Iran Commander Warns Saudi Arabia Of Unrest

TEHRAN, Iran -- One of Iran's top military commanders warned Saudi Arabia on Sunday that its decision to send forces to Bahrain to quell protests by Shiite Muslims would spark unrest at home, a semiofficial Iranian news agency reported.

Gen. Hasan Firouzabadi, head of Iran's joint chiefs of staff, didn't offer any evidence to back up his claim. But his comments reflected growing tension between Shiite-majority Iran and Sunni-dominated countries in the Gulf like Saudi Arabia.

Iran has repeatedly denounced Gulf leaders for dispatching a Saudi-led military force in March to prop up Bahrain's Sunni monarchy and try to quell the protests by Shiites, who comprise 70 percent of the population but are excluded from key government and security posts.

"Unfair and unIslamic moves will hurt the honor of Muslims in Saudi Arabia, and it will threaten the security of Saudi Arabia," Firouzabadi was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

Firouzabadi, who is known for his anti-Saudi rhetoric, also lashed out at the United States, claiming Washington was behind Riyadh's move into Bahrain so that it could preserve an American naval base there.

"Washington ordered Saudi Arabia as its mercenary to thwart the Bahrainis' popular revolution so that the U.S. can maintain its base," Firouzabadi was reported as saying.

Again, he offered no evidence to back up his claim.

Firouzabadi lashed out at Arab countries on Saturday as well, according to the official IRNA news agency.

"The Arab dictatorial regimes in the Persian Gulf are unable to contain the popular uprisings," he was reported as saying. "The dictators should relinquish power, end their savage crimes and let the people determine their own future instead of ... opening an unworkable front against Iran."

Comments

[Dale Andersen]

11:45 PM on 05/06/2011

Not to worry. The Iranians can't do jack at the moment. The Saudis are sowing discord behind the Persians' backs in Syria and poor creaky overstretched Iran has to keep a close eye on little brother, Bashar al-Assad. If Saudi gold and Saudi propaganda succeed in destabilizing the regime in Damascus, Teheran's designs for the region will go up in smoke. So all General Firouzabadi can do at the moment is huff and puff and pray his scheming and extreming don't blow up in his goofy face...

[leutenizer banned twice]

01:48 AM on 05/04/2011

No proof offered by the commander?

As if there is a need. This stuff is obvious.

[alimostofi]

11:47 AM on 05/03/2011

Typical AP report, abusing the name of Iran, writing "One of Iran's top military commanders". These people are not interested in Iran. They kill Iranians; have changed the name of Iran; changed the flag; and the national anthem. They are Ayatollahs gangsters.

[Magic 62]

10:31 PM on 05/03/2011

Stop living in your own little world.

[leutenizer banned twice]

01:48 AM on 05/04/2011

alimostofi

So did the Shah. Our national anthem was not "Shahanshahe....." That was an anthem for him, not for the nation. How can you even disagree with that?

Yes, the mullah's too have made the same disgusting act and put a national anthem that has nothing to do with the nation. You are right. I agree with you.

[alimostofi]

11:49 AM on 05/09/2011

Thanks

[Benny]

10:16 AM on 05/03/2011

Iran is a facist state. What a joke that they would tell anyone how to start a democratic country.

[adamben]

10:15 AM on 05/03/2011

"The Arab dictatorial regimes in the Persian Gulf are unable to contain the popular uprisings," he was reported as saying. "The dictators should relinquish power...".

so, the take home message is to be more repressive and then they'll get the iranian seal of approval???

[realitycitizen]

06:07 PM on 05/02/2011

Lets keep up the momentum.

We killed Osama Bin Laden. Now lets go after his friends in Riyadh.

[Wisdo]

04:49 AM on 05/03/2011

Saudi Arabia was a vast kingdom with a tiny population that got lucky with a massive oil strike.

We've supported them all along in order to get access to that oil, no matter how foul their regime, no matter what terrorists they support. Going after Al Quaidas links in SA will undoubtedly reveal just how high up that support goes (likely right up to the Royal Family).

It will be interesting to see if the recovered intel from Bin Ladens compound results in any unfortunate "accidents" in the Kingdom.

[Dr JAY Veeoh]

09:24 AM on 05/03/2011

They got "lucky" from oil ??

They were happy bedouin warriors before.

Today the country is swamped with foreigners, the religion a circus and the deserts covered with asphalt and industrial installations.

Allah inchi !

[capt ayhab]

10:22 AM on 05/03/2011

That would be the Wahhabi Royal Family who have been supporting OBL for ever.

[TC Mits]

05:01 PM on 05/02/2011

"Washington ordered Saudi Arabia as its mercenary to thwart the Bahrainis' popular revolution so that the U.S. can maintain its base," Firouzabadi was reported as saying.

Again, he offered no evidence to back up his claim.



Obviously a Republican. No facts.

[Raymond Hietapakka]

04:46 PM on 05/02/2011

The kettle calls the pot black.

[LeftLeanWing]

11:34 PM on 05/02/2011

Or the toilet Stool calls the toilet Paper "WHITE" !

[constitutionalist21]

03:58 PM on 05/02/2011

There's a rivalry between Arabs and Persians(Iranians) in the region. Arabs are usually Sunni, except in most Arabic countries there's a minority of Shiite Arabs. In Bahrain and Iraq however they make up a majority.
Iran has its own Sunni Arab population as well as a large Shiite Arab population. Both of these Iranian groups live in the South and South East parts of Iran close to the Gulf and the Iraqi border. The Arabs in Iran are oppressed and would like re-unite with their kin. Any show of culture or demand of autonomy is severly punished. Arabic is banned from schools and govt institutions, but remains the language of Iran's religion. It might be the most hyppocritial policy of Iran's Persian Shiite rulers.

You can learn Arabic to read the Koran, but you can't learn Arabic in schools or sing Arabic songs in public. whattttttt?????????

[Magic 62]

09:12 PM on 05/02/2011

There is no rivalry. Persians have been civilized for 5000 years and have has 3 world empires. Arabs in Arabia were eating lizards a hundred years ago, and in another 10 years when their oil is finished, go back to eating lizards again. Rest of your post is meaningless. Arab/Iranians are just like Persians, Kurds, Azaris Lurs and others. They are all Iranians.

[adamben]

10:42 AM on 05/03/2011

Amnesty International says:
“ Despite constitutional guarantees of equality, individuals belonging to minorities in Iran, who are believed to number about half of the population of about 70 millions, are subject to an array of discriminatory laws and practices. These include land and property confiscations, denial of state and para-statal employment under the gozinesh criteria and restrictions on social, cultural, linguistic and religious freedoms which often result in other human rights violations such as the imprisonment of prisoners of conscience, grossly unfair trials of political prisoners before Revolutionary Courts, corporal punishment and use of the death penalty, as well as restrictions on movement and denial of other civil rights."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_minorities_in_Iran

[head-out-of-sand]

02:12 AM on 05/03/2011

You, being a master in misinformation can get a good job at Foxinose

[ejfreeman]

03:40 PM on 05/02/2011

World wars have started over much less and for now we are helpless, every outcome is a lose lose
for America. I so happy we don't have a cowboy in the white house.

[head-out-of-sand]

02:14 AM on 05/03/2011

"I so happy we don't have a cowboy in the white house. " More correctly speaking, a poker player cow boy who likes to go all in with any lousy hands he gets!

[Wisdo]

04:42 AM on 05/03/2011

Thats an excessively pessimistic reading of the situation.

[knosiswar]

01:49 PM on 05/02/2011

""Washington ordered Saudi Arabia as its mercenary to thwart the Bahrainis' popular revolution so that the U.S. can maintain its base," Firouzabadi was reported as saying.

Again, he offered no evidence to back up his claim."

And again, since we are not journalists here, we didn't do any investigating of the claims either.

[Doctoress]

07:53 AM on 05/03/2011

It takes a well-informed person to see the evidence on daily basis. But then, you.....????

[knosiswar]

08:19 AM on 05/03/2011

Your comment is nonsensical. What was your point?

[troyrobertdavid]

01:42 PM on 05/02/2011

AHHH, the Sunni’s and Shiites, reminds me a Star Trek Enterprise episode where these two groups were at war because one group thought that the almighty made the world in 6 days and the other thought it was made in 5 days.

[spriddler]

02:10 PM on 05/02/2011

not too far from the truth

[Eric4969]

04:39 PM on 05/02/2011

Their both Wrong he made it in 7 Then Took a Day off then Had a Son then Made every single thing in this Universe just for little old us LOL Yeh Religion is REAL LOLOLOL Hay looky there goes Santa Clause lol The only reason religion exist is because we are scared of Death PEriod LOL Sorry Folks its True DEAL WITH IT!!! People really really need do deal with FACTS not Fantasy in todays world..

[Ali1812]

10:27 PM on 05/03/2011

actually its not that simple religion is much more complex than the fear of death its the acceptance... but ur not spiritual so why should i try to explain to you something you already have an answer to in ur own head adamant evolutionist never cease to amuse me i mean u believe that we are here by chance and this isnt 50/50 chance this is .000000000000000000000000000000000001% chance meaning not even possible never in a million years possible talk about far-fetched ideas

[AngryBuddist]

01:37 PM on 05/02/2011

When the Arabs and the Persians throw down again in the middle east, it's gonna get messy for everybody.

[adamben]

10:44 AM on 05/03/2011

yeah, it won't be as simple as the iraq/iran war. sigh.

[Skaterx999]

01:33 PM on 05/02/2011

Smooth.

[ejay579]

11:11 AM on 05/02/2011

This is good stuff. Of course Iran will play the" democracy" card as long as the Shiite majority in Yemen is suppressed. Iran is as sincere about spreading "democracy" in the Muslim world as the Bush administration was about spreading "democracy" in the same places. But as contradictory as it seems, Iran is far more "democratic" than any of the Sunni ruled countries, either singly or the aggregate, have ever been or will ever be as long as Americans have their cheap gas. The irony of ironies is that Americans continue to have cheap gas even at nearly $4.00 a gallon relative to the rest of the developed world. But, then again, this begs the question, is the United States still a part of the developed world?

[Magic 62]

01:07 PM on 05/02/2011

Actually, democracy works very well for Iran since the Arab streets are Anti-Israel, pro Palestinian, love Hezbollah and so on. Egypt and Iran are already in the process of mending fences.

[adamben]

10:47 AM on 05/03/2011

yes, democracy for all, except for iran.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009%E2%80%932010_Iranian_election_protests

[ThinkFree111]

02:38 PM on 05/02/2011

So, if Iran is a democracy what in the world were all those late democratic protesters doing. They did finally stop protesting after the leaders in Iran killed enough of them for those remaining to get the message.

[patman77]

07:30 PM on 05/02/2011

4 dea d in O h i o.

[head-out-of-sand]

02:25 AM on 05/03/2011

Wrong. Iran may not be a mature democracy yet. Just imagine people in US would have filled the streets after 2000 Elections and screamed "where is my votes?"! And created traffic jams and insecurity. But they did not. Mainly because US is a mature democracy.