Tehran now for "all-out cooperation" with KL

Despite the recent controversy over the alleged maltreatment of Shia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Iran have reportedly re-engaged more deeply for "all-out cooperation". Iran was once feared in Malaysia not only for its Shia school of Islamic tradition but also populist as well as revolutionary republicanism that ended a pro-West monarchy in 1979. Iran's influence in the Middle East have grown after the US-led war in Iraq ousted the Saddam Hussein regime that challenged revolutionary Iran in a large-scale and also protracted war of attrition in the 1980s. Now, Saudi Arabia is believed to be a Western counterweight to Iran, as the Shia -majority republic is also under Western sanctions for its nuclear ambition, alleged sponsorship of terrorism in the Middle East and regional strategy which could pose an existential threat to Israel.

Iran's parliament backs rights for Shia in M'sia