Bosnian Serb intelligence chief's Iran is a threat because it's a friend of BiH, while Kalabuhov and Dodik's 15 are desirable

By: Rasim Belko

Sredoje Nović, Milorad Dodik's security official, formerly of SDS for shady dealings, yesterday stated that Iran's ambassador Abuzar Ebrahimi Torkaman should be expelled from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Viewed from the perspective of current global relations, Nović's call for expulsion could be linked to some Western elements. However, Nović, his party, and his boss are far from the West in everything they represent.

Nevertheless, it can be assumed that Nović's stance on Iranian policy towards BiH is a consequence of the influence of the late High Representative Paddy Ashdown, who liked to "arrange" former SDB members, thus extending Nović's mandate as director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA).

And Nović's problem is not Iran as a state or its policy; his problem is the fact that Ambassador Torkaman has no doubt that Tehran would help Bosnia and Herzegovina in times of trouble, just as it did in the nineties.

Nović, a seasoned intelligence officer, uses a change of subject, accusing Iran of sending soldiers to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is true that Iran was one of the strongest partners of Bosnia and Herzegovina during its struggle for survival and independence. It is not true that Iran sent soldiers to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, Nović doesn't have a problem with others sending their soldiers to kill people for money or for fun in cities besieged by the genocidal Army of Republika Srpska. For example, Russians and Greeks came to fight for Republika Srpska, and Serbian politics allowed insane Westerners to come on tourist trips and kill citizens of Sarajevo.

Whether the fact that the High Representative from Great Britain favored him still influences Nović's views – we don't know, but we do know what specifically bothered him in the Iranian ambassador's message.

Nović is aware that the current balance of power in the region, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is much different than it was during the aggression against our country. Today, the patriotic forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina know what is in their surroundings, so they adapt to the situation and sleep ready and alert.

That is the problem why Nović and Greater Serbian politics are bothered by everyone who unequivocally says that they supported and would support Bosnia and Herzegovina in the defense of its existence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty.

Today, Sredoje Nović, an SNSD confidant, formerly of SDS, for "dirty" jobs, has no problem with the fact that the Russian ambassador to BiH Igor Kalabuhov has directly and publicly announced retaliation if internationally recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina decides to join NATO.

Because the policies of Nović and Kalabuhov are essentially identical – aggressive, occupying, criminal. What Nović, his death squads, and political leaders did to Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Russian regime is doing to Ukrainians.

Sredoje Nović's propaganda should therefore be viewed as part of a broader mosaic of "disgust" towards Bosnia and patriotic forces from the West. Because when you connect patriots, Iran, and the East, it is clear that the West will shy away from the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, even though the information comes from pro-Russian intelligence circles.

After all, Nović or his party colleagues could have verified the entire story about Iranian or other fighters who came to BiH. A Bosniak has never been at the head of SIPA; the Agency has mostly been led by Serbian cadres, so it is interesting that they do not have a single concrete piece of evidence they could surely offer to the public. They would have eagerly done so.

Instead, Nović is selling illusions and scaring people with Iranian aid. Because the sentence "BiH is not a state like other countries in the world" best reveals Nović's motives for attacking the Iranian ambassador who recently came to BiH.

Nović is just one in a line of contractors for the Serbian world, and by skillfully playing in the inflammatory geopolitical and regional situation, he adds fuel by spreading falsehoods. Nović is not Dževad Galijašević, but their goals and methods of realization are clearly identical.

And finally, for Nović to reflect a little, there are no sleepers; there are very alert friends of Bosnia and Herzegovina, both in the West and in the East, ready to help Bosnia and Herzegovina defend itself from any attack of Greater Serbian hegemonism.

Because BiH has many more friends in the West and in the East than the alleged 15 countries that Dodik claims would recognize Republika Srpska!