Fallout from the WikiLeaks files
Revelations that some Arab countries called on the US to take military action against Iran and that Mossad planned to harness minority and student groups to overthrow the Iranian regime may come as a surprise to many, but not to one man (Chilling fears of 'different world' if Iran develops nuclear arsenal, 29 November). Indeed, in Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be stroking his beard sagely and saying: "I told you so."
Ahmadinejad has long believed those around him are, with the support of the Great Satan, out to get him. The WikiLeaks documents will strengthen his mistrust of his regional neighbours and his crackdown against ethnic groups such as the Azeris, Kurds and Baluchs will be intensified. Even his brutal suppression of the Green movement and student democracy groups will receive some form of retrospective justification.
Iran's nuclear enrichment programme is a point of great national pride, and Iranians' dislike of foreign interference is intense. The CIA's involvement in the overthrow of their prime minister in 1953 is still fresh in their memory, as is the bloody eight-year war against US-backed Iraq in the 1980s. These leaked communications will strengthen Ahmadinejad's position within his country. They will also increase Iran's sense of isolation and persecution. Ahmadinejad's mistrust of those around him will be heightened and Iran will become more intolerant of dissent within its borders and more difficult to negotiate with on the international stage. As demonstrated by North Korea last week, when a nation comes to be seen as a pariah state, its behaviour can become increasingly irrational, unpredictable or even violent.
London
• In your article (Motorcycle bombers mount co-ordinated attacks on nuclear scientists in Iran, 29 November) there is a list of possible perpetrators, of which Israel leads the field. Given that the recent WikiLeaks reports reveal that the Arab states have been the most insistent on action to stop the Iranian nuclear project, I am surprised that they feature nowhere as possible instigators.
Watford, Hertfordshire
• If all our emails, however personal, are to become subject to the scrutiny of the government, why shouldn't all the government's emails, however sensitive, become subject to the scrutiny of us? If we can't plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament without their knowledge, why can they and Saudi Arabia plot to blow up Iran without ours?
Allan Baker
Kettering, Northamptonshire
• The benefit of WikiLeaks to foreign and other policies of various states is that they may lead to less hypocrisy. We all understand unscripted comments, but we also expect them to be consistentwith the formal public policy and not their opposite. Such outing can only be beneficial to public understanding.
Gerard McMullan
London
• Barack Obama is reported to have criticised the leaks and his press secretary calls them "a criminal act" (White House hits back at 'criminal act and attack on US', 30 November). What a volte-face since Obama took office. On 21 January 2009, when signing a directive to his department heads, he said: "Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information but those who seek to make it known."
London
• The work of Prince Andrew in promoting UK trade with the former Soviet Union should not be underestimated, and I hope the recent WikiLeaks disclosures will not discourage him (Corrupt French, nosy journalists, idiotic bribery investigators: The world according to Andrew, 30 November).
Mako Abashidze
