IRANIAN Foreign Minister Muhammad
Javad Zarif announced from Baghdad the desire of Tehran to build balanced
relations with its Gulf Arab neighbors and that it proposed signing a
non-aggression pact with them.
The closest thing that crosses
the mind in response to this announcement is the Egyptian proverb: 'Your words
amaze me, but I am more amazed by your actions.'
Gulf Arab nations have endured
Iran's aggressions, whether direct or through proxies; making any talk by the
Mullah regime in this regard sound comical, if not sarcastic.
If Zarif's words come today as a
result of political, military and economy pressures from the United States of
America and other countries; they will not write off the dark history of the
past four decades of terrorism and hostility characterized with arrogance and
vaunting against members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It is as if Tehran regards the GCC capitals
as its backyards where it throws all of its problems.
Zarif's announcement backfires on
him considering many decisions and initiatives presented by Gulf nations. All of them reached out to Iran with friendly
and cooperation principles, but they were received with rejection and
obscenity. This led to total mistrust
towards the Mullah regime and everything it represented in this regard.
Positions taken under pressure do
not express the actual intentions of countries.
Therefore, before Iran take such mild positions, it should prove its
good intentions by taking several steps such as lifting its hands from Yemen
and stop supporting the Houthis and Hezbollah which focuses on destroying
Lebanon on a daily bais, let alone
participating in the killing of Syrians, Iraqis and Yemenis.
Iran should stop saying that the
Syrian government invited it to fight against terrorists. It should admit being the force of
occupation, destruction and demographic change in Syria.
It should also let go of dirty
sectarian games in Iraq; but before doing that, it must acknowledge what it
prepared for Bahrain and the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, where the Shias in
the areas of Arab tribes refused to be Persian peddlers to invade their
countries.
These facts should be in Iranian
minds before talking about building bridges of relations with Gulf Arab
nations. This is not because the Arab
governments do not trust the Mullah government.
Actually, the Gulf nationals suffered from Tehran's terrorism,
distrusting the ability of Iran to honor any agreement.
This is reflected in how Iran is
violating items of the nuclear deal and how it is threatening the region. Thus, whoever gets bitten by a snake, O
Zarif, lives in fear of a rope.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab
Times