A senior Iranian commander says the West is equipping Saudi Arabia with state-of-the-art arms with the aim of “stealing” the energy resources of the Persian Gulf region.
“The efforts to equip Saudi Arabia and some other Arab states of the Persian Gulf with the world's most advanced war machines are in line with protection of the interests of the [global] hegemonic system and their insatiable thirst for looting the energy resources of the Persian Gulf,” Mehr news agency quoted Deputy Head of Iran's Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri as saying on Sunday.
The West seeks to spread Iranophobia among Persian Gulf Arab states with the aim of selling its arms to these countries so that it can partly recover its bankrupt economy, the Iranian commander went on to say.
Germany's Der Spiegel magazine reported on July 2 that Berlin had agreed to sell 200 Leopard-2s -- Germany's main battle tank, which is also produced under license in Spain -- to Riyadh for a multi-billion-dollar sum.
The report comes as German opposition parties and even members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling center-right coalition have criticized the deal, particularly in light of popular uprisings throughout the Middle East.
Jazayeri argued that Saudi Arabia in fact fears a popular revolution inside the country and needs such military apparatus to quash potential anti-regime movements; however, it seeks to distract attentions by claiming that the arms deal was aimed at countering foreign threats.
“The revolutionary developments across the region indicate that the state-of-the-art military equipment is a legacy to be enjoyed by the revolutionaries in near future,” he noted.
In recent months, a wave of revolutions and anti-government uprisings has swept the Arab world.
Since January two revolutions have led to regime changes in Tunisia and Egypt.
Other popular uprisings have hit Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and the wave is spreading through other Arab countries.
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