President Hasan Rowhani’s recent threat to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia is, perhaps, new proof of Iran’s ill intentions towards some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) governments.
Developments in Yemen are another indication of what the Iranians are capable of. Whoever thinks that it is a struggle between Yemenis is not familiar with the larger picture.
How can sectarian militias representing a minority of the population control the state and its army without support from Iran, which is trying to get a foothold on any part of the Arabian Peninsula to then carry out unrestrained political blackmail?
Not to mention its Gulf media representatives, who slip in a word or two here or there. One of them once said that what has happened in Yemen will be repeated in some other countries in the region. Another one claimed that Iran could not stand by silently when people of its sect were being persecuted in the Gulf. The solidarity conference with Sheikh Ali Salman in Lebanon is in itself a strong message to Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The sponsors cursed some Gulf rulers by name, revealing their aggressive intentions.
The GCC policy on Iran aims to create a safe and stable region, and this is what we all wish for. We realise that Iran is a big country compared to the small Gulf countries; however, its hardline policy in the region makes us wary of what will come next, especially since our dependence on our American relationship has become a lame joke, with the Americans seeking rapprochement with Iran. Yemen is only the first of Iran’s victims.
It is necessary for the GCC to reconsider its internal and external policies, which have proved failures so far. Frustration is growing among the region’s citizens due to the current GCC course of action.
Yemen and Syria are proof of our foreign policy malfunctioning, so we are hated by most Arab people for blatantly interfering in their affairs and destroying their Arab Spring revolutions.
Today, the Gulf states have only two choices. The first is to carry on as before, with the same perspective, which is to deal with a single enemy, the Muslim Brotherhood. Therefore, fight and seek to eradicate it not only from the region but also from all over the world. Because of this we lost Yemen, Syria’s Bashar Al Assad is re-established, and Libya is in total chaos.
Note that the Muslim Brotherhood has not fired a single shot on Gulf territory since its inception. Perhaps it could have been the trump card against Iranian politics and media.
The second GCC option is to identify its real and more obvious enemy and deal with it wisely. This will not happen except by strengthening its internal dealings and pursuing popular cohesion by reconciling with the people and respecting their choices.
Some small states have the potential to become great if they exercise prudent internal and external policies. The Gulf has capabilities that respected powers such as Iran, Israel, Switzerland and many others don’t have; all we have to do is work in our peoples’ interests.
Had this been our concern from the beginning, our situation today would have been completely different and our enemy would have been wary of us.
The author is a writer and political analyst
