Look who is worried.

Over recent months, Western think tanks—and even the popular press—have reported on the fact that Iran has made great inroads into Iraq—politically, militarily and culturally. It is now clear that the United States, by removing Saddam Hussein, made way for Iran to bring Iraq into its sphere of influence. The facts have emerged that, in fact, Iran had laid the groundwork before the U.S. ever invaded Iraq.

What gives special poignancy to this story now is the voices of concern arising from within the Mideast. Iraq‘s own neighbors are worried—and top officials are voicing concerns that Iran is simply gaining too much leverage in Iraq.

It is becoming evident that in the Middle East, confidence in America’s ability to curtail Iran’s ambitions is waning. Especially now, with the U.S. mired in problems at home after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it casts off an air of vulnerability. At the same time, its failure to stop Iran’s nuclear program is painfully evident. Leaders in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab world are taking note.

Specifically, two countries have recently signaled that they are worried about how America is empowering Iran. Jordan and Saudi Arabia have both made statements indicating their concern over Iran’s potential to gain the upper hand in the region.

Firstly, Jordan is not happy about Iranian influence in Iraq and is strengthening its relations with the Iraqi government in hopes of offsetting that influence.

At a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari on September 17, Jordan’s King Abdullah said his country would “spare no effort” in supporting Baghdad in its fight against terrorism. Jordanian Prime Minister Adnan Badran concurred, saying that Iraq needs to be nurtured.

Why? “… Jordan is fearful of Iranian influence in Iraq, and feels that [Jordanian] engagement with Iraq is better than giving the Iranians a free run” (Courcy’s Intelligence Review, September 22). Former Jordanian Information Minister Saleh Qallab said the prime minister wanted to “assure the Iraqi government that it was not a black sheep in the Arab world, and thus to try [to] limit Iranian influence in Iraq” (ibid.). He said Baghdad is “stuck between the hammer of terrorism and the anvil of Iranian extremist fundamentalism,” and argued that “the Arabs must understand the seriousness of allowing Iran a free hand in Iraq.”

Saudi Arabia, for one, certainly does appear to understand the seriousness of Iran’s inroads into Iraq.

On September 21, the Saudi foreign minister warned the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations that “Washington is essentially handing Iraq to Iran on a silver platter” (Stratfor, September 22). Prince Saud al-Faisal essentially told the U.S. that its actions in Iraq were encouraging Sunni-Shiite division and that this could lead to civil war, which would open the door for yet more Iranian interference. Prince Saud reminded Washington that it had been allied with Saudi Arabia in fighting a war “to keep Iran out of Iraq after Iraq was driven out of Kuwait” and “now we are handing the whole country over to Iran without reason.”

Stratfor asserts that the concerns about civil war in Iraq may be a little exaggerated, but Saudi fears about Iranian influence in Iraq as a result of U.S. policies certainly aren’t.

The United States is under intense pressure to wrap up—or certainly minimize—its commitment in Iraq. In order to withdraw a substantial number of troops, it must secure a certain level of stability within the nation, which it is doing largely by working with Iraq’s Shiite government—and its Shiite neighbor, Iran. In this context, as Stratfor stated, “Iran is a key ingredient in Washington’s plan for Iraq” (ibid.). The U.S. has been carrying on behind-the-scenes negotiations with Iran to secure its cooperation in helping stabilize Iraq.

Why is all this of concern to Saudi Arabia?

A bitter rivalry has long existed between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the geopolitical, national, religious and cultural arenas for hegemony in the Persian Gulf. Central to this contention is the fact that Saudi Arabia is Sunni-dominated and -led with an 11 percent Shiite minority—while Iran is a Shiite state with the mission of spreading its brand of Islam.

The Shiite population in Saudi Arabia is repressed and sidelined politically—but, as one commentator recently asked, for how much longer? Hasa, an area in northeastern Saudi Arabia stretching south from Kuwait to the Qatar border, contains the bulk of Saudi oil. This area also has a 70 percent Shiite population.

The concern of Saudi Arabia’s ruling house is that an Iranian-controlled Iraq on its border would have the potential to awaken a Shiite uprising in the critical oil region in its eastern province. Asia Times said that “the access to power of Shiites in Iraq will certainly motivate Saudi Arabian Shiites” (September 30).

“The potential for them to be integrated in a Shiite crescent is certainly there” (ibid.).

Saudi Arabia’s fears—and those of certain other nations in the Middles East—are well-founded. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has for over a decade pointed to Iran gaining influence in the Middle East and leading a power bloc united by radical Islam—prophetically termed the “king of the south” (Daniel 11:40). While we can’t be sure of the exact composition of this power bloc, what is clear is that it will be led by Iran and that its form of revolutionary Islam will be the main binding force among its supporters.

Largely because of Iraq’s Shiite majority, Mr. Flurry has consistently pointed to the likelihood of Iraq falling to Iran. Since the U.S. invaded Iraq, the Trumpet has documented in some detail Iran’s growing influence in the nation. This influence—and the danger it poses—is now openly acknowledged by other nations in the Middle East. And they can see that America may not only be powerless to stop it, but is actually furthering Iran’s aims.

Watch for Iran to solidify its influence in Iraq—and to extend that influence throughout the region. Read Mr. Flurry’s booklet The King of the South to see where Iran’s growing domination fits into the prophesied sequence of end-time events.