EDITORIAL: It is interesting, and instructive, that the Saudi army chief flew to Tehran on Sunday “for talks with Iranian officials” just as Arab and Muslim leaders were descending on Riyadh for the Monday summit that focused on Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Could it be that Muslim states are finally realising that they have been divided, and kept divided, for far too long; especially post-9/11?
The lowest point came just a decade ago, following the so-called Arab Spring, when the Saudi-Iran split erupted in open proxy wars across the Arab world, especially in Libya and Syria – the latter’s long and ugly civil war pitting the GCC, combined with the financial and intelligence muscle of the US, EU, and Turkey against Iran and its allies as the Israelis watched happily from the side.
Indeed, the main theme during the Trump-facilitated Abraham Accords, when a number of Muslim states lined up to recognise Israel even as Saudi Arabia decided to wait till the Palestinian issue was resolved, was the Saudi crown prince’s famous line that he would take the fight to Iran. But then, suddenly came the rapprochement engineered by China – some say also pushed behind the scenes by Russia – which was wisely accepted by both sides. And now, as Zionist hawks celebrate Trump’s impending return to the White House – since he’s openly told the Israelis to “finish the job” in Iran – top level Saudi-Iranian interaction including naval war games in the Red Sea could be the game changer that nobody saw coming.
It would, at the very least, force the Muslim world into a show of unity that is long overdue. Israel is clearly in a fix. It has not been able to meet any of its war goals – hostages have not returned, Hamas and Hezbollah are not defeated, and the northern Galilee region is not inhabitable again – and it desperately needs American support, aid and firepower to keep the war going. Netanyahu is also embarrassed by the split in his own cabinet, especially the matter of recruiting religious extremists who refused to fight despite Supreme Court’s orders and how it led to the forced firing of now former defence minister Yoav Gallant. And the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) is suffering the kind of casualties, deaths and injuries that it is not accustomed to; to the point that even its elite Golani Brigade is reporting desertions, with conscripts refusing to return to duty for a fight that’s meant only to keep Netanyahu in office and his corruption trial at a comfortable distance.
The international community, especially the UN (United Nations), has also started distancing itself from the Jewish state and its genocide. Yet Netanyahu proceeds with the carnage only and only because of the blind support that is secured by the financial and political leverage of America’s powerful Jewish lobby. If that support goes, the war will finish, Netanyahu’s government will unravel, and he will face criminal charges and a jail sentence that has been a long time coming.
But that’s not likely in the foreseeable future, especially while Trump is US president. That makes it even more important for Muslim states, at least, to take a common, strong stand. So far, only Turkey has been a distant second to Iran in standing up to Israel and calling a spade a spade – coming down hard on Israel’s genocide and glorifying Hamas as mujahideen. All others have been criminally soft as innocent women and children have been killed by the dozens and hundreds every day for more than a year.
The Iran-KSA thaw is even more groundbreaking in this context. It can and must signal a very serious change in the way both politics and wars are carried out in the Middle East.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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