywhere in the world that can be used now or in the future, said Salem.