The Arabs lost between Israel and Iran

The military confrontation between Iran and Israel in Syria will not be the last, neither in terms of location nor in terms of timing. This is because they are each basically looking to serve their own interests and see no harm in playing all the cards possible to achieve their objectives.

There is no doubt that Iran is using the Palestinian cause in many of its battles in the region, whether in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria or Iraq. The goal is to maintain its presence in these areas and effectively control the regional demography, as well as to create a crescent supporting Iran and its interests.

The government in Tehran also uses the sectarian tool, striking the Shia chord and exploiting the marginalisation and other issues to which this sect has been subject. As such, it tries to portray itself as the top defender and protector of all of the Shia in the Arab and Muslim world. This was how it infiltrated Iraq after the fall of the Ba’ath regime and established its presence in the country on a purely sectarian basis. In other words, Tehran is not really interested in the Arabs and their priorities per se as much as it is interested in preserving its own interests in the region.

Israel is an occupying state. It has killed and displaced millions of Palestinians and Arabs and taken over their land, from 1948 until today. In its confrontation with Iran, Israel is trying to appear as if it is defending the interests of what it calls “Sunni” countries. The Israeli media tries, in as many ways as possible, to play on the emotions of the Arabs, who now see Israel’s military occupation as a line of defence for their interests. The Arabs who fall for this are completely misled.

Israel to Assad: Get rid of your Iranian allies, they will harm you

How can some believe that an expansionist colonial state can change its skin in an instant and become an advocate of the Arabs and their interests? This is political idiocy; complete and total ignorance.

Israeli Transport Minister Yisrael Katz said in a press statement that Iran would become Israel’s top ally if the current regime in Tehran falls. There is no doubt that this is something that Israeli officials believe; during the despotic rule of the Shah, Iran was a strategic ally of Israel because of its open hostility towards the Arabs. This included its seizure of the UAE islands and the Shatt Al-Arab agreement in the 1970s.

Israel is fully aware of the geopolitical equation in the region, as the relationship with the Iranian government is very tense, but the Iranian people are not a problem. There are many Iranians on the popular and grassroots level who support Israel and are against the Arabs.

On the other side, Israel believes that the Arab people are absolutely opposed to its existence and that it will not be able to change this. Israel also believes that this aspect is much stronger than the political and economic factors. From Morocco to the Arabian Gulf, the people have stated their opinion clearly: “No to the occupation and no to normalisation. Jerusalem and Palestine are not negotiable.”

Based on this, Israel is now trying to build temporary bridges with the governments and elites who are chasing their own financial and personal gains. However, it is aware of how dangerous this is, as the governments come and go but the people remain. As long as Israel’s occupation continues, it will not have any real representation in the Arab countries, even if some elites have normalised relations with the state.

What is this Israel-Iran tension leading to?

In the face of this reality, the Arabs must be cautious, as perhaps in a few years Iran will be Israel’s top ally. After this, we may kick ourselves for the strange positions expressed by some.

Such positions include the statements made by the Bahraini Foreign Minister, who announced that he stood by the Israeli air strike in Syria. This is a strange position. How can an Arab minister stand with a colonial state? A few hours later, Israeli statements were made praising this position and considering it the biggest statement in support of Israel.

This is not the first time that the minister has been the odd one out and has sung to a different tune than the rest of the Arabs. We hope, however, that his positions were not strategic in favour of the Israeli occupation.

There have also been odd positions by Bahrain that include the participation of a team from the country taking place in an international cycling race in occupied Jerusalem and under the walls that were liberated by Salahuddin Al-Ayoubi. Why? What will Bahrain benefit from these positions other than the astonishment and the condemnation of the Arab people?

The Israeli occupation state will not stop the Iranian aggression against Bahrain. On the contrary, it is the one that encouraged the Shah’s positions towards this neighbouring country. Israel may even help Iran in the future when the government changes.

The Bahraini Foreign Minister’s comment was not the right thing to say, although he did provoke the feelings of a few Arab risk-takers who do not realise the dangers of Iranian expansionism, especially the economic effects it will have in the region. It comes as no surprise that some are trying to justify this as a “slip of the tongue”, considering that many Syrians who are opposed to the regime supported these positions after the death of their relatives. However, this is looking through just one eye, as there are many who were killed by the opposition and terrorists in the name of Islam in a state that has become an arena for international confrontations. The losers in all of this are the Arabs as a whole. They are lost between Israel and Iran.

This article first appeared in Arabic on Arabi21 on 14 May 2018

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.