Analogies have been made that the Iranian regime is the Middle East\u2019s North Korea. Such an analogy fails to comprehensively characterize Tehran\u2019s role in the region, as well as identify the differences between North Korea and Iran.
\nWhen it comes to their roles within their respective regions, the Iranian regime plays a much more destabilizing and destructive role than North Korea does.
\nThrough its military forces, the Islamic Republic is actively engaged in intervening in the domestic affairs of other nations in the Middle East. For example, in Syria, Iranian leaders have admitted that their Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its elite branch, the Quds Force, are fighting on the ground alongside Bashar Assad\u2019s forces. In addition, Iran is providing financial, weapons, advisory and intelligence assistance to the Syrian regime apparatus.
\nPutting their direct military intervention aside, Iranian leaders have successfully formed powerful proxies and Shiite militias in Syria in order to serve the revolutionary and geopolitical interests of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his gilded circle.
\nThe Iranian leaders\u2019 plan is a long-term one \u2014 to make political realities out of these militias, ensuring Iran\u2019s infiltration and domination of the nation in case Assad falls. In other words, Iran\u2019s plan is to make itself a winner whether the Syrian president is toppled or remains in power, as Tehran would continue to have influence and control in the security, political and intelligence infrastructure of Syria.
\nIn Iraq, the Iranian regime has placed many individuals in positions of power in order to guarantee that every policy passed in Baghdad serves Tehran\u2019s interests. Through its sectarian agenda, the Iranian regime also employs the strategy of divide and conquer by exploiting the delicate line between the Shiites and Sunnis. The same policy is enacted in Bahrain and Kuwait in order to encourage dissent between communities.
\nFurthermore, under the aegis of the IRGC, Iran\u2019s leaders believe they have ensured their presence in Iraq for decades to come, as well as being capable of dictating Iraq\u2019s future policies by setting up the People\u2019s Mobilization Forces (PMF). The PMF is a conglomerate of more than 40 Iraqi militia groups, which act in favor of the Iranian regime\u2019s interests and enjoy close ties with the head of the Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani.
\nIran\u2019s military activities stretch beyond the boundaries of its neighboring countries. In Lebanon, Iran managed to form its proxies right after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. Even in Yemen, where Iranian leaders do not have any significant stakes to preserve, the regime intervenes. In Sanaa, the heightened and continuing crisis is mainly due to the fact that Iran persists in providing weapons and ammunition to the Houthis. Several of Iran\u2019s shipments have been intercepted recently.<\/p>\n
While Pyongyang\u2019s heated rhetoric heightens tensions in East Asia, Tehran is far more destructive as it often takes active military and political measures to destabilize its neighbors and nations throughout the region.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Does North Korea play the same role in East Asia? Does North Korea have military forces on the ground in China, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines or Russia who are fighting to topple those governments? Does North Korea have militias and proxies battling and killing people in Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Moscow, Manila or Taipei in order to preserve the interests of Pyongyang? The answers to these questions are no.
\nNorth Korea mostly resorts to heated rhetoric from time to time that causes heightened tensions. These tensions normally subside immediately after the rhetoric is removed.
\nMost recently, the highest-ranking US general reinforced the argument laid out above. Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, pointed out last week that North Korea has not really altered its military posture despite the recent heated rhetoric. \u201cWhile the political space is clearly very charged right now, we haven\u2019t seen a change in the posture of North Korean forces and we watch that very closely,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we haven\u2019t seen is military activity that would be reflective of the charged political environment.\u201d
\nArguing that the Iranian regime\u2019s actions in the Middle East are similar to North Korea\u2019s actions in East Asia is an inaccurate analogy due to the fact that it fails to depict the full picture, including the political and military agendas of these two regimes. North Korea is nowhere near as destabilizing in East Asia as Iran is in the Middle East.
\nNorth Korea mostly resorts to rhetoric that heightens tensions. But Iran forcibly and actively takes military and political measures to destabilize the region through various paths, including financing and arming its militias, as well as dispatching its military and paramilitary forces to other nations.
\nThe Iranian regime actively intervenes in other countries and employs belligerent and imperialistic policies to achieve its regional hegemonic ambitions by dominating and controlling the political, security and intelligence systems of other countries.
\nNorth Korea talks, but the Iranian regime acts.
\n\u2022 Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a\u00a0Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a\u00a0businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"