Iran reaches out to rivals in Gulf monarchies

Foreign minister Mohammad Zarif has travelled to four Gulf states since his triumph at nuclear talks in Geneva

The Telegraph, Richard Spencer,Middle East Correspondent, 02 Dec 2013

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Photo: AFP

Fresh from his triumphant return from the nuclear agreement in Geneva, Iran's media-friendly foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, is making dramatic overtures for better relations with some of its fiercest enemies, the Sunni-led monarchies of the Gulf states.

Mr Zarif visited three of the six Gulf monarchies, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, on Sunday and Monday, fresh from meeting his opposite number from a fourth, the United Arab Emirates, in Tehran last week. The tour came ahead of the next stage in Iran's wider diplomatic rehabilitation today when Britain's newly-appointed charge d'affaires, Ajay Sharma, will visit Tehran to meet his opposite number, Hassan Habibollah-Zadeh.

The Iranian foreign minister called for better ties with Saudi Arabia, Iran's leading rival for influence in the Middle East and the de facto leader of the Sunni Muslim world. "I believe that our relations with Saudi Arabia should expand as we consider Saudi Arabia as an extremely important country in the region and the Islamic world," he told reporters.

"We believe that Iran and Saudi Arabia should work together in order to promote peace and stability in the region."

He also expressed a hope that he would be able to visit Riyadh - though this is an invitation the Saudis, who are especially distrustful of Iran's new "moderate" face and of the Iranian nuclear deal in particular, seems in no hurry to make.

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Saudi Arabia, like Israel, is still smarting over Iran's new international diplomatic acceptance. Both believe that Iran is being duplicitous over its promises to downgrade its nuclear programme and that in any case it has no intention of pulling back from its "interventionist" policies across the Middle East.

For Israel that means its backing for Islamist groups in Gaza, and Hizbollah. For Saudi Arabia, that means its promotion of Shia causes across the region, and in particular the decision to use its Revolutionary Guard and Iran-supported militias like Hizbollah to defend President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

"If they really want good relations with Saudi Arabia this is a very important issue for the Gulf Co-operation Council," said Mustafa Alani, of the Gulf Research Centre, which is close to Riyadh. The GCC comprises the six Gulf monarchies.

The British envoy, meanwhile, is expected to also make a visit to "British diplomatic facilities", Mr Habibollah-Zadeh said, presumably the British embassy, whose ransacking by a mob of student protesters two years ago led to London breaking off diplomatic relations.

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"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa, Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text Version)

“…  I want you to watch some countries. I don't have a clock [this statement is Kryon telling us that there is no time frame on his side of the veil, only potentials]. I'll just tell you, it's imminent [in Spirit's timing, this could mean as soon as a decade]. I want you to watch some countries carefully for changes. You're going to be seeing changes that are obvious, and some that are not obvious [covert or assumptive]. But the obvious ones you will see sooner than not - Cuba, Korea [North], Iran, of course, and Venezuela. I want you to watch what happens when they start to realize that they don't have any more allies on Earth! Even their brothers who used to support them in their hatred of some are saying, "Well, perhaps not anymore. It doesn't seem to be supporting us anymore. "Watch the synchronicities that are occurring. The leaders who have either died or are going to in the next year or so will take with them the old ways. Watch what happens to those who take their place, and remember these meetings where I described these potentials to you. …”