Latest WikiLeaks Dump Shows United Front Against Iran, Says Mideast Affairs Expert

By A.J. Swartwood

While the recent release of a cache of State Department cables “goes against the business of politics in the Gulf,” it did not disable or seriously jeopardize American diplomatic relations with Gulf States or alter positions toward Iran, but in fact clarified them, Kuwaiti Gulf Affairs and Nuclear Proliferation Expert Dr. Sami Alfaraj said Tuesday.

Alfaraj said that he was not “overwhelmed” with the release of the confidential documents and that there were in fact some positives that came out of the leaks. One of the benefits, he added, is that it clearly showed that many Gulf countries’ positions towards Iran and its nuclear proliferation were aligned.

“One element that really caught my attention was how different countries of the GCC as well as the region, whether in Jordan and Israel, were thinking the same way about how to best stop the Iranian nuclear program in its tracks,” said Alfaraj. As tensions with Iran continue to rise, many of those nations are wondering whether or not to continue pursuing diplomatic negotiations or “if war was to be contemplated.”

On the other side of the conflict, Alfaraj added, the release might well have a positive impact on Iran.
“The WikiLeaks have…influence on the Iranian strategic mind. It shows them the degree of animosity between Iran and its neighbors, that it is against what Mr. Ahmadinejad’s administration has been alluding to, that it is enjoying great status and is welcome everywhere.”

Alfaraj hopes that this increased transparency about the Middle Eastern world’s united opposition to Iran and its nuclear program will lead the more “reasonable” members of Iran’s ruling party to alter their increasingly standoffish behavior before military action is necessary.