We all know that Iran is an Arab country but the truth is that Iran is a Persian nation with a distinct cultural,linguistic and historical identity. Arab countries are defined by their Arabic language with cultural heritage,estimated 22 nations in the Middle East and North Africa like Iraq,Syria,Jordan,Saudi Arabia,Egypt,Algeria,Bahrain,Morocco,Djibouti,Mauritania,Oman,Tunisia,Sudan,Kuwait,Comoros,Libya,Lebanon,Palestine,Qatar,United Arab Emirates,Somalia,Yemen united under the Arab League.
Key Variance:
- Religion: Iran is a Shia Muslim (about 90-95%) country while Arab countries are mostly Sunni Muslim with exception Iraq and Bahrain have 70% Shia populations.
- Ethnicity: Iran’s population is Persian majority (about 60%), with minorities such as Kurds, Azeris and Khorasanis, Balochs and others.Arab countries have majority Arab populations with some minorities (e.g. Kurds in Iraq , Berbers in Morocco)
- History: Iran’s history rooted in the Persian Empire i.e non Arab. Arab countries are tied to the spreading of Islam and Arab culture from the 7th century.
- Relations : The relationship between Iran and the rest of the Arab countries especially with Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates vary
- Tensions : Iran is ambitious for nuclear bomb but the rest of the Arab countries are determined to restrain Iran from the ambition with the help of USA and Israel.
- Proxy Wars : It is assumed that Iran backed groups like Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen are liable for Middle East conflicts.
- Geopolitical Influence : Iran a Shia majority country is competing with Sunni majority country like Saudi Arabia for regional influence.
There are many differences between Iran and the rest of the Arab countries which will describe in another post.
To be continue…..