Iran playing positive role in fighting terrorism: Expert

Press TV has conducted an interview with James Petras, a Middle East expert, about Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailing the role of Iranian military advisers in the country’s battle against Daesh terrorists.

Here is a rough transcription of the interview:

Press TV: Iran is invited in Iraq to help, and the role is military advisors, and it is making progress there. You also have Iran and Syria in the same role making progress there. Do you think this spells how successful Iran has been in combating terrorism in the region?

Petras: There is no question that Iran has played a very positive role in fighting terrorism. One has to recognize that Iran has provided them military support, that has sent military advisors into Iraq, it has enormous support among some of the Iraqi militias that have played a very basic role in defeating the Daesh terrorists. It will continue to play a very positive role in Syria and it has played a very important humanitarian role in Yemen against the Saudi Arabian terrorist assaults on the Yemeni people.

So we can say overall that Iran has played a very positive role in the fight against terrorism without making a request, without imposing any hegemonic designs on any of these countries and I think it is to its credit and it stands in contrast to the US role in the region which backs Saudi Arabia’s terror bombings in Yemen, supports the invasion of Syria and has not played a positive role from its occupation in Iraq.

So we have two counterposed responses to the situation in the Middle East - Iran which has played a positive role in defeating terrorism and Washington which has played a negative role in backing many of these terrorist groups. 

Press TV: Do you think that the wars that are happening both in Iraq and in Syria are somewhat being prolonged by the US and its regional allies, in particular Saudi Arabia, in order to reach their ultimate goal of trying to break these countries and get them partitioned or separated into different parts?

Petras: I think there is no question that the US would like to set up puppet governments in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. The problem is that Washington has not succeeded. It has fomented terrorist groups with which it has worked at different times in different places.

Currently Washington with the aid of Saudi Arabia and Turkey has been sending advisors to the terrorists in Aleppo and in related areas in northern Syria. So we have to say that Washington’s allies in the region – Turkey, Saudi Arabia – have been instrumental in destabilizing and impoverishing these areas.

Washington’s intent to establish puppet governments has failed and now it is involved in a policy of rule or ruin, that is to say if it cannot establish a dominant position, its intention is to destroy the infrastructure and inhabitants of Syria.  

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