(Middle East Quarterly) Patrick Knapp - As Iran spreads its influence, its immediate hinterland across the Gulf is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Last February, for example, Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, the influential former speaker of the Iranian parliament, repeated Iran's claim to sovereignty over Bahrain. In July 2008, Iran opened a maritime office on the Abu Musa islands, which the UAE contested. In September of the same year, Iran assigned the 20,000-man Islamic Revolutionary Guard navy, rather than the less confrontational regular navy, to Persian Gulf defense, and opened a new naval base on the strategic Strait of Hormuz the following month.
2010-01-28 08:30:50Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive