Iran: The final straw

2026-03-12 - 21:14

Imran Jan THE main driver of the relationship between US and Arab States is the security guarantee that the former provides, in particular in the case of Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE etc. And it is important to remind, today more than ever, that the promise of security is against what the West likes to call a hostile Iran. For decades, Iran and Saudi Arabia fought several proxy wars against each other. The Shia-Sunni conflict is primarily driven by the clash between these two regional rivals. So, the Gulf Arab States needed this American insurance against an attack by a recalcitrant and hostile Iran. The American attack on Iran may have buried all that for good. The Trump Administration has asked all its citizens to leave the Gulf Arab States just days after attacking Iran. Let us put that in perspective. The United States receives billions of dollars from these petro dollar wealthy Arab States in return for the aforementioned security guarantee. However, it has weakened that insurance policy by asking for US citizens’ exodus, which basically means that America cannot protect their own citizens let alone safeguarding these Arab States. Enter the widely believed, yet unconfirmed reports that several Mossad agents were arrested in Saudi Arabia who were planning to attack the Saudi oil plants and making it appear as the work of Iran. The Zionist designs are to divide these Muslim States so that they can be conquered and the Greater Israel project can become a reality. That is also what this Iran war is about. This is not about regime change but rather to turn Iran into a failed state so that Israel can march toward establishing the notorious Greater Israel project without the lone Muslim country that shows defiance. The Saudis also got upset with how the Trump Administration sided with Israel and kind of abandoned the Saudis when they came under attack. The war may end tomorrow — though highly unlikely — but what will remain is the disillusionment in the Arab power centres and a realization that they need to look elsewhere for their security since the American guarantee is good only during drills, not in the real world. These Arab States are already starting to see Israel, not Iran, as the real existential threat after the U.S. Ambassador in Israel, Mike Huckabee, said it would be fine if Israel took the entire Middle East — a comment that sparked widespread condemnation across the region for its implication of expansionist aims. The American unquestioning bowing to Israeli demands to invade foreign lands has further strengthened the Arab disillusionment; it could be their turn tomorrow once Israel decides. Any security guarantee between the Gulf States and the U.S. would mean nothing once Israel demands that the U.S. invade their lands. On the domestic front, this war of choice has confirmed what many Americans once dismissed as propaganda or conspiracy theories: that Israel wields disproportionate control over American foreign policy in the Middle East. Americans today can clearly see that their participation in their democracy means nothing when an overwhelming majority opposed this war, yet their voices were ignored in favor of supporting Israel. American military hardware, manpower, and tax dollars are at the service of protecting Israeli citizens, even as domestic hardships persist and aid to Israel remains unwavering. —The writer is occasionally contributes the national press.