Iran attacks escalate Gulf tensions

08 June 2017

Tehran is likely to be on guard against further Isis infiltration

Iran had proved surprisingly invincible to terrorist attacks that plagued others in its volatile neighbourhood. For years, Tehran proved resilient against threats made by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), which considers Shia Iran as a nation of heretics.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) - an elite branch of the armed forces - through its special forces Quds unit backed the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad against the Islamic State.

However, it wasn’t until 7 June, that the Sunni extremist terror group struck at the very heart of the Islamic Republic in co-ordinated attacks, which targeted Iran’s Majlis-e Shoura as well as the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 revolution.

Isis, which had aired a rare video in Farsi in March urging Iranian Sunnis to rise up against their establishment claimed responsibility for the attacks through its news agency and released videos of the attacks from inside the parliament.

The IRGC quickly placed the blame on Saudi Arabia, accusing the Arab world’s leading Sunni power of backing Isis. It cited statements the Saudi foreign minister made the previous day, where he called for Iran to be “punished” for “interfering in the region” as well as those made by Saudi deputy crown prince a few weeks prior, where he said he would take the battle to Iranian soil.

The choice of location for the attacks is a symbolic way to undermine the institutions that are critical to the Islamic Republic. Tehran has been accused by other Sunni states of exporting its revolution abroad, particularly in the wake of the so-called Arab Spring. Iran has negated the argument by saying it was engaged in counter-terrorism efforts against the Islamic State in Syria and has denied proxy involvement in the conflict in Yemen.

Iran will be on its guard once more to prevent the likelihood of another attack and stop propaganda and possible recruitment initiatives by the Islamic State from reaching its borders.

For years, the Iran kept a close watch on visitors and migrants, particularly those from neighbouring war-ravaged Afghanistan and Iraq to deter the possibility of infiltration by the Isis or the Taliban.

A Riyadh emboldened by the visit of US President Donald Trump is looking to consolidate its position in the region. It has successfully instigated fellow Arab countries to cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar - which it has accused of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and being friendly with Iran.

Tehran, on the other hand, has promised delivery of food and is looking to undertake a market survey of Qatar for business opportunities.

Iran’s response to attacks on its hallowed institutions could well be to bring its peripheral proxy involvement to the GCC by increasing its backing for Qatar as tensions escalate across the Gulf.

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