Persian Gulf is a region enjoying high importance in global developments due to the world’s dependence on its rich energy (oil and gas) reserves and other resources as well as its strategic position. Therefore, any event affecting security of the Persian Gulf will become important to international and global security as well.

About an entire year has passed since the beginning of the unrest in Syria, and there are no more doubts that the country is not only a scene, but also a front for the confrontation between two kinds of logics and two global and regional approaches. One side of that front consists of the Western states led by the United States and its regional allies in the Middle East while, on the other side, there is another half of the international community represented by Russia, China, India and regional powers loyal to anti-Zionist resistance led by Iran.

The West has continued its threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran since the former US President George Bush made his famous speech labeling Iran as part of the Axis of Evil in 2002. That address ushered Iran's relations with Western countries into a new phase of serious confrontation. West’s threats have been diverse and covered a wide range from mere political pressure to economic sanctions. On the opposite, Iran has taken smart initiatives in the face of those threats and sanctions which have rendered them useless.

The beginning of Arab Spring in December 2010 has led to many developments for the Middle Eastern nations and governments. Various international organizations have become involved in the course of those developments in an unprecedented manner. The United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Arab League (AL), African Union, (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council, and the European Union (EU) were among those world bodies.

Presidential election campaigns in the United States have not only already started, but also intensified. Republican hopefuls are engaged in a dog fight over firstly being nominated by the party for presidential race and, secondly, defeating the incumbent President Barack Obama and occupy his place at the White House. In two party meetings which have been held over the past few weeks in Iowa and New Hampshire, Republican nominees have been entangled in heated debates over various issues, the most important of which was the issue of Iran.

During the past couple of months, the military option against Iran – including attacks on its nuclear facilities – has showed up in headlines around the world, especially after the controversial report on Iran’s nuclear energy program by the Director General of the IAEA in the November 2011 meeting of the Agency’s governing council. The logic and quality of such an attack have been debated and questioned by policymakers as well as analysts.

The United States ended 2011 while reeling under the shock of regional developments resulting from the wave of the Islamic awakening. Washington is trying during the new year to mount further pressures on Iran. There is nothing new about Iran's nuclear program and negotiations between Tehran and Western countries. However, tougher sanctions and heightening pressures by Europe and US against Iran which are supposed to impact the country’s energy sector are directly related to developments in the Middle East and the United States’ increasing failure in other areas.

Development of relations with Europe has had regular advocates in Iran and various measures have been taken to that effect. Perhaps, one may claim that the energy shown by Iran for the development of relations with Europe cannot be matched with Tehran’s efforts to expand ties with other geographical regions. All those efforts, however, have not led to desirable effects and Europe’s positions on various issues related to Iran have been sometimes even harsher than US positions. Why? The main reason is the close link between every country’s internal and external developments.

Social and political movements which started ten months ago in Tunisia before engulfing the most important Arab country, Egypt, have been both amazing and quite unprecedented in the Arab world. This great social phenomenon cannot be understood and analyzed unless in the context of economic, social and political situation of these countries.

At all times, regionalism has been under pressure from the dominant world system and global powers willing to maintain the status quo. Although during the second half of the 20th century some regional organizations with mostly economic missions were relatively successful, only those regional blocs and organizations which were in line with the policies of one of two main poles of power could show up in the area of international competition.