Iran’s president said on Tuesday that diminished US political influence in the Middle East was creating a “power vacuum” that would benefit Iran and other countries in the region.
Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad went on to say that that the US’s “weakening” of the Iraqi government – an apparent reference to recent criticism of prime minister Nouri al-Maliki by senior US politicians – would not help the US maintain control over the country. The comments are a reminder of Iran’s long-standing ambition to be the top power in the Persian Gulf, as it was before the 1979 Islamic revolution – a nightmare scenario for some of the other countries in the region. |