Mid-East Melee: Sectarian Showdown Looms As Bahrain Cuts Ties With Iran, UAE Recalls Ambassador
Over the weekend, a geopolitical black swan landed in the Mid-East where Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric set in motion a series of events that led Riyadh to sever diplomatic ties with Tehran.
Protests broke out almost immediately after news of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr’s death hit the wires. Tensions reached a boiling point on Saturday evening in Tehran where demonstrators torched the Saudi embassy. In Bahrain, angry Shiites burned tires and confronted riot police who used tear gas to disperse the crowds.
As BBC notes, Bahrain “has frequently accused Iran of supporting a low-level Shia insurgency that flared following the regional Arab Spring uprisings in 2011.”
"Bahrain's Saudi-backed Sunni authorities crushed protests led by its majority Shia shortly after they erupted on February 14, 2011, taking their cue from Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa," al-Jazeera wrote back in February when hundreds took to the streets of Manama to commemorate the anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising. "Tensions are running high in the kingdom where a sectarian divide is deepening and there is a growing gap between the Sunni minority government and the Island’s Shia majority."
On Monday, the island followed in the footsteps of the Saudis and cut diplomatic ties with the Iranians. "Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Iran on Monday, deepening the region’s sectarian divide following Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite Muslim cleric," WSJ writes, adding that the country "accused Iran of intervening in its affairs and those of its allies, and ordered all members Iran’s mission to leave the country within 48 hours."
And it's not just Bahrain. As predicted here over the weekend, this has quickly morphed into a sweeping sectarian conflict with the UAE lowering diplomatic representation in Iran and Sudan expelling the Iranian ambassador. UAE Ambassador Saif Al Zaabi was summoned to return, while the charge d’affaires will remain," Bloomberg reports. "[The UAE's] exceptional step was taken in light of Iranian 'interference' in Gulf, Arab states’ internal affairs," the foreign ministry said. For its part, Kuwait says it backs "all measures adopted by Saudi Arabia to maintain its security and stability."
Meanwhile, Tehran says Riyadh is using the embassy fire to obscure its own misdeeds. "Iran has acted in accordance with its (diplomatic) obligations to control the broad wave of popular emotion that arose," foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said on Monday.
"Saudi Arabia benefits and thrives on prolonging tensions [and] has used this incident as an excuse to fuel the tensions," he added.
Recall what we said on Sunday evening:
It's also worth noting how absurd it is for the Saudis to suggest that the Iranians are the ones "spreading chaos and sectarianism" in the region. After all, it wasn't Tehran that just executed a prominent member of another sect and it's not Iran that preaches a dangerous, ultra puritanical interpretation of Islam similar to that which Sunni extremists use to justify the execution of apostates. Further, it wasn't Iran that destabilized Syria by fanning the flames of sectarian discord.
"Bahrain also gave the Iranian diplomatic mission 48 hours to leave the country, and plans to close its mission in Tehran," Bloomberg writes before underscoring the hypocrisy on full display in the Gulf states with the following assessment of Bahrain's rationale: "The move came in response to Iran’s interference in Bahrain and other Gulf countries. [Bahrain] accused Iran of funding, supporting and arming 'terrorists and extremists' and inciting strife in the region."
Right. We wouldn't want anyone to "fund, support, and arm terrorists and extremists" or "incite strife", even though that is precisely what the Gulf monarchies are doing in Syria and indeed, supporting extremists is something of an unwritten foreign policy imperative in Riyadh where the government follows an interpretation of Islam that is uncomfortably akin to that espoused by ISIS, al-Qaeda, and many of the other Sunni extremist groups that the Western world generally identifies with terrorism.
And speaking of Saudi-backed groups who some analysts call "extremists," Jaysh al Islam threw its support behind Riyadh's move to cut ties with the Iranians. You'll recall that Jaysh al Islam effectively administers Ghouta which was the site of the infamous 2013 sarin attack in Syria. Late last month, the group's leader Zahran Alloush was killed by an apparent Russian airstrike in what many described as a serious blow to the rebel cause. Iran is "threatening the security of the region by exporting criminal militias that spread destruction and death and are filled with sectarian vengeance", the group said, an assessment that applies equally if not more to the Saudis than it does to the Iranians.
Predictably, Iraq is seeing a backlash against its Sunni population. As Reuters reports, "at least two Sunni Muslim mosques have been attacked in Iraq and two people killed in apparent retaliation for the execution of a senior Shi'ite cleric in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia." Here's a bit more color:
The attack on the Ammar bin Yasir mosque in central Hilla destroyed its dome and several walls, according to a Reuters TV cameraman who visited the site. Provincial council member Falah al-Khafaji and a police source said a guard inside the building had been killed.
"We saw smoke rising from the dome of the mosque. We found all the walls destroyed and the furniture inside in shambles," said resident Uday Hassan Ali.
Another mosque in Hilla's northern outskirts, al-Fath al-Mubeen, was also attacked, Khafaji and the police source said.
A local Sunni cleric was killed in a separate incident in Iskandariya, about 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, they added.
So there you have it: a full blown sectarian melee. One shouldn't underestimate the gravity of what's unfolding here. The region is a veritable tinder box and the events that took place over the weekend provided the spark.
Don't forget that many of these countries are effectively already at war with Iran in Syria and Yemen. Consider also that this is likely to inspire further protests by oppressed Shiites living in the Gulf states - especially now that the five year anniversary of the Arab Spring is upon us. Throw in the fact that Iran is about to get an economic boost from the lifting of international sanctions and you have the recipe for a complete reimagining of the dynamics that shape the Mid-East balance of power.
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Israel cannot create ww3 and sit back and act all innocent, they need severe punishment
Arab Spring 2: Full Retard.
Don't you love it when the sequel promises to be bigger and badder than the first movie.
Gitcher Jihad-on...
Anyone else a former neocon that now views Russia and Iran as the only hope of avoiding WW3?
What index to short humanity ?
Fidelity LOW KARMA bond fund
How about the Cramer Full-Ankle-Grab Double-Down Stawk Fund?
let's get India and Pakistan involved, they haven't been drafted yet!
Pakistan and india have been drafted long time ago.
http://www.kashmirherald.com/bookreviews/futureshock.html
Review of The Writing on the Wall. India Checkmates America 2017 by S Padmanabhan
Pakistan and india have been drafted long time ago.
http://www.kashmirherald.com/bookreviews/futureshock.html
Review of The Writing on the Wall. India Checkmates America 2017 by S Padmanabhan
Saudi Arabia has been spending a lot of its 'good will' with the US which I imagine is running out, along with their budget surpluses.
I don't think the US wants to give Russia more reason to place additional hardware in Iran and Syria and Iraq. Especially nuclear weapons in Iran.
The goal was to replace Assad in Syria with a US/Israel puppet but instead totally fucked it up as usual and instead weakened the USA's reputation, revealed Turkey's terrorist nature and bought Saudi out in the open for the sick fucks they are. And increased the prestige of Russia and Putin and given them every excuse to increase their presence and hardware capability in the region.
Wonder how long before the CIA or KGB start arming rebels in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis used to be useful cunts for the USA but now they are just useless cunts causing more trouble and chaos than they are worth. Without oil they would be just cockroaches feeding on dead animals.
Though total ME chaos would be good for US and Russian oil prices.....
another 'expert' spouts their opinion on ZH.
I can tell you one thing, it will be a very very very long time before the KGB starts arming rebels in SA. Stoopid murkin.
This conflict has been long in the making. Religious differences in religious societies where tolerance is considered a vice are serious. It is interesting to note that the Iranian President sought to diffuse the riot poste fact...but didnt offer anything except words to save face for the Saudis. Maybe offering lots of information to the Saudis on Yemen or providing info on other Saudi interests, to the Iranian short term detriment might have diffused what is now an irretractible ticking timebomb. Every Sunni or Shia terrorist can cause the next spark...and can do it by acting on their own. This is the real danger now.
We gotta keep the Spring in there because it's a strong franchise thats identifiable. Keeps those original ad dollars working...
Okay, okay... Lemmee bounce this off you...
Arab Spring 2: A Head Too Far...
" " " The Directors Cut...
" " " A Bucketful of Shiite...
If it's a big enough religious war I believe the big powers will wait it out to pick up the pieces. It would be a smart thing to do. Let ragheads be ragheads.
This is all leading up to a full disclosure that will rock the entire fabric of the world as we know it……
http://beforeitsnews.com/conspiracy-theories/2016/01/top-secret-alien-ph...
please stop posting these bullshit links
it takes away from the validity of this, otherwise, worthy site
Meh. "I'll have a coke."
With no outside threat, muslims seem to invariably resort to killing one another over religious divisions, tribal divisions and finally national divisions. Its just what they do.
Historically muslims have been killing machines, just randomly attacking themselves and other countries. Whereas this is totally not true for Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and the rest of Europe that has lived in peaceful harmony for the past centuries.
The US is ultimately the bastion of peace and has been peaceful since it's creation (except for the civil war, american revolution, war of 1812, korean war, vietnam, Iraq, Iraq, Libya..... et fucking cetera)
Time to wake up a little. The west has been at war with each other and other countries for centuries. The US has been at war since it's foundation and is by far the largest killer of people in the past 15 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-security-israel-idUSKBN0UI1C32...
agree with other readers ... looks like a PLAN by the Saudis ...
1. Form a Sunni alliance in the Gulf
2. Execute al-Nimr knowing this will cause trouble
3. Break relations with Iran
If the Saudis are serious about this fight - they are going to have to buckle down and spill their own blood. No proxies. I saw quite a few "rich kids" from prominent Saudi families in my time. Never saw a single person who looked like they could ever pass basic training in the Army, and forget trying to make the Marine Corp. These guys are NOT even close.
Fuck those treasonous Saudi dogs. The House of Saud are 80% full of cunts, are a bunch of kleptocrats and a disgrace to the Arab and Muslim world, as they are nothing more than subserviant rats and whores to the Zionist Neocons who run the U.S government and Wall Street. The Saudi's are conducting mass beheadings at home and exported terror to Libya via Qatari funding and ISIS. These Wahhabi anal fucking shits, have also been causing death and destruction in the Yemen and our lame-stream-media have been virtually silent in their non-reporting. This regime cannot dissapear quickly enough. BASTARDS!
08.12.2015 Author: F. William Engdahl
What Stinks in Saudi Ain’t the Camel Dung
First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/12/08/what-stinks-in-saudi-aint-the-camel-dung/
"..According to a well-informed Turkish political source I spoke with in 2014, who had been involved in attempts to broker a peace between Assad and Erdo?an, Erdo?an’s first Presidential election campaign in August 2014 was “greased” by a gift of $ 10 billion from the Saudis. After his victory in buying the presidential election, Erdo?an and his hand-picked Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu opened the doors wide to establish secret training centers for what was to be called ISIS. Under supervision of Hakan Fidan, Erdo?an’s hand-picked head of the Secret Services (MIT), Turkey organized camps for training ISIS and other terrorists in Turkey and also to provide their supplies in Syria. The financing for the Turkish ISIS operation was arranged apparently by a close personal friend of Erdo?an named Yasin al-Qadi, a Saudi banker close to the Saudi Royal House, member of the Muslim Brotherhood, financier of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda since Afghanistan in the 1980’s. x
Erdo?an’s US-sanctioned and Saudi-financed terrorist training camps have brought an estimated 200,000 mercenary terrorists from all over the world, transited by Turkey in order to wage “jihad” in Syria.
But that jihad, it is now clear, is not about Allah but about Moola—money. The Saudi monarchy is determined to control the oil fields of Iraq and of Syria using ISIS to do it. They clearly want to control the entire world oil market, first bankrupting the recent challenge from US shale oil producers, then by controlling through Turkey the oil flows of Iraq and Syria." fwe
Any and every opportunity to blame "the Zionists" (best pronounced with thick Arab-sounding accent).
Jewish hatred monkeys!
In Syria party, everybody is invited.
02.01.2016 Author: Andre Vltchek
Syria is the Middle Eastern Stalingrad
First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2016/01/02/syria-is-the-middle-eastern-stalingrad/
.
..."Two years ago I replied like this: “I have witnessed the total collapse of the Middle East. There was nothing standing there anymore. Countries that opted for their own paths were literally leveled to the ground. Countries that succumbed to the dictates of the West lost their soul, culture and essence and were turned into some of the most miserable places on earth. And the Syrians knew it: were they to surrender, they would be converted into another Iraq, Yemen or Libya, even Afghanistan.” av
The Saudis and Emiratis have been losing big style in Yemen despite all of their American hardware. The Houthis have sunk 14 or so KSA ships. After the UAE lost about 50 troops in one rocket attack they had Academi (blackwater) roll in with mercs. That has resulted in some short term gains.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hundreds-columbian-mercenaries-fight-s...
They also have a bright Aussie leading them: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/mercenaries-charge-uae-forces-fighting...
Iran will double down in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria. This is now the Sunni/Shia fight to the death. To the victor go the spoils. It won't happen overnight, but expect it to continue low grade for another year or three before heating up within the decade as all parties are now going nuclear (thanks to Obama the idiot house nigger).
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2016/01/the-saudi-war-on-everything-iran-ma...
Now would be a good time for Iran to give the Houthis some new toys. They are doing quite well with the ones they have, Force the Saudimites to spend cash they don't have buying MOAR weapons