TEHRAN – A Brazilian professor of Arab descent says Iran is a game changer in West Asia and the larger region.

"Iran is the balance and the game changer for West Asia,” Bruno Beaklini tells the Tehran Times.

Beaklini, who holds PhD in political science, believes that without Iran, the Zionist regime “would have destroyed the totality of most Muslim countries in the entire region." 

Here is the full text of the interview:  

How do you see the political state of West Asia (Middle East) after the birth of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979?

I must explain that this answer comes from a different perspective. In a Latin American point of view we can compare to the Cuban Revolution. From a Middle Eastern perspective it changes the whole region, replacing the "Pan-Arabism" (that formed all of us, including by the thoughts of my Grandpa, a follower of general Nasser and Michel Aflaq) after the betrayal of Camp David. After the 1979 movement and the nationalization of full oil complex (starting in Abadan refinery as the symbol of Iranian strength) we can finally do have a sovereign country with capabilities to fight Zionism and Anglo Saxon imperialism (with U.S. as the inheritor of GB). Sadly, Iran had to face the Sacred Resistance against Saddam Hussein’s stupidity. Gladly after 1988 the Axis of Resistance could be established by the veterans of Khuzestan campaign and based on a diverse economy related to the oil and gas complexity.

How did the Islamic Republic bring some changes to world order at the beginning of the 21st century?

Iran has been suffering U.S. blockade and sanctions since 1979. A similar situation to Cuba, suffering economic sabotage and until the mid-1990s, being a target of U.S. sponsored terrorism. We can establish the comparison to Zionism terrorism (also U.S. sponsored) and the weekly attempts against Iran installations and objectives. The capacity to resist of this huge war machine is very important. I think that the next step is to accompany Asian development and get rid of U.S. dollar as international currency.

Same situation to the having access to Swift System forbidden by tyrants in Washington and the NYC/London financial markets. Iran is very well organized in Defense and high tech developments, but the financial and international business structures must be developed having deep connections to decision makers and parts of the public opinion in important countries like Brazil, South Africa and a full range of middle powers (for example, Malaysia and Indonesia). If it is accomplished the Republic will be more known in a comprehensive perspective and will have full conditions to advance as a source of soft power. Without Iran, Zionists would have destroyed the totality of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, same situation with their allies in Yemen. So, besides having serious challenges in the domestic politics, Iran is the balance and the game changer for West Asia and the greater region. 

How do you assess the hostility against the Islamic Republic by the U.S. and its allies over the last 44 years? What are the major reasons of this hostility according to your observation?

The U.S. operates as the inheritor of GB imperialism all over the world, but especially in the Middle East. They have their strategic ally - the Zionist Apartheid - and full conditions to try to control the middle powers and the oil production as the support for the international commerce. There is no dollar tyranny without the oil prices control. So the U.S. organized the coup d'etat against Dr Mossadegh’s government in 1953 and tried to stop the process started in the Iranian Constitution process in 1905. Having the "so- called Pahlavi dynasty" (a former Russian Persian Cossack!) controlling one side of the Persian Gulf and the House of Saud on the other side they felt "safe" on being the "navy police" of the Strait of Hormuz as their allies Britain and Spain do in Gibraltar and the Mediterranean route to the Atlantic. For Washington it is not acceptable to have a sovereign country with s good and effective Navy fleet defying them while defend the Iranian national water limits. Then, the foreign policy of Iran, with good anti- imperialist positions, also not acceptable to the U.S. Third, the correct conception that the Zionist entity is a fake state established by European conquerors. In the 21st century, the Iranian scientific development - and not only nuclear capabilities - transformed the country to a permanent target for the "U.S. civil hawks" and their Zionist allies.

How do you evaluate the position of Iran in the Islamic world after the revolution? What are the opportunities and challenges?

First, I must be intellectually honest and affirm that I am not an Islamic believer, but do have full respect for this sacred tradition. My family comes from Maronite Lebanon and my grandfather was a nationalist and pan-Arabist. Going through the answer, it seems to me that Iran tries to find modernity and act as a model for other Islamic countries. I repeat that some delicate situations must be solved and the inner public debate goes on. I also realize that a well-established modern society is a goal for all Islamic world, but this is more difficult with takfiri terrorism networks (very useful for Western countries) and with domestic sabotage backed by the Zionist and U.S. intelligence services. The balance of modernity, stability and civil rights is a challenge for all Islamic world and also having the right to exercise full sovereignty. Those are the great opportunities, achieving that balance, moving forward on economic developments and establishing actual models or republican institutions inside countries with Islamic majorities. In a historical perspective it is quite similar to the late 18th and whole 19th centuries during the several "Islamic Revivalism", as occurred in Malaysia against the British invasion. In this century, the opportunity is to have good relationship inside the Islamic world - respecting its own diversity - and diminishing the space for capitalist greed inside those societies.