The US and the member states of the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council issued a statement on Thursday after closing their joint meeting in Riyadh and repeated their threadbare accusations against Iran. The statement repeated allegations about so-called Iran’s destabilizing policies and support for terrorism, the use of advanced missiles, cyber weapons and drones and their spread in the region.
The two sides also highlighted their long-standing partnership as well as their joint determination to strengthen the security of the region. The parties also expressed concern about Iran’s nuclear developments and asked Tehran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigations. Ignoring Saudi-led coalition's aggression against the Yemeni nation and support of some Arab and Western countries to it, the statement claimed that Iran continues to provide weapons and missiles to Ansarullah movement in Yemen and therefore prolongs the war. Also in this statement, the US and its Arab allies announced their commitment to expanding defense cooperation and the capabilities to limit what they called Iran’s ability to carry out destabilizing activities and to deter future “aggressive” actions in the future.
Reacting to the statement, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Naser Kanani stressed that release of anti-Iranian statement was in line with the long-standing strategy of the US to sow division among regional states. Referring to the belief and commitment of the Islamic Republic officials to regional diplomacy and the end of crises through a political solution and growing relations with neighboring countries, Kanani expressed hope that the countries of the region, by developing a correct understanding of profiteering intentions and evil policies of the US in the region, take step for peace and security and sustainable development.
Along with Riyadh meeting, the US Secretary of State met British, French, and German foreign ministers and accused Iran of refraining to cooperate with the IAEA.
Hindering de-escalation in Persian Gulf
Although the (P) GCC statements are nothing new and during bloc’s meetings Iran is a constant side to blame and attack, the presence of the US in the last meeting carries a special message. The main factor behind tensions between Iran and the Arab countries, the US this time has embarked on new efforts to set up roadblocks ahead of any reconciliation between Iran and PGCC members. This meeting, very likely held at the American request, came as Iran and Saudi Arabia started their reconciliation talks after seven years of tensions, and so far held six rounds and the seventh round is to be held in Iraq, where they will discuss diplomatic relations and reopening the embassies. In recent months, Saudi officials expressed readiness for rapprochement to Iran and so improvement of Tehran-Riyadh relationship is not out of reach.
The UAE, which had cut off ties to Iran, has taken initial steps to improve bilateral relations with Iran over the past two years, and the differences between Tehran and Abu Dhabi have been resolved to a large extent, and probably in the coming months they will name ambassadors.
The interesting point about Arab countries’ normalization with Iran came in the remarks made recently by Bahraini officials. Even the Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian recently talked about fundamental change in bilateral relations with Bahrain in a meeting with his Qatari counterpart in Tehran. Since the beginning of the revolution in this country in 2011, Bahrain has reduced its relations with Tehran by accusing Iran of supporting Shiites and running a destabilizing policy in the country, and after the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran that followed execution of the top Saudi Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqer al-Nimr, Manama severed ties with Iran, and during these years the Manama authorities continued their rhetoric against Iran. But after a decade of tensions, they have come to believe that confrontation with Tehran does not bring them security, rather cooperation with this country can guarantee their security. The phone conversation of the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Al Khalifa with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally to Iran, after 12 years under the pretext of offering help to Syrian earthquake victims was remarkable in its own way, showing that the Arab leaders have retreated from their strong positions against Iran and Syria.
Such positive steps to rapprochement never appeal to Washington officials. They know that Arab-Iranian convergence poses a threat to the interests of the US and its ally Israeli regime. The large-scale American military presence in the Persian Gulf is under the pretext of the alleged Iranian threats against the Arabs and if the neighbors’ ties become friendly, Washington would have no justification to keep its forces in the region and advance its plans. Over the past four decades, the Iranophobic project made hundreds of billions of dollars for the Americans through arms sales to Arab states, and, indeed, friendly relations of the two sides can force down American revenues. For years the US has painted Iranian military power as the source of threat to Arab countries, and in recent years it added Tehran’s nuclear activities to the list of threat resources to pretend that its presence guarantees Arab world security and interests.
Washington’s moves to create division between Tehran and the Arab states come at a time when Iran has good bilateral relations with the three countries of Oman, Qatar and Kuwait and their leaders attend the meeting with the US and sign the statements under Saudi and American pressure. The senior officials of Oman have repeatedly emphasized Iran’s stabilizing role in the region and called for the development of relations with Tehran, and during the recent visit of Amir-Abdollahian to Muscat, the Sultan of Oman and other officials of this country once again highlighted regional position of Tehran. In the past decade, Oman played the role of a mediator between Iran and the US and played an important role in reducing tensions between the two sides.
Qatar is another country that has built friendly ties with Iran in recent years and officials of the two countries exchange visits to boost their relations. On January 29, Qatari foreign minister visited Tehran for talks with Iranian officials. He also reportedly carried a message from the US. Like Oman, Doha has played a mediatory role between Tehran and Washington over the past year and repeatedly called for revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The Qatari FM once said that Iranian-(P) GCC dialogue is necessary for regional stability.
Creating crisis in Yemen along with Israeli propaganda
Another claim made by the anti-Iranian statement is that Iran is the main obstacle of end of Yemen war, a claim repeatedly made by the Saudis and Americans over the past eight years. What is certain is that the US was the main architect of this war and with its green light to Riyadh, it started this brutal aggression against the people of Yemen. In order to accredit their claims, the Americans have recently claimed that they seized a ship carrying weapons from Iran to Ansarullah and by displaying these alleged weapons, they accused Tehran of fueling tensions and prolonging the war in Yemen.
The US anti-Iranian claims are made while since 2015, Washington sold tens of billions of dollars worth of arms to the Saudi-led military coalition and has been an accomplice to the Saudi crimes and, indeed, finds this crisis crucial for continuation of its lucrative weapons trade. Also, in recent months, documents appeared to show American plundering of Yemen’s oil reserves in the south.
Along with the Persian Gulf conference, Israelis ran a media campaign to paint Iran as a threat to regional peace and stability. In recent days, media outlets have announced that a ship belonging to an Israeli businessman was targeted by Iranian drones in the Arabian Sea. Although such claims were made many times before by the Israelis, such propaganda is, experts believe, is meant to dissuade the Arabs from closeness to Iran.
Under Netanyahu leadership, the Israeli regime has been struggling to
advance normalization with Arab world, with the main aim of this
dangerous project being formation of an anti-Iranian alliance. This is
why the Israelis find Arab-Iranian closeness a threat to their
normalization plan. But Tehran tensions with Tel Aviv are irrelevant to
the Iranian ties with the Arab countries, and if we consider the attack
on the Israeli ship an Iranian action, it comes in response to Israeli
sabotages inside Iran and the Arab world leaders should not be fooled by
the Israelis. Iran’s officials have repeatedly asserted that Israeli
regime is the main threat to peace and stability in the region and Arab
states should not allow the Israelis to sow division among Muslim
countries.
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