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Article: As U.S. labors in Iraq, Iran sees opportunity Tehran now seeks regional dominance
- Article from:
- International Herald Tribune
- Article date:
- February 19, 2007
- Author:
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Michael Slackman
International Herald Tribune
02-19-2007
In recent weeks, President George W. Bush and U.S. military officials have increasingly accused Iran of meddling in Iraq's affairs. But from Iran's perspective, given its longstanding interests in Iraq, it is the United States that is meddling in its backyard, analysts inside and outside of Iran say. From the very start of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, at least some in the Bush administration saw an opportunity to curtail the influence of Iran's radical Shiite leaders by producing an alternative, moderate center of Shiite Islam that would effectively neuter Tehran in ideological, political and strategic terms.This was abundantly clear ...