• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 1 hour GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 4 hours How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 6 hours If hydrogen is the answer, you're asking the wrong question
  • 4 days Oil Stocks, Market Direction, Bitcoin, Minerals, Gold, Silver - Technical Trading <--- Chris Vermeulen & Gareth Soloway weigh in
  • 5 days The European Union is exceptional in its political divide. Examples are apparent in Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Netherlands, Belarus, Ireland, etc.
  • 19 hours Biden's $2 trillion Plan for Insfrastructure and Jobs
  • 4 days "What’s In Store For Europe In 2023?" By the CIA (aka RFE/RL as a ruse to deceive readers)
Claude Salhani

Claude Salhani

Claude Salhani is the senior editor with Trend News Agency and is a journalist, author and political analyst based in Baku, specializing in the Middle…

More Info

Premium Content

Iran on the Offensive

Until now, the Arab oil producing countries of the Persian Gulf, also called the Arabian Gulf, or to those seeking political neutrality, simply the Gulf, looked at their Persian neighbour with suspicion and trepidation. The fear came from mainly the military superiority that Iran wields over the Gulf, Persian or Arabian, depending on how you prefer to call it.

The reasons behind the animosity between Arabs and Persians are numerous. There is the historic schism of culture, language, tribal, territorial but also religious. For the most part the Arabs are Sunni and the Iranians are Shia. Yet, although being a religious differential opposing the two sides, the schism is not one of theology.

As explains Dr. Fred Donner, professor of Islamic history at the University of Chicago, to say that there is a theological difference between the Sunni and the Chia would be similar to saying there is a theological difference between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Indeed, the military balance is important: judge for yourself. In terms of simple numbers, those currently in active service in the following countries, Bahrain, 8,200, Kuwait 15,000, Saudi Arabia, 223,500, Qatar, 11,800, the United Arab Emirates, 51,000. Altogether, that amounts to 309,500 personnel.

Iran meanwhile has some 545,000 active frontline personnel and an additional 650,000 in the reserves. Iran has 2,895 tanks, 1,500 armored fighting vehicles, 310 self-propelled guns, 2,368 towed artillery pieces, 860 rocket launchers, 5,000 portable mortar launchers, close to 1,800 planes and 800 helicopters –though it is questionable how many are still operational. Iran has also an important naval presence in the Gulf, including specially trained units capable of disrupting international oil shipping routes through the very strategic Straits of Hormuz.

Related article: Iran-Pakistan: Western Pipeline Nightmare

Those are the conventional forces. In addition, perhaps just as dangerous, if not all the more so is the Islamic Republic’s capability to carry out asymmetrical warfare against the United States, the Gulf countries and other Western powers, such as members of NATO or the European Union.

Under the heading of asymmetrical warfare comes two subheadings; cyber terrorism, and electromagnetic pulse, also known as EMP.

The effects of either one alone could be devastating on the infrastructure of a civilized society.

Cyber warfare attacks computers and computer systems and can create havoc in the banking system, the North American electric grid, flight control systems and even find its way into military systems and security computers and intelligence and counterintelligence systems.

The electromagnetic pulse is quite as lethal if deployed properly, something Iran already know how to do according to several sources who closely follow Iran's progress in that field.

Without going into too many technical details electromagnetic pulse works by setting off a high-frequency signal high above the earth that incapacitates an enemy’s command-and-control systems, and paralyzes anything that has an electronic component attached to it.  That means airplanes, tanks, cars, ships and so on and so forth, would be put out of action instantly and without the need to deploy military forces.

As if that was not enough to worry about, Iran holds one more trump card: the religious fervor that motivates many of its fighters, who urged by the mullahs are led to believe they are carrying out Gods work.

Yet despite all the above, the religious leadership in Iran today remain fearful of what a popular vote and truly impartial and unhindered elections could do to its grip on power.

As the country prepares for elections next June the regime is taking no chances and sending out not-so discreet signals to anyone who might even think about staging a repetition of the riots that broke out at the time of the last election a few years ago.

Related article: Iran - Power Play in Strait of Hormuz

One such a message came in the form of pictures distributed by Iran's official news agency of a specially made machine designed to perform “quick and easy amputation of the fingers of thieves.”

In addition to the amputation, one government official announced that convicted criminals also sentenced to three years in prison and 99 lashes. Western human rights groups have noted that as the elections approach the authorities in Iran are making stronger statements about corporal punishment.

ADVERTISEMENT

This is no coincidence.

It is also no coincidence that the approach of the election the regime has begun a new offensive to silence journalists who might raise their voices against the government. In the past few days a dozen journalists from six different media organizations have been detained in Iran.

A well-known physician activist Mohammad Nourizad told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that by arresting journalists “the authorities are issuing a warning.”  In a separate incident on January 27 authorities raided reformist newspapers and arrested a number OF journalists.

One might say that this reinforces the saying that the ballot remains more powerful than the bullet.

By. Claude Salhani

Claude Salhani is a political analyst and journalist specializing in the Middle East, Central Asia, terrorism and political Islam.  His latest book is Islam Without a Veil.” He tweets @claudesalhani


Download The Free Oilprice App Today

Back to homepage





Leave a comment
  • Just saying on January 30 2013 said:
    Historic documents shows that correct name is persian Gulf. Arabs in southern side of persain gulf think they can change history and buy people and politician with their petro dollar and basically buying history with money! but they are wrong just as this guy.
  • Ali Mostofi on January 30 2013 said:
    Claude:

    The name of this water way is not a political matter. Persian Gulf is a historical, geographical and cultural term. So your argument that "The Gulf" or "Gulf" is politically neutral is totally wrong.

    Your numbers on Iran have to be more precise. There are two forces in Iran. We have the people who are part of the post 1979 weaponized forces that are loosely referred to as IRGC, but actually include poorly trained footmen that are there for getting money and doing nothing else, known as "Basij". There is then the proper national army. Don't mix the two as Iranian people see the IRGC and their bandits are aliens. IRGC hang Iranians every day. They would bulldoze Persepolis tomorrow if the people were not fighting them.

    Thanks for your article. But it is just a bit wrong.
  • Steve on January 30 2013 said:
    Right, so the Iranian regime are almost as bad as the US, when it comes to clamping down on rights and freedom and hanging onto power through intimidation and other means at the ballot box. Tell us something we did not know. However their record on foreign policy makes them an ideal international citizen as it happens, compared to the rogue terrorist antics of its accusers. I'm sorry to say this article ceased to be taken as anything but anti-Iranian propaganda when the stupid Persian Gulf naming red herring was offered up. Please get a clue, not even the Arab countries concerned with this take themselves seriously. You'll have to expunge a lot of history to manage that feat.
  • Michel_Tr on January 31 2013 said:
    "As if that was not enough to worry about, Iran holds one more trump card: the religious fervor that motivates many of its fighters, who urged by the mullahs are led to believe they are carrying out Gods work."

    We had a Bush that did the exact same thing and it was OK for the press... Now it is not for others? I really think we need an urgent introspection.

Leave a comment




EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News