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Mishaal abandon longtime base in Damascus by January 2012”.
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Therefore, there is no option for Iran except to fully support Assa
d’s regime. Furthermore Assad’s regime is 33 years ally of Iran due to some reasons; channel for military and financial support to
Hezbollah also resistance fronts against Israel. Syrian crisis and domestic political development are challenge for Iran to be the natural Shia leader on the region through
strengthening the Alawite Nusairi who hold strong power in Syria right now. On the other hand, in order to stem Iran-Shia political leverage; accordingly, Saudi
together with Qatar and Turkey as Sunni allies, support to the Syrian opposition in the form of financial, weapon and military training.
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Moreover, Turkey also has expressed interest in Syria due to Kurds which live in many parts of Syria, heavily concentrated in
the northeast province of Hasakah. These tribes are better organized than many ethnic or sectarian groups in Syria. They have 12 Kurdish political parties, one of the most
important is Democratic Union Party PYD which has close links with the Kurdistan Worker Party PKK- the terrorist organization in Turkey.
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4.2 The Case of Bahrain
Bahrain like Syria has a pivotal role in both regional and international affairs. In the region, Bahrain is the battlefield of the “Cold War” between the two Gulf powers, Saudi
and Iran, w hich has been increasingly chilly since the fall of the Ba’ath in Iraq 2003 and
consequently weakened the geopolitical role of Baghdad. In Saudi’s perspective, neutralization of the influence of Shia is a must and cannot to fail in a way by
strengthening the power of the Khalifa ruling familly-sunni ally. On the contrary Iran plays on the Issue “ The Bahrain nation is an oppressed nation”, to seek sympathy of the
outside. As we know, Bahrainis following Shia are approximately seventy percent of the total population.
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Internationally, Bahrain is the home of a US military base-the US Fifth Fleet which is responsible for the American naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea,
Arabian Sea ad the East African coast as far south as Kenya. This facility is to safeguard places of American interest, Israel and his allies. Moreover, the presence of a
military facility, pushes the US government to be proactive on all issues, both domestic and regional; any major transformation of the domestic political order in Bahrain could
threaten the naval base. In addition, since Iran has always perceived as “destablising force in a volatile region”, the military significance of the fifth fleet has been greatly
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enhanced particularly when Washington intended to launch strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
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4.3 The Pivotal Players
Despite major uncertainties accompanying the current uprisings, one thing is clear: the uprising has reshaped the rivalry of Shia-Sunni, which has converted the region into one
“Geopolitical Great Game”. There are three regional main players; Saudi, Iran and Turkey, which have triggered power struggles throughout the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is one of the predominant powers in the Arab region, who has enormous
oil wealth, respectable demographic base, and geostrategic competition with Iran since it proclaims itself as “the protector of Sunni interest’’. In order to curb the growth of the
Iranian influence in the region, including to break down the Al Qaeda linked terrorist organizations, Saudi has used to its power to draw Bahrain, Oman and possibly also
Kuwait closer to its circle of influence and domination.
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While the United Arab Emirates are trying to stay out of the imbroglio, Qatar has been one step ahead, ready to
use its high international profile and ability to chart its own independent course, as a newly emerging active player in the region. The influential al Jazeera news channel
which is based in Doha is one of the important means to support its role.
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Saudi in its rivalry with Iran often sustains its capabilities, primarily by the transfer of high-tech weapons from the United States and has to rely, simply, on funds to influence
events. Conversely, it has a lack of genuine political institution and intervention in the region. Thus, Saudi’s inherent weakness on its foreign policy means it becomes less
effective in regional diplomacy.
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Iran The top priority of Iran’s foreign policy, in aftermath of Arab Spring is Syria, Iraq,
Lebanon and Bahrain. According to the political analyst Simon Tisdall, the close bilateral relationship between Iran and Syria is based on similarity on ideological and
physical confrontation with Israel and US and its buffer against the pro Western Sunni monarchies of the gulf. Syria, to Iran, is the springboard into the Arab Middle East,
conversely Iran is a source of protection, security and funds for the Assad regime.
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In Libya, any foreign intervention has always been addressed carefully by Iran because it
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could become a potential threat in the future. Its relation with Turkey, Turkey has showed consistently its support of Iran rights for enrichment using it’s uranium for
peaceful purposes. However, Iran also has tensions regarding the Syrian uprising, supporting the Nuri-al-Maliki Regime -A Shia dominated government in Iraq and also
the issue of Kurdistan. Turkey
Initially, both Turkey and Iran welcomed the Arab Awakening against the authoritarian Arab rules, but for different reasons. For Turkey, the Arab Spring is a reflection
of their own experiences on their success in a democracy and reducing the militarys role in the political sphere. In fact, this country has been seen as the role model for
emerging Arab democracies.
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While Iran expected the uprising would topple pro-western dictators and emerged as the new ruler, which inlined with Iran’s interest. However, in the subsequent development
there was a different result to be expected by both parties, this even raised tension in their relations.
Moreover, the issue on the foreign policy of Turkey in Middle East is, so far, in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Israel. When the Assad regime brutally suppressed the protestor, Turkey
firmly asked Assad to secede his power and recalled its ambassador as a form of protest against the atrocities on the people of Syria. The similar stance of Turkey when calling a
military coup to the president Mursi. Although this is a right thing, but was again isolated, hence for the reason of national interest, preferred to stay neutral or paid lip
service to the opponents of the coup. As a result Turkey would lose its important ally in the middle east and Arab world due to the significant role of Egypt in the region. In Iraq,
Turkey does not observe formalities with the PM Maliki due to the Shia-Sunni conflict. In contrast, Turkey started to improve its relations with Israel on the basis of national
interest.
5. Conclusion
