Yasser Abu Hilala
Opinion: Islamic Republic seeks to sow chaos, focusing only on its own interests even if they come at the expense of other nations in the region, and widening the rift between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims
Former Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of the Iranian Revolution, used to be seen as the leader of the protest against the Shah's oppression, Western hegemony and Israel's influence.
Later, the Iran Iraq war undermined Iran's reputation in the Arab world, but during Tehran's campaign in assisting Lebanon in its war against Israel in 2006, it has managed to repair the damaged image.
But, since then Iran has widened its rift with the Sunni world by backing Shi'ite political parties in Iraq and Lebanon, instead of viewing the Middle East as the home of the united Arab nation.
Iran's condescension has not remained unanswered, and the loss of political power by some Shi'ite parties in recent elections can be seen as a direct result of the anger leveled at Tehran, which has been brewing in Arab countries for quite some time.
In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon who is not angered by Hezbollah - which up until a few weeks ago had a majority in the Lebanese parliament - and the recent election results are proof of that.
Hezbollah is also immersed in sectarianism in its political alliances. The party demonstrates a lax position towards Lebanon's President Michel Aoun, who was suspected of having ties with Israel among other foreign interests affairs, when he was a general in the military.
The Iran-backed organization has no such tolerance of Lebanon's Sunni leaders, as was evident by the death sentence given to former Sunni Imam Ahmad Al-Assir, who dared to criticize Iran. He was accused of causing civilian deaths in sectarian fighting and attacking the military in Sidon - the third-largest city in Lebanon - in 2013.
But such policies have consequences. Iran and Hezbollah have paid dearly for viewing Lebanon as an extension of Iraq and Syria, and not a sovereign state that it thrives to be.
Iran was also harshly defeated in other geopolitical arenas when it sought to exploit those countries for its own interests.
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