Will Al-Salehi Repair Relations? The New Iranian Foreign Minister And His Country's Neighbours
24 December 2010By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid
It was notable that the first statement issued by the
new Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi,
focussed on the need to improve his country's
relations with two of its neighbours: Saudi Arabia and
Turkey. At a time when relations with Turkey are
considered to be at their best for 30 years, relations
with Saudi Arabia have reached a new low, and are
likely to deteriorate further. Ousted minister
Manouchehr Mottaki was not the cause of such
deterioration, and thus it would be wrong to think
that his dismissal would remove the obstacles between
the two countries.
Two issues are behind this silent crisis: Firstly,
there is rising Iranian influence in the Arab region.
Hezbollah is besieging the Lebanese government and
crippling the country, whilst in Gaza, Hamas is acting
contrary to the interests of the Palestinian
Authority. In Iraq, the winners of the recent
government election have been marginalized by a
coalition which Iran has imposed upon all Iraqis.
Bahrain is suffering a state of disorder at the hands
of groups affiliated to Iran, and the Iranians have
also supported the Houthis in Yemen, who launched
attacks against Saudi Arabia. All these incidents form
a large map of Iranian activity in the Middle East,
which is hostile towards Saudi Arabia. Secondly, there
is the issue of the Iranian nuclear file, a subject in
which Minister al-Salehi specializes. Iran's nuclear
capabilities are considered the primary threat to
Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region.
Can the new minister do something about this mountain
of complex problems between the two countries?
Certainly, Iran is the only party capable of ending
the causes of tension between the two countries, or
indeed with all countries in the region. Saudi Arabia
has nothing more to offer. The Kingdom took the
initiative in terms of reconciliation 10 years ago,
when it changed its policy and restored relations with
the governments of [Akbar Hashemi] Rafsanjani, and
then [Mohammad] Khatami. Saudi Arabia also opened its
airspace for flights between the two countries and
hosted Iranian trade missions, contrary to American
advice, which sought to tighten the grip on the
Iranian government, and suspend its nuclear program.
Unfortunately however, Tehran seemed to misinterpret
these Saudi concessions. Subsequently, Iran turned
into a savage monster in the Arab region, sheltering
al-Qaeda leaders, and intensifying its development of
nuclear weapons.
During the era of Minister Mottaki, relations did
indeed deteriorate, but the minister himself was not
responsible. Rather it was the policy of Ahmadinejad,
who has persisted with his political manoeuvres, in a
manner not witnessed in the Arab world since the
1960s.
Is it possible after all this to repair the broken
relations? The matter has now gone beyond the
capabilities of the new Iranian Foreign Minister, and
has reached a stage where the intentions of the
leadership in Tehran must change.
Al Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya television. He is also the
former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in the daily newspapers of
Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is a US post-graduate degree in mass communications.
He has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs. He is currently based
in Dubai.
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments