Iran winner of regional chess; US had better start talks

A strategic affairs analyst from Switzerland said Monday Mideast developments resemble a chess game whose winner is Iran and Washington has no way, but entering negotiations with Tehran. According to the IRNA Audiovisual Service, Albert Stahl further reiterated, “The geopolitical status of the region has changed and Iran has the potential for becoming a major regional power in the new setting of the Middle East.” Stahl who was speaking with the Swiss daily Tages Anzeiger also said that the United States cannot get engaged in another war in the region after the catastrophes it has suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan. The strategic affairs analyst referring to the influence of Iran in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, and the entire Middle East region, emphasized, “Iran can become a major regional power in the Mideast.” Stahl said that the Middle East developments resemble a chess game in which Iran is the big winner. Further elaborating on the Middle East chess game, he wrote, “By imposing unilateral sanctions against Iran the United States made its check move against Iran and Tehran made its move in return by launching its huge naval war game in the Persian Gulf, Straight of Hormuz, Sea of Oman, the Indian Ocean, and beyond, putting on display its huge military might in the chess game. The Swiss analyst said that keeping every involved factor in the Middle East chess in mind, “I advise Washington to sit at face to face negotiations with Tehran sooner, rather than later.” The preliminary stage of the 10-day naval war games, entitled Velayat-90, was completed on Monday, and Iranian warships, submarines, and other naval vessels spread out across the theaters of operations, which cover a wide area from the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Aden. The deployment of naval units was carried out as naval vessels, submarines, and helicopters practiced military tactics in preparation for the main stage of the war games, Rear Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, who is the spokesman of the maneuvers, told IRNA on Monday. He also said that during the preliminary stage of the war games, submarines of the Tareq class successfully fired electrically propelled torpedoes for the first time. The war games, which started on Saturday, are said to differ from previous ones in terms of the vastness of the area of action and the military equipment and tactics that are being employed. It has been announced that submarines of the Ghadir class and other classes, warships, missile-firing destroyers, coast-to-sea missile systems, drones, and electronic warfare equipment will be tested during the exercises. The commander of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, said on December 22 that the war games would be staged in a large area from the east side of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman to the northern Indian Ocean, adding that in terms of intelligence, the maneuvers would cover a vast area stretching from the northern Indian Ocean to the Gulf of Aden. Sayyari also said that the war games would be conducted in the vicinity of Oman, Yemen, Pakistan, India, and northern Somalia and would be conducted in accordance with international regulations. The maneuvers will display the prowess of Iran’s armed forces as well as the Navy’s defensive and deterrent power and its capability to provide security for vessels sailing on the open seas, he explained. Rear Admiral Mousavi also announced that Iranian naval units warned away a foreign helicopter that had entered one of the theaters of the war games on Sunday. “The previous day, we saw a helicopter of an extra-regional country enter our units’ area of operation, and the helicopter was forced to leave the area after receiving repeated warning signals,” he said.