Iran inciting Shiite revolt in Gulf: Kuwaiti editor-in-chief

Says Persian intervention continues since 1979

Ahmed al-Jarallah, editor-in-chief of the Kuwaiti daily newspaper al-Seyassah accused Iran
Wednesday of inciting a Shiite revolution in the Gulf region. “Since Khomeini came to power in 1979, Iran has been trying to export its revolution to the region on both the cultural and the military levels,” Jarallah told Al Arabiya News Channel Wednesday.

	Iran is always trying to push Gulf nations to the brink of war through escalating disputes and using bullying tactics
Al-Seyassah Editor-in-Chief Ahmed Jarallah

Jarallah explained that Iran first tried the implement its Shiite infiltration scheme through the use of the military during its war with Iraq and is continuing to do so in several countries in the region but in different ways.

Iran’s intervention in the Gulf, he explained, does not take the shape of a direct military strike, yet still has a confrontational nature.

“Iran is always trying to push Gulf nations to the brink of war through escalating disputes and using bullying tactics.”

Jarrallah cited the example of Bahrain and accused Iranian agents inside the Gulf nation of organizing strikes and protests to destabilize national security and cripple the economy.

“We saw ministers disappearing and managers of big service companies running away or joining the protests. This was Iran’s doing.”

In Kuwait, Jarallah stated, Iran’s agents were trying to put pressure on the government in order not interfere in Bahrain.

“They tried to make it seem like the crisis in Bahrain is a domestic affair while it is all about foreign intervention. Iran wanted to get hold of the country and in accordance with GCC treaties we had to counter that.”

In an article he had written earlier in al- Seyassah, Jarallah stressed that Gulf nations are not creating an imaginary enemy and that Iran’s conspiracies necessitate constant caution.

“The unrest they caused in Saudi when they tried to politicize pilgrimage shows that they are trying to make the holy land a conflict zone.”

	Hezbollah is leading Lebanon towards the Persian state project
Al-Seyassah Editor-in-Chief Ahmed Jarallah

Iran in Lebanon

In Lebanon, Jarallah pointed out, the situation is different because Iran has a close ally on the Lebanese soil through which it is achieving both cultural and military dominance in the country.

“Hezbollah is leading Lebanon towards the Persian state project.”

Jarallah likened Hezbollah to the Barmakids, the Persian family that wielded expansive political power during the reign of Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid until they became a threat and the caliph had to get rid of them.

Jarallah differentiated between the Shiite faith in the Arab world, which is not posing any threat, and what he labeled “Persian Safavi Shiism,” which represents Iranian ideologies and aim to exercise influence in the Arab world.

(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)