I HOPE Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, and Iran’s Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif will read this article because it has a lesson for them.
In 1990 when Saddam Hussein’s forces invaded Kuwait, the Iraqi leadership informed some leaders that it would pay them huge money from the Kuwaiti future generation funds, which at that time was worth $100 billion. Jordan was told it would be given $30 billion to wipe out its debt. The same applied to Yemen. However, when it came to the then President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, he laughed at the idea and at those who attempted to sell it to him. The stances taken by Jordan and Yemen were based on this Iraqi deception.
During one of my visits to Sanaa following the liberation of Kuwait, and given my good relations with the then Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, I asked him about the truth behind the story about one of his ministers who had found a solution to his country’s stifling economic problem as the popular protests continued daily.
During one of the Yemeni Cabinet’s sessions, this minister said, “The best solution to our crisis is to attack the United States of America. And because it is stronger than us, it will defeat us. It will then come up with the “Marshall Plan” for us as it did for Europe after World War II in order to rebuild Yemen”.
The late President Saleh, who was chairing the meeting, said to the minister sarcastically, “Suppose we defeat America, where will we get the money to revive its economy?”
It seems the Mullahs’ regime is operating according to the aforementioned rumor released by the Iraqis or the idea presented by the Yemeni minister.
Iran is challenging the United States, and its leaders are declaring daily that they will defeat it and destroy Israel. And while Israel is constantly bombing the Revolutionary Guard forces in Syria, Tehran maintains silence. However, Washington responds to Iran with a more painful weapon, which is sanctions and international isolation.
The US is well aware that the Mullahs’ regime has nothing but terrorist gangs in some Arab countries, and that all Iranian weapons that are demonstrated in military parades are empty structures. Therefore, Washington will not get involved in a war with Tehran, and it will maintain the policy of suffocation until it achieves its goals of freeing the world from the evil of these terrorist gangs.
If Iran’s leaders are betting on the world to open its treasures for them because of their obstinacy and their persistence in violating international decisions, and proceeding with the nuclear project and ballistic missiles, then their bets are no different from the Iraqi lie in 1990 and the empty temptations of some countries.
This is happening at a time when the economic power of the Arabian Gulf states is increasing along with the prosperity of its people. This is despite Iran’s continuous provocations and harm to these states. At the same time, 80 million Iranians continue to suffer from starvation, unemployment and international isolation.
Throughout the 40 years of the Mullahs’ rule, its leaders have been looking for a needle in the haystack of illusions. This bragging regime greatly cheered the new American administration, believing it will be different from the Trump administration. However, their cheers did not last for long, as Joe Biden’s administration started with taking solid positions against Iran, and affirmed that its threats to the allied countries of the region will be confronted with force. Indeed, this administration will coordinate with it for any new negotiations on the nuclear agreement.
Perhaps the American slap that the Mullahs’ regime received is sufficient to awaken it from its delusions, and for it to realize that no one in this world is willing to accept the blackmail and terror that it practiced.
With each passing day, its repudiation is increasing, because there is no sane person in this world willing to deal with a system mired in darkness of medieval mentality.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
