Iran and the Arab world

"As'ad AbuKhalil, Lebanese politics professor at California State University, said Iranian opponents of Ahmadinejad -- if they come out on top -- would still likely promote a nationalist agenda that Riyadh sees as a threat to its interests. Opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi was prime minister under the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "The site of public demonstrations by the thousands against their leaders ...troubles all Arab leaders," AbuKhalil said, pointing to the lack of popular democracy on a par with that of Iran in most of the Arab countries. "Arab regimes may also fear that if the Iranian regime feels cornered and pressured, it may lash out, and Saudi Arabia may be the first to feel the wrath of the regime," he said."