By Khaled Abu Toameh, https://tinyurl.com/yc2b5ycr
The
talk about an imminent revival of the nuclear deal between Iran and the Biden
administration and other Western countries has raised serious concerns among
many Arabs.
They
state that they are especially worried about the billions of dollars that
Iran’s mullahs will receive once the deal is done.
The
Arabs say they have no doubt that the money would be used by the mullahs to
promote more terrorism and violence and expand Tehran’s terrorist proxies in
the Middle East, including Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and
various militias in Iraq.
“The
Arabs will be shocked when the details of the new nuclear deal are published,”
wrote Sayed Zahra, deputy editor of Bahrain’s Akhbar Al-Khaleej.
He
noted that before the state of shock engulfs the Arabs, they need to take in
mind a number of facts that are related to the impending nuclear deal.
First, the agreement
was made primarily at the insistence of the Biden administration, which has
been desperate to reach it. The Biden administration thinks that it is in dire
need of the agreement today to present it as one of its great accomplishments.
Second, it was the
U.S., not Iran, that initiated the concessions to facilitate reaching the
agreement. A few days ago, U.S. officials announced that it was Iran, not
America, that had given up core demands. They lie. Iran has not given up on
anything essential. On the contrary, Iran has obtained the essential demands it
wants.
Third, the most
dangerous concession made by the U.S. was to waive the inclusion of Iran’s
expansionist terrorist role in the region, its threats to the security and
stability of Arab countries, the terrorist subversive role that Iran’s proxy
militias play in the Arab countries, and the issue of the Iranian missile
program.
Fourth, the agreement
will provide huge financial resources to the Iranian regime as a result of the
lifting of sanctions and the rush of Western countries to deal with it.”
Zahra
warned that the agreement would mark the beginning of a new era of complete
American disregard for the interests of the Arab countries.
“These
are the basic facts that we must be aware of before we are shocked,” Zahra
added. “Based on these facts, the Arab countries are supposed to decide what
they will do and how they will deal with the coming danger.”
Earlier,
echoing the sentiments of many other Arab political analysts and columnists, he
wrote that Biden has decided “to bow” to Iran. “Why did he do this even though
he is fully aware of Arab fears and demands, which he heard directly, firmly
and clearly during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia from all Arab leaders?”
Syrian
author Ibrahim Allush commented on the news about an imminent deal by expressing fear
that his country would pay a heavy price.
Allush
pointed out that the Syrians have been hit harder by the Iranians than anyone
else. Referring to the presence of Iranian security officials and
Iranian-backed militiamen in his country, Allush wrote:
Allush
warned that a return to the nuclear deal would mean “refinancing the mullahs’
regime and its militias with billions of dollars annually.”
“The
signing of the Iranian nuclear agreement may be a partial solution to the oil
and gas crises caused by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against the
Ukrainian people. But it will not be a solution that brings peace to Syria.
Iran, which incites terrorism in the region, will be happy with the return of its
generous funding, and we Syrians will suffer. We oppose this agreement, despite
all our difficult circumstances, because it will bring more money to the Assad
regime and its intelligence system, as well as to the Iranian militias that
participate with it in committing crimes against the Syrians.”
Lebanese
journalist Abdul Wahab Badrakhan suggested that instead of paying attention to the mullahs’
policies and actions in the region, the Biden administration chose to appease
Iran so that it could bargain with it on the nuclear issue.
Saudi
political analyst Abdullah Bin Bijad Al-Otaibi wrote that the
fears of the Arab countries regarding the nuclear agreement are completely
valid.
‘Chaos,
instability and terrorism’
These
fears, Al-Otaibi noted, are not limited to Iran’s nuclear weapon, but also to
interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries and the spread of
fundamentalist and terrorist militias and organizations. The Arabs also worried
about the mullahs’ efforts to export their terrorism to other countries.
Egyptian
author Emil Amin also expressed concern that the mullahs would use the billions
of dollars they are about to receive under the new deal to support their
terrorist militias and proxies. “Iran will not give up its dream of acquiring
nuclear weapons,” Amin wrote.
Saudi
commentator Mashar Al-Thaydi wrote that the Gulf states and other Arab
countries, including Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, are directly concerned
about the future once a deal is reached with Iran.
Lebanese
columnist Rafik Khoury warned that the Biden administration is “repeating non-stop
self-deception” as the mullahs themselves continue to practice deception.
The closer that the Biden administration moves towards the mullahs in Tehran, the more the U.S. loses credibility in the Arab world. The Arabs seem to have lost confidence in the Biden administration, which is why they are now talking about the need to take matters into their own hands and try to stop Iran from endangering their security and stability. The Arabs also appear convinced that that pouring billions of dollars on the mullahs will eventually bring terrorism and violence to the U.S. and the other Western powers involved in the new deal, if not a major war.
