The Iranian regime is pursuing a project of regional expansion with a sectarian face, there is no doubt about it: A theocracy that has failed to transition from revolution to statehood, but still believes in exporting the revolution and is spreading its armed militias into many Arab countries to undermine their security in accordance with the mullahs' plans. Haven't they claimed to have occupied four Arab capitals and seek to occupy a fifth?
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These thoughts jumped to mind as I read Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's speech at a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. In this speech, he stated that his country had no expansionist ideology with regard to the components of the defensive and military force.
Rouhani spoke at length about what he called a comprehensive document on defense and "holy defense," noting that "military and defense power based on Islamic principles and human morality are key characteristics, while presenting significant differences between Iran's defense doctrine and that of other countries."
President Rouhani also stated in his speech that "in circumstances where certain countries and powers seek to dominate the world and expand their military and armed power, and thus compete for sovereignty and arms race among themselves, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and from the point of view of its religious beliefs, does not and will not think about this goal." This implies that Iran does not seek hegemony on the basis of its "religious beliefs."
It is not a question of describing the relationship between the ayatollahs' religious beliefs on the one hand, and the aggressiveness and expansionist approach that characterizes their behavior towards neighboring countries on the other. We are talking here about the regime's political behavior, which reflects hateful and aggressive intentions towards its geographical neighborhood without respect for international and moral principles, conventions or law.
The speech reminds us of repeated statements by the regime's leaders about the dozens of maneuvers that the Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian army carry out episodically and at a very strange pace, and the kind of peace message they send to neighboring countries. The mullahs are not concerned about their credibility in the eyes of others.
They address a very specific audience that only understands their supporters and sympathizers. So, they don't care much about reason, objectivity and persuasiveness in their discourse for domestic consumption. This explains the vast field of deception and fallacies in their speeches.
The mullahs are aware of their motivations and hateful attitudes towards neighboring countries. There are undeniable facts here, not only the role of the rogue Iranian regime in spreading chaos and unrest in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen. But there are also hundreds of indications of Iranian shenanigans against neighboring countries.
The latest episode is this heinous plot against Saudi Arabia. The Associated Press revealed that last January, the Saudi Royal Palace in the capital Riyadh was attacked by drones launched from inside Iraq.
The agency quoted an official described as a high-ranking member of an Iranian-backed militia in Baghdad, who said three walking airplanes launched from border areas between Iraq and Saudi Arabia by a largely unknown Iranian-backed faction in Iraq exploded inside the royal compound in Riyadh on January 23.
Parts of the drones came from Iran, the official said, and were assembled and launched from Iraq. An Iraqi official who spoke anonymously cited US intelligence indicating that Iran's role in the attack had been exchanged with the Iraqi government.
Questions: Are such conspiracies part of the defensive doctrine? Are they carried out under the mullahs' obligation to their religious faith or in search of political influence, a historical nationalism that has nothing to do with religion or sect?
The regime of the Iranian mullahs, which occupies three UAE islands (Lesser Tumb, Greater Tumb and Abu Musa), refuses to sit at the negotiating table. It also refuses to submit this issue vital to the national security of the UAE and the Arab world to international arbitration. And boasts of occupying four capitals of Arab countries.
It rallies its militias and military weapons, sowing chaos, intrigue and unrest in Arab countries. And then denies being a project of expansionist hegemony, as if all these proofs and clues were not obvious to everyone in our region and beyond.
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