Page 7 - Pakistan Link - March 23, 2018

OPINION MARCH 23, 2018 – PAKISTAN LINK – P7

n By Dr Syed Amir Nations Do Not Have Permanent Friends
Bethesda, MD The tensions in the Middle East have
spawned a curious alliance. Saudi Arabia and
he full quote “In international rela- Gulf countries, except for Qatar, are on one
tions, there are no permanent friends side of the divide, while Iran, Iraq, Syria, with
Tor permanent enemies, only perma- Hezbollah in Lebanon, represent the opposing
nent interests” is attributed to Lord Palm- group. Qatar, shunned by Saudi Arabia and
erston, the nineteenth-cen- the Gulf countries, has forged strong com-
tury British prime minster mercial and trading relationship with Iran and
(1855–1865). The axiom, Turkey. On the face of it, the current division
however, is as true today as it in the Middle East seems to be rooted in reli-
was in his days, one-and-half gious differences, Sunni versus Shia; however,
centuries ago. political and economic interest have played a
The latest affirmation of major role.
this universal principle was Israel that shares with the Arab world
on display at the Security Conference in Ger- bitterness and hostility towards Iran, sees the
many in the form of an unlikely alignment of Arab countries as its natural allies. Thus far,
countries in the Middle East, unthinkable only the cooperation between Israel and the Arab
a decade ago. Since its inception in 1963, the world has been pursued only discreetly. The
Munich Conference has become the premier Washington Post, in a recent article, cited Is-
annual gathering place for world leaders to raeli security officials acknowledging that their
discuss issues of mutual security and interna- regional security concerns align with those of
tional peace. This year’s meeting, held on Feb- Persian Gulf States and that the Israeli secu-
ruary 16-18, 2018, attracted attention, primar- deal that Iran had signed in 2015 to limit its in Yemen in which thousands have been killed rity officials were consulting with their coun-
ily because of the radical reorientation of the nuclear program that led to lifting of punitive or wounded. terparts from Gulf States behind closed doors,
US foreign policy, prompted by advent of the sanctions should be renegotiated with harsher Israel and Iran have had a checkered rela- united against their common adversary, Iran
Trump administration. terms imposed on the country. The Saudi for- tionship in the past four decades. In the days of The warming relations and covert cooper-
Especially noted was the speech of the eign minister in effect endorsed the position the Shah, the two countries had full diplomat- ation between Egypt and Israel, which for the
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, advanced by the US president Trump and the ic relations and close collaboration in areas of longest time maintained a “cold peace,” are no
underscoring a watershed development in Israeli prime minister Netanyahu. The Pales- longer a secret. Several terrorist organizations,
Middle Eastern diplomacy. The ire of the prime tinian issue, which in the past had captured Brandishing a metal fragment offshoots of so-called Islamic State (ISIS), have
minister is usually directed at Palestinians, but much attention at such forums, was relegated been operating in Egypt’s barren Sinai desert
he had a different target this time. Brandish- to the back burner. Ultimately, the perceived of an Iranian drone shot down with impunity. They have been blamed for
ing a metal fragment of an Iranian drone shot national interests had overridden the notion of by Israel, Netanyahu addressed downing the Russian civilian airliner in 2015,
down by Israel, Netanyahu addressed the Ira- Arab solidarity. the Iranian foreign minister, in which 225 people lost their lives, and attack
nian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zar- Saudi Arabia and Iran have been feud- on al-Rawdah mosque, slaughtering more
if, by name, taunting him and asking him if he ing for a long time, vying for influence and Mohammad Javad Zarif, by than 300 worshipers. Egyptian forces have
recognized it. “You can take back a message leadership in the Middle East and across the name, taunting him and proven incapable of controlling these murder-
to the tyrants of Tehran: Do not test Israel’s re- Muslim world. In the days of the Shah, they ous groups or curbing their evil acts.
solve. And, we will act, if necessary, not only coexisted wearily, but the situation changed asking him if he recognized it Israel views lawlessness in the neighbor-
against Iranian proxies that are attacking us for the worse after the overthrow of the mon- ing Sinai as a threat to itself. With the approv-
but against Iran itself.” The message was not archy and establishment of the Islamic Repub- security, defense, and commerce. Many Israeli al, or at least the acquiescence, of Egyptian
lost on Zarif, who responded in kind, charac- lic. Iran is viewed with great trepidation by experts trained Iranians in the field of defense, Government it has unleashed an air campaign
terizing Israel’s threats as a “cartoonish circus.” Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, as they medicine and agriculture. It all changed fol- against the ISIS terrorists which has been
Less expected, however, were the scathing fear that it is dedicated to promoting unrest lowing the advent of the Iranian revolution in far more effective than Egyptian efforts. The
comments that came from an unlikely source, among the Shia population in the Saudi oil- 1979, and relations between the two countries Washington Post, in a recent story, highlighted
the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, Ab- rich eastern region. There is a bloody proxy have been deteriorating ever since. They are at the close security cooperation between Israel
del al-Jubair, who proposed that the nuclear war between Iran and Saudi Arabia going on an all-time low now. NATIONS, P28

www.PakistanLink.com