Italian publication: Iran is a logical player

Rome, April 8, IRNA - An Italian publication referring to Riyadh and Washington's anti-Iran policies and appointment of John Bolton as national security advisor wrote the Islamic Republic is a logical player and it would be in the best interest of the US to have it as an ally. Lindro said that US President Donald Trump's repeated threats to exit from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and appointment of John Bolton as the new national security advisor has created an increasingly anti-Iran sentiment inside the White House. During recent visit to Washington of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Iran came under severe attacks, Lindro said quoted by Islamic Republic News Agency in Rome. In an interview with Lindro, Raffaele Mauriello, a professor of geopolitics and world security at Sapienza University of Rome and Persian literature at Allama Tabatabaei University of Tehran outlined Iran's growing role in the region including in Syria war, Yemen and Iraq. He said it would be in the best interest of the United States to have Iran as an ally. 'No doubt that Iran's influence on the region has increased in recent years. Hassan Rouhani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a Thursday's tripartite summit with his Russian and Turkish counterpart Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara discussed the future of Syria. This is an indication of Tehran's ever increasing importance in Syria and the Middle East,' Professor Mauriello said. Despite signing the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran is still exposed to heavy economic sanctions imposed by the United States, he said, adding 'In spite of Riyadh and Washington's anti-Iran rhetoric, Tehran is believed to follow a pragmatic and realistic foreign policy.' He said 'It is for over 20 years that Iran has been a quite logical player in international relations and geopolitics. It is a very complicated country with a population of 80 million and an area three times the size of France. If one compares it to other players of the region like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon or Syria, one will realize that Iran is bigger than the rest in terms of population, land and resources...' Iran's issue at regional and international levels is that most of its policies are in contradiction with those of the US and this is what makes it look like an illogical player which is not true because it acts very reasonably and one can agree or disagree with its policies, he said. Pointing to the fact that Iran can be a part of solution to the Middle East issue, Mauriello told the Italian publication that today the situation of the Near East was quite different from what it was 20 years ago. Iran is after preserving the status quo with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif always saying that the Islamic Republic respects internationally recognized borders and does not want any change in them. In fact, he said, there are few players who think this way. He went on to say that Iran was opposed to the civil war in Syria and to the 2003 occupation of Iraq. 'For instance, as for Yemen Iran has no part in the crisis in that country. Iran made a proposal to Saudi Arabia first but the Saudis in an illogical manner claimed that Iran should first leave Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq,' he said. 'There is no doubt that Iran feels it is under siege. Of course Iran is not worried about Saudi Arabia because that country has a population of 20 million and even if it has lots of weaponry it is not clear who will lead it. It has been defeated in Yemen and is not considered a threat to Iran. The current leaders of Saudi Arabia are unaware that the population of Tehran alone amounts to 12 million and bombs the size of a mountain will be needed to destabilize the Iranian capital city,' he said. 'Iraq was a big gift. Iran-Turkey relationship has been a little bit complicated but is good. In no other time in the past Iran has had a partner like Russia. Iranians have always felt uneasy about Russians who had seized parts of their territories (in the past) but ties between the two countries are excellent. Today, Iran's strategy is very deep-rooted and such a strategy has not reached the Mediterranean by chance,' he said. 1378/IRNA