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Published On: Fri, Dec 25th, 2015

Dr Majid Rafizadeh: Iran prefers Bernie Sanders for President in 2016

In an op-ed circulating in Arab papers, Dr. Majid Rafizadeh’s new article on Iran illustrates why the Iranian regime would prefer Bernie Sanders for US President in 2016, even over Hillary Clinton.

photo/ donkey hotey

photo/ donkey hotey

“Tehran would rather see a Democrat than a Republican as the next U.S. president. At one time there were minimal differences between the parties’ views on Iran, but in the last few years the gap has widened,” he writes.

Rafizadeh points out how important the Iranian nuclear deal is to the country and that it is key to getting economic sanctions lifted.

“Although Tehran would prefer a totally different political establishment in the United States, it prefers one American presidential candidate to the others: Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders. It bases its preference on candidates’ view of the nuclear deal, and their policies toward the Middle East, particularly Syria, Israel, Iraq and the Gulf.”

Listing off “national security threat,” criticizing Tehran more than Democrats, increased military presence in the Middle East and the Democrats turning a blind eye to power vaccuums, all made the list of reasons why the GOP candidates won’t be the favorites of Iran.

As far as the candidates:

…From Tehran’s perspective, a U.S. withdrawal creates a vacuum that can be filled by it or its Shiite proxies. Also, due to ISIS and the latest regional developments, Democrats lean more toward the idea of Iranian leadership in the region than Arab leadership. For Tehran, a Democratic president will tip the regional balance of power in its favor.

Sanders subscribes to these views, and is much more left-leaning than the other Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley. Sanders is isolationist and in favor of negotiating with Tehran. In the last Democratic debate, he emphasized the role of Iran. He is the only candidate who has frequently and strongly stressed the idea of cooperating with Tehran to deal with regional issues.

Clinton prefers more U.S. regional engagement. For example, she favors a no-fly zone in Syria, which would threaten Tehran’s interests there. Sanders focuses on domestic issues, and seeks to emulate European countries’ domestic and foreign policies. It follows then that if he becomes president, there would be improved U.S.-Iranian ties since European nations enjoy better ties with Tehran than Washington.

Check out the full article at al-arabiya click here

Rafizadeh is an Iranian-American scholar, author and U.S. foreign policy specialist. Rafizadeh is the president of the International American Council. He serves on the board of Harvard International Review at Harvard University and Harvard International Relations Council. He is a member of the Gulf 2000 Project at Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs. Previously he served as ambassador to the National Iranian-American Council based in Washington DC.

Photo/Tijl Vercaemer

Photo/Tijl Vercaemer

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- Writer and Co-Founder of The Global Dispatch, Brandon has been covering news, offering commentary for years, beginning professionally in 2003 on Crazed Fanboy before expanding into other blogs and sites. Appearing on several radio shows, Brandon has hosted Dispatch Radio, written his first novel (The Rise of the Templar) and completed the three years Global University program in Ministerial Studies to be a pastor. To Contact Brandon email [email protected] ATTN: BRANDON

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