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Crack in the Axis: Signs of Syrian-Iranian Split?
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ended two days of meetings in Tehran Sunday, charging that the "enemies of Islam" were engaged in "the creation of a rift among Muslims" -- an unusual admission that the strategic relationship between Iran and Syria may be fraying."Recent developments have led to a conflict between the priorities of Damascus and those of Tehran," according to former Jordanian information minister Saleh Al-Qallab, writing in the London daily "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat." "The cooling [of relations between Syria and Iran] is serious, and is not just a tactical [maneuver]. It will develop into a split and into severe hostility, unless Tehran finds a way to bridge [the difference] between its own priorities and those of Syria," he wrote. A real split between the two countries, should recent tensions lead to that, would break up one of the most important and lethal strategic alliances that has supported militant organizations, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, in confrontations with Israel and challenged American policies across the board in the Middle East for the past 25 years. The rift has been exposed by a flurry of recent diplomatic initiatives by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, aimed at preventing further escalation of Sunni-Shiite conflicts. Once again, the flashpoint is the small country of Lebanon, which has been paralyzed for the past two months by a Syrian-inspired campaign by the Shiite party and militant organization Hezbollah to bring down the elected government of Fouad Siniora. Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-02-22 |
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