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The Enemy of My Enemy

Today on Tablet, a look at Saudi Arabia’s proxy war with Iran

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Unknown Author
November 12, 2012
Iranian Saman Bank officials asses damage after a bomb attack in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz, dominated by ethnic minority Arabs, where a scheduled visit by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been canceled at the last minute, Jan. 24, 2006. At least eight people were killed in the double bomb attack in front of the privately run bank and a government office.(AFP)
Iranian Saman Bank officials asses damage after a bomb attack in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz, dominated by ethnic minority Arabs, where a scheduled visit by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been canceled at the last minute, Jan. 24, 2006. At least eight people were killed in the double bomb attack in front of the privately run bank and a government office.(AFP)

As tensions remain high between Israel and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program, little attention has been paid to the Arab States in the Middle East for whom the idea of an Iranian nuclear weapon is extremely discomfiting.

Following the logic that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” a few influential policymakers in Washington and Tel Aviv have argued for years that support for the aspirations of non-Persian Iranians—like Arabs, Baluchis, and Kurds—would be both morally right and strategically useful as a means to destabilize the regime. Some even see an opportunity to partner with these groups for a ground assault to complement air strikes on Iranian nuclear targets.

Today on Tablet, Joseph Braude reports on the Saudi Arabia’s attempts to undermine the regime in Tehran.

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