‘Iran Is Driven By Its sense Of Being Shia’

Iran is unpredictable in its policies, driven by its sense of being the ethnic Persian Shia power in a sea of Sunni Arab countries. That explains its support for Iraq, Syria’s ruling Alawites and non state actors like Yemen’s Houthis or Hezbollah, says former diplomat Dilip Sinha on The Gist. The exception here is Hamas, but it being a radical Sunni group in the middle of a war against Tehran’s arch enemy Israel, is worthy of Iran’s support. Also the fact that Hamas’ radical outlook threatens the conservative and fragile Sunni Arab monarchies. Sinha believes Iran sees value in the Chahbahar port project with India but remains concerned by a low level ethnic Sunni resistance to its rule. Tune in for more in this chat with Ambassador Dilip Sinha.