Crossfire War – TEHRAN WATCH – South Asia Theatre: Tehran – Islamabad/Delhi; Iran – Pakistan Combine Security Concerns – Defense Cooperation – Kashmir – India
Night Watch: TEHRAN – Pakistan Ambassador to Tehran Iqbal Shafkat Saeed attended a meeting with Iran Defense Minister Brigadier Mostafa Mohammad Najjar as an extension of Tehran’s policy of expansion of ties with Islamic states, in this case military cooperation, since the meeting was with the Defense Minister. Najjar stated, “A serious attention to bilateral potentials can be the starting point for productive cooperation and interaction between Tehran and Islamabad.” In other words military cooperation between their two militaries will increase the Islamic world’s chances for victory against India through the flashpoint Kashmir. [IRNA]
Both officials were critical of what they called the interference of foreign forces in regional issues and crises. This could be translated as saying Islamabad will reduce its military cooperation with the West and that the recent maneuvers it has had with the West really meant nothing. Ambassador Saeed acknowledged the security concerns between the two countries are linked. This is identical to Tehran’s military-strategic relations – cooperation with Damascus.
Saeed extended an invitation to Najjar from Pakistan’s Defense Minister to visit Islamabad to attend an international defense exhibition to be held in Pakistan’s capital. He added that Iran’s active presence there will lay the foundation of defense-military cooperation between the two countries. Their discussions revolved around the latest regional developments and what they called “issues of mutual interest.” They took place just one week after Al Qaeda (Iran) announced a presence in Kashmir and praised the Mumbai commuter train bombings.
In a related development Tehran has just announced the postponement of their Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki’s visit to India. The excuse Tehran gave was his “heavy work agenda.” The discussions Tehran held with Delhi, for more than a year, regarding economic cooperation revolving around what Tehran called its “pipeline of peace”, was just to masque Iran’s military preparations to enter the next war between India/Pakistan.
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