Grooming for Ultimate Power

Iran, like its supporter and sometimes-mentor Russia, a country which obligingly led the way in aiding the Islamic Republic to realizing its aspirations toward nuclear power by guiding and enabling it to build its installations, has other aspirations similar to those of the Russians. While Tehran now sees itself as coming very close to re-establishing itself as the supreme leader in an Islamist renaissance, just as the Kremlin visualizes itself restoring the alliance of Soviet Republics, Russia has suffered a setback in Ukraine, while Iran is celebrating its successes.

Where not so very long ago Iran was suffering under the weight of compelling sanctions to coerce the country to forego its nuclear aspirations, the United States, manoeuvred into a position of capitulation through Russian intervention masquerading as peacemaker, in a world fraught with danger, has agreed to negotiate with Iran, placing the situation into an aura of good-natured agreements between misunderstood friends. Iran's concerns over the economic strangulation it was suffering have been eased.

And its agitation over the potential loss of an ally and vital part of its stronghold in the Middle East has seen a huge relief, as well. Again, thanks to the brilliant gamesmanship of President Vladimir Putin who had no problems recognizing the reluctance with which U.S. President Barack Obama was assailed by a dilemma that might have tarnished his Nobel Peace prize, had he intervened in the Syrian massacre by halting a government intent on destroying the arrogance of dissenting rebels.

Iran's release from sanctions, the possibility that the final negotiations will result in an agreement that will satisfy the more immediate concerns of the international community through the G5+1, leaving the country free to pursue its original intent by whatever means it can devise to continue to bypass detection as it has done so successfully in the past, has doubtless buoyed the confidence of the Ayatollahs.

Things are coming together very nicely for Iran; it has Iraq now firmly in its orbit, and Lebanon, through Hezbollah's coercive conditioning of the opposition against its presence in the country to accept that what is, just will remain as is, gives Iran another reliable and seasoned military at its command, having transformed Lebanon fairly well into yet another satellite of its ambitious plans for the future of the Middle East.

Iran now sees itself as the head of a Shia empire. It must still engage in empire building, and that is inclusive of ensuring that its ally Bashar al-Assad manages to surmount his inconvenient difficulties. To that end senior military advisers have once again arrived in Damascus to gather intelligence and further train Syrian troops. The Geneva II peace talks have resulted in the capability of Iran to advance its interests in Syria; having embarked on settling one irritation another is also in line.

Senior al-Quds Force commanders have been freed to deploy in Syria. The Republican Guard is, in fact, the Iranian agency responsible for the country's nuclear program, and their interest in having in their possession nuclear warheads to pair with their more technically advanced ballistic missiles remains the bucket of gold at the end of the rainbow that now shines on Iran.

A Sajjil missile is displayed by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, in front of a portrait of the Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a military parade near Tehran, September 21, 2012. Photo by AP