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Iran – danger of outside intervention escalates
The developing situation in Iran and the international response to it underlines the danger of widespread war in the Middle East as the struggle for political control in the region unfolds. STEVE BISHOP reports
(L to R) Mir-Hossein Mousavi in 2009, protests at Tehran's Hafez Street, January 2020 [(L to R) Salar Nayerhoda/CC Mohsen Abolghasem/MojNews]

WESTERN-BACKED regimes in the Middle East — namely Israel and Saudi Arabia — have long viewed the Islamic Republic of Iran as an existential threat.

This is based on the support of the Iranian regime for the Hezbollah and Hamas factions in Lebanon and Gaza, both of which are regarded as a threat by Israel.

The Islamic Republic also repudiates the particular brand of Sunni Islam perpetrated by Saudi Arabia, favouring a militant interpretation of Shia Islam which it seeks to roll out across the region.  

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