Iran’s Strategy for Year 2036 to Empower Hezbollah and Al-Assad’s Regime
Adil Alsalmi Asharq Al Awsat 29 April 2016
http://english.aawsat.com/2016/04/article55350057/irans-strategy-coming-20-years-empower-hezbollah-al-assads-regime

London-Information reported in the Iranian media revealed that Iran is
planning to boost its support for the so-called Lebanese Hezbollah within a
new strategy it has put to maintain its political leadership which includes
Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

Former IRGC commander and current military adviser to the Leader of the
Islamic Revolution Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi called for supporting
the so-called Hezbollah in Lebanon to attain self-sufficiency financially
and militarily, thus becoming the greatest power in Lebanon.

He confirmed the necessity of empowering the so-called Hezbollah for it to
maintain its potentials “under any circumstance” in the Lebanese political
scene.

Notably, Iran has been working for years to support the so-called Hezbollah
within its strategy to intervene in Arab countries’ affairs.

It condemned and deeply criticized the decision issued by the Arab League,
Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to
consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization since it has been supporting it
with money and weaponries for many years now, and it has been training its
militants too.

Speaking at the National Conference on West Asian Geopolitics, Safavi
considered preventing the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the division
of Syria from the strategic options for Iran. He also explained Iran’s
strategic prospects for the 20 coming years.

“The region is a centerpiece of any economic, political, and security grand
plan by hegemonic powers; the region is undergoing geopolitical transition
and geopolitical change at the same time,” he said.

He proposed a coalition of regional Asian powers (Russia, China, Iran,
India, and Pakistan) along with Islamic countries cumulative capabilities as
a remedy to face and contain the growing US role as the pioneer of a
uni-polar order; “the Islamic Republic of Iran should be prepared for the
worst scenario and prepare accordingly.”

Safavi also proposed that the Islamic Republic of Iran should reconsider its
relations with Turkey, a neighbor which had functioned as a close ally of
the US and Zionist regime in implementing their policies in the region.

Highlighting the significance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in
the balance of global power, the top general said it can challenge the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the future.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently has six full members -China,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Rahim Safavi also tackled the necessities and requirements of the condition
where Iran retains its geopolitical weight and importance in the region,
believing that the enterprise emulating this demanding task would incur
costs; “strengthening contributing factors of national sovereignty
(economic, political, social, military, and scientific), and a good
governance to secure public consent are crucial in securing Iran’s place in
international community,” he said.

In a common matter, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday said his
administration will spare no effort to get back the Central Bank of Iran’s
assets that the US has recently seized under an “illegal” court ruling.

The president held the US government accountable for violating the rights of
the Iranian nation and government, after Washington’s recent decision to
seize nearly $2 billion of the Central Bank of Iran’s assets on baseless
charges of Tehran’s role in a bombing that killed US Marines in Lebanon more
than 30 years ago.

Iran’s chief executive underscored that the financial sources belonging to
the central banks of countries should be immune from seizure, stressing that
any ruling issued by a foreign court on those assets is “definitely illegal”.

Pledging efforts to return Iran’s money, President Rouhani said the cabinet
has set up a task force to address the issue and let people know about the
results