Many observers regard religious differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia as the core cause of the deep tensions between them. They are wrong. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are as Sunni as the Saudi leaders, yet both are strategic allies of Islamic Iran. The conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia is in fact a proxy war between Iran and the U.S., whereby Iran and the U.S./Saudi Arabia are at odds with one another literally in every country and regarding every dispute in the region.

Iran backs all Muslim uprisings except those stirred up by Washington, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday, a stance that explains Tehran s lack of support for anti-government protesters in ally Syria

A power struggle between Iran s top leaders could shake the Islamic Republic to its foundations, with no sign that its hard-line president can regain the trust of conservative politicians and clerics, analysts say. Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/May-09/Iran-leadership-row-weakens-Ahmadinejad-camp-as-president-cautioned.ashx#ixzz1LrpHs8s9 (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)