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HOW AN ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER CAUGHT THE IRANIAN FLU
JNS.org (Jewish & Israeli News)
March 19 2015
By Alexander Murinson/JNS.org
Historically, Jerusalem has played the role of a coveted possession
in the geopolitical calculations of many regional and global powers.
International religious rivalries over access and ownership of the
Israeli capital's holy sites continue unabated. The status of the
Old City of Jerusalem and those holy places also presents one of the
thorniest issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The latest installment in this long-drawn drama involves the Republic
of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Armenian leadership's
cancellation of a planned visit to Jerusalem in February 2010 by
then-prime minister Tigran Sargsyan provided a cause for concern and
puzzlement for the Israeli government that persists to this day.
Until recently, the Armenian government had not sent a single
delegation to Israel since the cancellation of Sargsyan's visit. In
contrast, an Armenian neighbor, the Muslim-majority Republic of
Azerbaijan, has sent a series of top-level delegations, including
cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, and Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov.
In what was reportedly a bit of damage control, on March 5, Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan arrived in Israel for what the
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs described as a "private visit." It
was reported that Nalbandyan promoted a decidedly anti-Turkish and
anti-Azeri agenda. Nalbandyan received a less-than-warm welcome due
to the well-documented and increasing wave of anti-Semitism in the
Armenian media as well as the prolific state-sponsored anti-Israel
propaganda that makes Armenia such a darling of Iran.
What really caused the cancellation of the visit of Armenian prime
minister Sargsyan to Israel? Interestingly, in mid-February 2010,
Yerevan notified Israel that Sargsyan had become ill with the flu
and was unable to travel. Other diplomatic sources in Jerusalem noted
that the flu struck the Armenian prime minister in "a strange manner
after a meeting with the advisor of Iranian President Mehdi Mostafavi."
Nearly at the same time as the Armenian official trip, the Iranian
ambassador in Yerevan, Seyed Ali Sagayan, announced that the Islamic
Republic would act as an intermediary, promoting the normalization
process between Armenia and Turkey. This was preceded by a visit to
Tehran of then-Armenian minister of transport and communication Manuk
Vardanyan, who oversaw a number of bilateral strategic projects,
an invitation to the defense minister of Armenia to Iran, and the
arrival in Yerevan of a head of the Iranian diplomatic delegation.
According to information received in Jerusalem, Tehran feared that
the Israelis would try to negotiate with the head of the Armenian
government about the tacit cooperation on the Iranian issue. Although
Iran remains a major regional partner of Yerevan, no less important for
the Armenians is their position in Jerusalem at the city's holy sites.
The Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church controls
many Christian shrines in the city (including a part of the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre). The Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem (where
about 2,500 people live) is the spiritual center for the influential
Armenian diaspora in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Syria, and
Iran. This quarter is even called the key to the "Armenian factor"
of Middle East politics. For Armenians, these places are particularly
sensitive because of the long-term confrontation with the Greeks
regarding control over the Jerusalem sites. In resolving a number of
conflicts between the Armenians and Greeks, the Israeli authorities,
in particular the Ministry of Religious Affairs, plays a critical
role. On such matters, Israeli state agencies prefer to remain neutral.
But recently, representatives of the Armenian Church began to
express fears that amid the crisis with Turkey, Israel had decided to
strengthen the partnership with Greece, and by consequence the Israeli
government may prefer the Greeks in the conflict over Jerusalem's
holy sites. It is significant that less than a month before the
announcement of the visit of the Armenian prime minister to Israel,
one of Jerusalem's priests, Step Karapetyan, stated publicly, "Holy
Mount Zion to the Jews actually is in the possession of the Armenian
community and the Israeli government is implementing a systematic
policy to force Armenians out. Armenia as the state did not oppose
this policy." He further noted that "in such circumstances, conflicts
and collisions will occur and further, because the problem is not
only religious but also political and geopolitical conditions."
The Iranians reportedly feared that in exchange for some assistance in
the matter of holy places, Sarkisian would agree to tacit cooperation
on subjects of strategic importance for Tehran, according to Israeli
diplomats. The Armenians quickly backed down under pressure from Iran.
The Iranian regime has never ceased to support Armenia in its
megalomaniac policy of occupation of the sovereign Azeri territory.
Recently, on behalf of Armenia, a blatant attack on an Azeri senior
diplomat--Baku's ambassador to Washington, Elin Suleymanov--was
aired in the Azeri language by the official Islamic Republic of Iran
broadcaster Radio Tabriz. The Iranian broadcast used egregious lies
in accusing Suleymanov of "lobbying activities against Armenia in
Washington, DC." The Iranians used a classical anti-Semitic ruse by
calling any diplomat who has healthy relationship with Jewish people,
especially American Jewry, a "secret agent" of Zionists. The broadcast
contained a ridiculous accusation against the Azeri ambassador of being
"Azerbaijan's Jewish politician and promoter of the Zionist regime in
[Azeri President] Ilham Aliyev's government." The broadcast added,
"This Jewish politician does his best to work for the benefit of
American and Zionist regime, not for Azerbaijani state and its people."
The mullah-controlled regime in Tehran manifests a growing concern
over the invigoration of relations between Israel, Azerbaijan, and the
states of Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan. The Iranians fear
that the Israeli strategy of containing the Islamic Republic--which
thankfully continues to stall the P5+1 negotiations over Iran's nuclear
program--is gaining momentum, while Armenia is still suffering from
the Iranian flu.
Alexander Murinson, Ph.D., a researcher for the Begin-Sadat Center
for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, also serves on the
International Advisory Board of Outre-Terre (European Geopolitical
Review), a French-language scholarly journal. He is the author
of various articles and books, including the "European Journal of
Geopolitics," "Turkey's Entente with Israel," and "Azerbaijan: State
Identity and Security in the Middle East and Caucasus."
http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2015/3/18/armenian-prime-minister-catches-the-iranian-flu#.VQs5-sYcTIU=
JNS.org (Jewish & Israeli News)
March 19 2015
By Alexander Murinson/JNS.org
Historically, Jerusalem has played the role of a coveted possession
in the geopolitical calculations of many regional and global powers.
International religious rivalries over access and ownership of the
Israeli capital's holy sites continue unabated. The status of the
Old City of Jerusalem and those holy places also presents one of the
thorniest issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The latest installment in this long-drawn drama involves the Republic
of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Armenian leadership's
cancellation of a planned visit to Jerusalem in February 2010 by
then-prime minister Tigran Sargsyan provided a cause for concern and
puzzlement for the Israeli government that persists to this day.
Until recently, the Armenian government had not sent a single
delegation to Israel since the cancellation of Sargsyan's visit. In
contrast, an Armenian neighbor, the Muslim-majority Republic of
Azerbaijan, has sent a series of top-level delegations, including
cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, and Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov.
In what was reportedly a bit of damage control, on March 5, Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan arrived in Israel for what the
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs described as a "private visit." It
was reported that Nalbandyan promoted a decidedly anti-Turkish and
anti-Azeri agenda. Nalbandyan received a less-than-warm welcome due
to the well-documented and increasing wave of anti-Semitism in the
Armenian media as well as the prolific state-sponsored anti-Israel
propaganda that makes Armenia such a darling of Iran.
What really caused the cancellation of the visit of Armenian prime
minister Sargsyan to Israel? Interestingly, in mid-February 2010,
Yerevan notified Israel that Sargsyan had become ill with the flu
and was unable to travel. Other diplomatic sources in Jerusalem noted
that the flu struck the Armenian prime minister in "a strange manner
after a meeting with the advisor of Iranian President Mehdi Mostafavi."
Nearly at the same time as the Armenian official trip, the Iranian
ambassador in Yerevan, Seyed Ali Sagayan, announced that the Islamic
Republic would act as an intermediary, promoting the normalization
process between Armenia and Turkey. This was preceded by a visit to
Tehran of then-Armenian minister of transport and communication Manuk
Vardanyan, who oversaw a number of bilateral strategic projects,
an invitation to the defense minister of Armenia to Iran, and the
arrival in Yerevan of a head of the Iranian diplomatic delegation.
According to information received in Jerusalem, Tehran feared that
the Israelis would try to negotiate with the head of the Armenian
government about the tacit cooperation on the Iranian issue. Although
Iran remains a major regional partner of Yerevan, no less important for
the Armenians is their position in Jerusalem at the city's holy sites.
The Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church controls
many Christian shrines in the city (including a part of the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre). The Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem (where
about 2,500 people live) is the spiritual center for the influential
Armenian diaspora in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Syria, and
Iran. This quarter is even called the key to the "Armenian factor"
of Middle East politics. For Armenians, these places are particularly
sensitive because of the long-term confrontation with the Greeks
regarding control over the Jerusalem sites. In resolving a number of
conflicts between the Armenians and Greeks, the Israeli authorities,
in particular the Ministry of Religious Affairs, plays a critical
role. On such matters, Israeli state agencies prefer to remain neutral.
But recently, representatives of the Armenian Church began to
express fears that amid the crisis with Turkey, Israel had decided to
strengthen the partnership with Greece, and by consequence the Israeli
government may prefer the Greeks in the conflict over Jerusalem's
holy sites. It is significant that less than a month before the
announcement of the visit of the Armenian prime minister to Israel,
one of Jerusalem's priests, Step Karapetyan, stated publicly, "Holy
Mount Zion to the Jews actually is in the possession of the Armenian
community and the Israeli government is implementing a systematic
policy to force Armenians out. Armenia as the state did not oppose
this policy." He further noted that "in such circumstances, conflicts
and collisions will occur and further, because the problem is not
only religious but also political and geopolitical conditions."
The Iranians reportedly feared that in exchange for some assistance in
the matter of holy places, Sarkisian would agree to tacit cooperation
on subjects of strategic importance for Tehran, according to Israeli
diplomats. The Armenians quickly backed down under pressure from Iran.
The Iranian regime has never ceased to support Armenia in its
megalomaniac policy of occupation of the sovereign Azeri territory.
Recently, on behalf of Armenia, a blatant attack on an Azeri senior
diplomat--Baku's ambassador to Washington, Elin Suleymanov--was
aired in the Azeri language by the official Islamic Republic of Iran
broadcaster Radio Tabriz. The Iranian broadcast used egregious lies
in accusing Suleymanov of "lobbying activities against Armenia in
Washington, DC." The Iranians used a classical anti-Semitic ruse by
calling any diplomat who has healthy relationship with Jewish people,
especially American Jewry, a "secret agent" of Zionists. The broadcast
contained a ridiculous accusation against the Azeri ambassador of being
"Azerbaijan's Jewish politician and promoter of the Zionist regime in
[Azeri President] Ilham Aliyev's government." The broadcast added,
"This Jewish politician does his best to work for the benefit of
American and Zionist regime, not for Azerbaijani state and its people."
The mullah-controlled regime in Tehran manifests a growing concern
over the invigoration of relations between Israel, Azerbaijan, and the
states of Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan. The Iranians fear
that the Israeli strategy of containing the Islamic Republic--which
thankfully continues to stall the P5+1 negotiations over Iran's nuclear
program--is gaining momentum, while Armenia is still suffering from
the Iranian flu.
Alexander Murinson, Ph.D., a researcher for the Begin-Sadat Center
for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, also serves on the
International Advisory Board of Outre-Terre (European Geopolitical
Review), a French-language scholarly journal. He is the author
of various articles and books, including the "European Journal of
Geopolitics," "Turkey's Entente with Israel," and "Azerbaijan: State
Identity and Security in the Middle East and Caucasus."
http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2015/3/18/armenian-prime-minister-catches-the-iranian-flu#.VQs5-sYcTIU=