Iranian Treaty was it even necessary?

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Ah crap, looks like you are right. Whelp, I suppose now we can expect China to get an F-35 equivalent plane sooner rather than later. Such great allies, right?

A fact that should have been obvious when they started blowing up British soldiers after WWII because they didn't want to live with Arabs.

[AE Bravo]

Iran is a natural ally(ish) of the West as they are Persian and don't get on well with Arabs.

Yes, it worries Saudi Arabia, Israel and Pakistan. Good. All These Countries Are NOT Our Friends. They are our strategic partners - they need to want us to be nice to them, not the other way around. They ALL need us a lot more than we need them.

You think Iran is your friend? You can kiss your influence in the ME goodbye after they make their moves because they are not Saudi Arabia in that regard. They want it all to themselves.

Yes, Saudi Arabia has seen a dramatic decline in its international influence in the past 5 years, and will continue to do so until it too disintegrates as a state by the mid-century.

Hard to predict, disintegrate is a big word. They are taking huge steps to prevent this. Saudi and UAE backed nation-building will commence in Yemen (in fact it has already started) and if they somehow succeed in that it will prolong their own sustainability and empower their international stance in the middle east. Not to mention the regional defense plan arrangements (Arab joint force) and strong security sector in that country.

[Montmorency]

after they make their moves because they are not Saudi Arabia in that regard. They want it all to themselves.

Hard to predict, disintegrate is a big word. They are taking huge steps to prevent this.

So will America and Europe, later on. The West doesn't want another failed state, especially not one with such regional weight and military arsenal. But demographics and economics will tell, and ultimately the medium-term economic and geopolitical benefits that the West is currently working towards cannot be shunted aside just for the sake of propping up Saudi Arabia.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

You think Iran is your friend? You can kiss your influence in the ME goodbye after they make their moves because they are not Saudi Arabia in that regard. They want it all to themselves.

Oh please.

Iran has little appetite for Empire building and a large war might destabilise the country and prompt social upheaval. The Revolution was decades ago and as the original radicals die off they're being replaced by Imans with less investment in torture and oppression. The "Green Revolution" may have "failed" but the fact that the protests were allowed to go on so long, and the end result were raids and arrests and detention rather than people being "disappeared".

Iran is changing for the better, the current government is more moderate and not led by a demagogue. As the relationship with the West thaws the radicals will lose their cause celebre. Unlike Saudi Arabia Iran has a roughly equal society where women are allowed to be politically active and they have a generally high level of education.

Contrast that with Saudi Arabia, a Feudal society where most people who live outside the cities are peasants.

[AE Bravo]

I wouldn't be too sure about that. Abu Musa, greater and lesser Tunbs islands are perfect examples of overstretched imperialism. Saudi Arabia's eastern provinces were gifted to them by smaller states. I'm not talking about a war. But judging from the way Afghans, Pakistanis, ethnic Arabs, and Sunni Iranians are treated in the Islamic Republic sectarian politics is still a major factor in Ayotallah Khamanei's worldview.

Saudi Arabia does not think highly of itself, Turkey will be its new political patron to balance out Iran and fuel more of the sectarianism the house of Al Saud need.

[Montmorency]

ethnic Arabs

Interested in this. I recall that in the opening of the Iran-Iraq war Hussein imagined that the city of Khorramshahr, and the larger Khuzestan province, would promptly defect to his forces and support his troops, given that the province was mostly populated by ethnic Arabs and other non-Persians. I also recall that things didn't turn out that way at all.

Of course, that was not long after the Revolution, and potential ethnic solidarity often doesn't materialize in the face of external military invasion, as many rulers and commanders have discovered over the centuries. Still, it must prompt a response with respect to the claim of special Persian mistreatment of Arabs.

As for Turkey, they are already (and have long been) balancing Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia (so long Iraq and Syria) in their foreign policy. However, they have their own political, religious, and ethnic divides to deal with. Their position is not so simple.

[AE Bravo]

and potential ethnic solidarity often doesn't materialize in the face of external military invasion,

Right, and the fact that Iranis and Iraqis have always hated each other's guts plays a huge factor too no matter what sect. These are Iranian Arabs btw. Shia Islam, despite being a bit less radical (in these days), are still a very fragmented sect (more offshoots) unlike Sunni Islam. Iran is much less sectarian in that there are actually Sunnis in government, but they are still noticeably discriminant domestically toward their Arabs and Sunni population. There is a history of animosity here.

Mistreatment of Arabs are prominent in the province you mentioned and the three islands in the gulf they confiscated from the UAE decades ago.

As for Turkey, they are already (and have long been) balancing Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia (so long Iraq and Syria) in their foreign policy. However, they have their own political, religious, and ethnic divides to deal with. Their position is not so simple.

Naturally the focus will shift towards Iran as it is now. Saudi Arabia's interests are becoming more in line with Israel's and all three countries (ksa,israel,turkey) have something in common in that they are willing to aid Islamists that are interrupting Iranian designs on the peninsula.

[Gilrandir]

They really are off the top of your head!

Saudi Arabia in OPEC was responsible for the INCREASE in oil price until very recently - and now the levels are lower than they need for their fiscal accounts as it is the USA with Frackking is causing the low price by fuel flooding the market.

So it means that since recently the West needs Saudis? And why did Putin fly to see the new king? Evidently MANY need the Saudis. And this is what I claimed.

[rory_20_uk]

...And the Saudis need Western weaponry along with vast number of other goods.

They might not like it, but they'd have to suck it up.

[AE Bravo]

More like vent out, and nobody will like the results.

[classical_hero]

Well, it's not very suprising, it it? After all, Schumer probably is the untilate Shabbos goy of the Democrats.

Of course no Democrat took money from Iranian sources. http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...om-iran-lobby/

That or more cluster bombs they can drop on civilian populations in Yemen.

That is simply not true. Most of the deaths in Yemen are caused by anti-aircraft munitions. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...eapons-depots/

A doctor at al-Thawra hospital, one of the largest public hospitals in Sana’a, told Amnesty International that the vast majority - around 90% - of war wounded patients admitted to the hospital had been injured by anti-aircraft fire. He said that before the five-day ceasefire last week around 17-23 patients with such injuries were admitted to the hospital daily. A second doctor working at the hospital also confirmed that the majority of the 1,024 wounded patients treated there during the first month of the conflict, had also been injured by anti-aircraft fire.

This was backed up by staff at the German-Saudi hospital and al-Mu’yyad Modern Hospital, where a doctor told Amnesty International that the majority of the wounded treated there were women and children suffering from fragmentation injuries caused by anti-aircraft fire.
"The sheer number of injuries caused by anti-aircraft fire in Sana’a points to a disturbing pattern of attacks in which the obligation under international law to protect civilians during a conflict is being flouted,” said Lama Fakih.

The problem is that they are using munitions that explode on impact, not in the air, so thus considering they are not very good at getting planes the round are going to impact on the ground instead.

[Hooahguy]

Of course no Democrat took money from Iranian sources. http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...om-iran-lobby/

First off, going to Breitbart for reliable sourcing is like going to the Huffington Post for the same thing. Especially when one of the sources for your article says that liberals are fascists. Second, I see nothing wrong with this. If Israel can use AIPAC and their ilk to further their policy agendas, why shouldnt Iran do the same?

That is simply not true. Most of the deaths in Yemen are caused by anti-aircraft munitions. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...eapons-depots/

Where did I say that cluster bombs were the primary cause of casualties? They might not be the primary cause of casualties but they are definitely being used, and worst of all, the US has their name on them so when locals look at the casings that inevitably get strewn about, who do you think the locals will blame for their suffering? Hint, not just Saudi Arabia.

And on the eve of the Jewish New Year, the President of Iran wished all Jews a happy new year. Predictably, the comments on this article are not very nice at all.

[Montmorency]

What's interesting to me is the overblowing of Iranian statements of intent to "wipe Israel off the map" and the like.

Recall that in the 1960s, Soviet Premier Khrushchev made a remark that was translated in English as, "We will bury you". Predictably, Americans lost their minds over it and it became a defining moment in the Western perception of the Soviet Union.

However, the actual sense of the Russian used is "We will inter/inhume you", i.e. 'Marxism will outlast capitalism'.

By all indications the infamous comments of Khomeini, Ahmadinejad, and more recently Khamanei ("there will be nothing as Zionist regime by next 25 years") have similarly been misconstrued...

[Greyblades]

However, the actual sense of the Russian used is "We will inter/inhume you", i.e. 'Marxism will outlast capitalism'.

"We will be there when you are buried."

[rory_20_uk]

North Korea has again threatened to nuke anyone who interferes with them.

[Greyblades]

North Korea nuclear threats are about as frequent and predictable as SFTS' declarations of putin's fascism.

[rory_20_uk]

North Korea nuclear threats are about as frequent and predictable as SFTS' declarations of putin's fascism.

My point is why read so much into Iran statements and ignore Korean ones?