The crisis in Saudi-Iranian relations is caused primarily by Iran’s role in the region, writes Ghassan Charbel in the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat.
“It is a worrisome crisis in which war would be catastrophic. This continuous tension is plagued with dangers,” he observed.
“There is only one way out: normal relations between normal countries. Iranians have the right to live on the coals of their revolution internally – this is their business and their decision – but foreign relations can only be achieved with normal countries who can meet under an international umbrella that defines rights and obligations and mechanisms to resolve disputes.”
The issue of Iran’s role was the only item on the agenda at the recent meeting of GCC foreign ministers. The statement they issued reflected a unanimous stand, showing that Iran’s meddling is not only a source of concern for Saudi Arabia but for other GCC countries as well.
“It is hard to grasp the meaning of some of Iran’s moves, which have transformed Tehran’s role into a major concern for Arab countries in the Gulf.
“The truth is that what has happened in Yemen converted Iran’s role into a major issue. The Houthis took over Sanaa and the weapons of the Yemeni army. They held manoeuvres on the border with Saudi Arabia.
“The funny thing is that they took over the Strait of Bab el Mandeb, oblivious to regional and international concern raised by an armed militia seizing such vital crossing.”
Charbel said nobody could deny Iran’s long history in the region, nor deny its right to an influential role.
“However, the experience of the peoples of the region with Iran over the past few years has left them befuddled. Does Iran want to play an important role in the region or does it want to play the lead role?” he asked.
“And does its aspirations to play the lead role necessarily include scaling down that of other regional powers, particularly that of Saudi Arabia?
“The question about Iran’s role is also a question about the limits of the role of Arab countries in the region and about security and stability requirements in their countries and the integrity and safety of their national fabric.”
He said another question concerned the role of the Sunni majority in the light of the roles of Iran and Russia. The question does not mean preparing for a war that everyone agrees would be disastrous.
“It is rather an opportunity to put an end to the game of ‘living on the edge’ and return to near-normal relations free from interference that tears countries apart and makes people bleed,” he concluded.
On the same topic, Salman Al Dossari, editor in chief of the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat, noted the reaction in the GCC to an opinion article by Iranian foreign minister Mohammed Jawad Zarif, which was published in the United States on Monday.
He highlighted a tweet by Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed in response: “Upon reading the article written by the foreign minister of Iran and published in The New York Times, I thought the writer to be the foreign minister of a Scandinavian country.”
Al Dossari said the ironic remark summed up the situation.
“This situation has escalated beyond reason at every turn, fooling the world into thinking that white is black and black is white,” he wrote.
“Mr Zarif tried to appear as the next liberal minister of Denmark, writing about human rights and ‘barbaric beheadings’, but not one word on [Iran’s] citizens hanged on Iranian cranes.
“He accused the Saudis of promoting ‘a message [of] sectarian and anti-Islamic hatred’, forgetting, of course, the sectarian repression carried out by Hizbollah and the Shia militia group Abu Al Fadl Al Abbas.”
Mr Zarif had also accused Riyadh of actively supporting terrorism, even though the facts show that it was Iran, not Saudi Arabia, that stands accused of terrorism in Argentina, Bulgaria, Thailand, India and other countries, Al Dossari remarked.
“Iran’s game has come to light and no longer fools anyone except those gentlemen in the White House who keep their eyes shut, indifferent to Iran’s support of terrorism,” he added.
“Saudi Arabia and other countries have been left with no choice but to put a stop to Iran’s project. The world has only to wait until a new US administration comes into power next year, one that is unrestricted by a nuclear agreement and which would not strive to maintain it at the expense of peace and stability.”
Translated by Carla Mirza
cmirza@thenational.ae
