US-led War on Iraq Aims at Redrawing Mideast Geopolitical Map: Iranian Specialist

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, March 16, 2003

US-led War on Iraq Aims at Redrawing Mideast Geopolitical Map: Iranian Specialist

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The long-planned US-led military strike on Iraq is aimed at controlling the Iraqi oil resources and redrawing the geopolitical map of the Persian Gulf region, an Iranian specialist on international studies told Xinhua.

In a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua, Dr. Kioomars Ashtarian, Dean of College of Journalism of the official IRNA news agency and a specialist on international studies, said the US is determined to wage war on Iraq regardless of the anti-war cries throughout the world.

"The US has reaffirmed on many occasions that it is determined to launch a military attack on Iraq even if without the authorization of the UN Security Council," Ashtarian said.

"The US believes that it is the only superpower in the world, so that it always does whatever it likes in a unilateral way, without respecting the opinions of majority countries in the world," said Ashtarian, who is also professor of Tehran University.

Analyzing the purpose of the US for attacking Iraq, the professor said the US has both short-term and long-term purposes in waging war on Iraq. "Its short-term purpose is to control the abundant Iraqi oil resources and set up a pro-America puppet regime in Baghdad."

"Its long-term purpose is to maintain a permanent military presence in the Persian Gulf region and redraw the region's geopolitical map," he said.

"After taking over Iraq, the US would try to weaken the influence of Russia in this region, squeeze out the European enterprises, especially those of France and Germany, from the region, and get rid of their commercial interest."

Asked to comment on the possible negative effects to the region if the war breaks out, the professor said, "The damage will be in several aspects. At least 500,000 Iraqis will become refugees, the region's oil production and export will be affected, resulting in a price hike in the international oil market, creating chaos in the whole world."

"If the Iraqi troops cannot stop the US military advance, Saddam Hussein will not hesitate to set ablaze to thousands of Iraqi oil wells, thus making a huge damage to the environment. All countries in the region will have to pay a price for the war," he added.

Asked to explain Iran's pressure in such a war, he said Iran would face both near-term and long-term pressures.

"The near-term pressure will be the influx of large numbers of Iraqi refugees into Iran. The long-term pressure will be US threat to Iran.

"Since the US has labeled Iran as 'axis of evil' along with Iraq and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Americans will definitely target Iran as their prime enemy after they have taken over Iraq," the professor predicted.

He believed the US would use Iran's nuclear power program as an excuse to launch a diplomatic or even military offensive against Iran in the next few years.

He noted that "If the war in Iraq could come to an end in a short time, the refugees problem and the possible damage to the environment and oil production could be resolved in a relatively short period."

"In the next couple of years, the US will deploy its troops in Iran's neighboring countries as a means of pressure on Iran. As the time elapses, the danger of US diplomatic or even military offensive against Iran will grow greater," he added.

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