In yet another sign of Iran’s far-reaching ambitions, an Iranian general recently revealed a plan to form a global axis of major powers against the United States.
In a meeting with the leaders of the Basij militia in Tehran on May 9, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi said, “China, Russia, India and Iran are capable of establishing a pole of major powers in Asia, opposing the policies of America” (WorldTribune.com, May 26). He spoke of Iran playing a role in uniting these countries in an alliance that would produce a “face-to-face clash with the global arrogance” embodied by the U.S.
Safavi revealed Iran’s efforts to recruit other countries into this coalition, including Venezuela, another leading energy producer that is increasingly becoming a thorn in Washington’s side.
As bigheaded as these comments may sound to Western ears, they fairly represent the developing reality of the world today. China, Russia and India have all remained staunchly supportive of Iran in spite of Western furor over Iran’s nuclear program. China’s and Russia’s status as permanent members of the UN Security Council guarantee the UN’s worthlessness as an organ in effectively dealing with Iran.
Safavi made the case for how strong, even indispensable, Iran has become in the world today. “In the last 27 years,” he said—referring to the period since the 1979 Iranian Revolution—“the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been at the center point of the political, economic and even military confrontations of the West, and at the present, Islamic Iran enjoys the role of a geopolitical heavyweight in the region.”
Uncomfortable as it may be, those statements are hard to dispute.