Iran expands regional "empire" ahead of nuclear deal
 

(Repeats story from Monday) * Arab leaders alarmed at Iran's push to tighten regional grip * Qassem Soleimani seen as architect of Persian, Shi'ite empire * Nuclear deal seen as "game changer" that empowers Iran * Deal likely to ratchet up sectarian tensions, armed conflicts By Samia Nakhoul BEIRUT, March 23 (Reuters) - With Iran moving closer to a deal with world powers to constrain its nuclear programme in return for an end to sanctions, Arab analysts and leaders are focused more on how Tehran is working unconstrained to tighten its grip on Arab states, from Iraq to Leba**n, and Syria to Yemen. The man behind what some see as an attempt to create a new Persian and Shi'ite "empire" on Arab land is Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the al-Quds brigade of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Photos of Soleimani, 60, almost an invisible man until the Sunni jihadis of Islamic State (IS) overran cities in **rthern and central Iraq last year, are **w everywhere.

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