By Nasser Karimi
The Associated Press, 30 January 2005.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran strongly criticized the U.S. invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein and opposed the American occupation of its neighbor, but with Iraqis voting Sunday for a new government, Iran stands to reap huge benefits.
"This is a unique opportunity, not seen for centuries, for Iraqi policy to go in Iran's favor," said political analyst Hamid Reza Jalaipour.
Iran's `state-run` television hailed the vote as "the beginning of democracy and the end of occupation and insurgency in Iraq."
"I hope the election leads to the exit of the occupiers from Iraq," Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
The election is likely to propel Iraq's majority Shiites into power for the first time since modern Iraq came into being in 1921, giving them the leading voice in shaping the country's future, which `Shiite-dominated` Iran hopes will lead to friendly relations between the two nations that fought a brutal war two decades ago.
Some Sunni Arab countries worry a new Iraqi government will form a Shiite alliance with Iran, but Iranians say they would be happy with a secular Iraqi government that will simply establish good relations. Most importantly, some said, Iraqis need to decide what they want.
"Let its people decide about their country's future," said Houshang Darab, 50, an Iranian textile broker who appealed to both the United States and Iran to avoid interfering in Iraq. "A secular, democratic government is the best choice since it would not have any excuse for war."
Iranians took the Iraqi elections in stride, with the historic event not being closely followed or discussed in Tehran. Television coverage was limited to a few minutes of videotape in regular newscasts. Newspapers published editorials on the elections, and some of them printed a supplement on the history of Iraq, the election process and political system.
Though both countries are home to most of the world's holiest Shiite shrines and their people have `deep-rooted` religious ties, an Iraqi Shiite theocracy could create problems for Iran, if it began to vie with Iran for leadership of worldwide Shiite Islam.
"A nonmilitary, `non-ideological` and elected government secures Iran's interests," said political analyst Saeed Laylaz.
The two countries have a bitter history. Iraq, controlled by Saddam's Sunni Arab dictatorship, fought an eight year war with Iran that killed and injured an estimated 1 million people before it ended in 1988. The two neighbors have never signed a peace agreement.
More recently, interim Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan called Iran his country's "first enemy," accusing it of supporting Iraqi insurgents and allowing them to freely cross the border. Tehran says it is trying to control the border, but at nearly 1,000 miles long, the frontier is hard to police.
The United States has also accused Iran of interfering in Iraq's affairs, a charge Tehran has denied.
The election has put Iranian `hard-liners`, who dominate political life here, in an awkward position. Support for the poll would put them on the side of their archenemy the United States, while calling for a boycott would deny Iraq's Shiites a historic opportunity for power.
Iranian leaders, nervous about the presence of U.S. forces next door, also hope the election will be the first step toward ending the U.S. presence in Iraq, but a smooth poll might give an unwanted boost to their country's own democracy movement. The result has been a `wait-and`-see, noncommittal approach.
Many Iranians, scarred by the memories of the war, looked to the elections as a guarantee there would be no repeat of that conflict.
"We would witness peaceful coexistence with Iraq if democracy materialize there," said Mohammad Kianooshrad, a former member of the national security and foreign policy committee in Iran's parliament.
Shahriar Heidari, governor of `Qasr-e` Shirin, a border city that was flattened by Iraqi forces during the war, hoped the vote would bring peace.
"We will be happy if Iraqis are happy. Their security is our security. Democracy in the country would work in favor of the border areas of Iran," he said.
He said the city's population of 30,000 would quadruple if peace and security were established in Iraq. About 130,000 people lived there before the `Iran-Iraq` war.
Citation: Nasser Karimi. "Iran Expects Benefits From Iraq Election," The Associated Press, 30 January 2005.
Original URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4766740,00.html