The only "principles" Iranians stand by are those that protect their interests. Those that help spread their ideology and extend influence in the region. They are essentially fighting for survival after all. If you think they're so religiously principled then my question to you is, what have they contributed to well being of the Ummah as a whole?
I never praised or decried Iran's religiosity. Iranians are not the ones spreading wahhabi extremism in Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and elsewhere. The only people who accuse Iran of spreading extremism are the Arab dictators and their Israeli/US allies.
My respect for Iran and Turkey stems from their culture of self-sufficiency and self-development. Unlike the oil sheikdoms who couldn't even repair the elevator shaft in their mile-high buildings if all the foreigners left. This criticism is not limited to Arabs. I am equally critical of the Pakistani excuse that "we're too small to compete with India". Japan and Germany showed that size doesn't matter.
Bottom line, I respect countries that invest in self-development and self-reliance.
Can you name any projects or treaties they have signed up with muslim nations to the benefit of people?
The Iranians did the ONE thing that the Arabs still are not willing to do. Get their oil off the USD bandwagon. Of course, we all know the oil sheiks' bargain. They keep propping up the USD, and the US military makes sure they stay in power (hint: first Iraq war).
Iran has never been a serious threat to Israel, if they were, Israeli' jets would have bombed their nuke installments a long ago. If Israel could bomb Iraq's nuke program when Iraq was a formidable military force, what was stopping them from attacking n destablizing much weaker Iran?
No country is a serious threat to Israel as long as the American nuclear umbrella hovers over them. Israel attacked Iraq because they knew Saddam was an American poodle. They won't attack Iran because they know the Iranian threat towards the Straits of Hormuz is a credible threat.
My thesis is that the neo-cons an zionists deliberately allowed Iranian regime to establish influence in the region to the detriment of Arab Monarchies, for one it keeps a check on the Arab kingdoms, secondly growing Iranian military creates a threat for them allowing American military complex to sell expensive weapons to the kingdoms and give a reason to establish bases. Saudi arabia alone has become the second biggest purchaser of US weapons after Israel in the last two decades as Iranians have grown.
The West has imposed sanctions on Iran for decades and convinced Russia to scrap some military sales to Iran. Regardless of what the West does or doesn't do, at least the Iranians are developing their indigenous capabilities.
The whole world may develop nuclear capability; but not the Arabs. Even in response to the perceived Iranian threat, are they striving for indigenous capability? No, they run to their "friends", the Americans.
Last but not least, Israelis are not foolish to go to war with the Saudi's or any other GCC arabs, they have no direct threat from the GCC kingdoms. Because they know by going to war with any of the Arab countries would unite all Arabs or possibly muslims against them. Therefore it is more suitable for them to let Iran grow its muscles n let Muslims embroil in regional rivalry.
The Arabs will never unite. They corrupt sheiks of Kuwait and Bahrain don't even respect their own people; do you think they give a damn about the average Egyptian or Moroccan? If the oil sheikdoms cared so much for fellow Arabs, they could have given jobs to the millions of jobless Palestinians and Egyptians before hiring workers from elsewhere.
Not to take away credit from the Iranian Govn't, Ahmedinejad has played his cards right by pushing the influence of Shiite clergy back, and press for political reconciliation with the Saudi Govn't the past few years, which infuriated the neo-cons/zionists in the white house to such an extent that they had to orchestrate an assassination plot on Saudi foreigner minister and blame the Iranians for it to destablize relations.
Yes, the Zionists continue to feed the Arab-Iran conflict. We can only hope the Arabs and Iranians get a clue and realize who is the common enemy.
