A new movement has been gaining steam since the China-brokered agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran concluded. This boisterous movement has struck iron with iron, as "funding" has been halted, beneficiaries have been identified, and obsolete tools have been destroyed or suspended. They will be kept in the cellars of conspiracy theories for a while.
This has empowered "naivety" in our region and the West, giving rise to a misleading narrative about Saudi Arabia's involvement in Yemen. Professor Abdulrahman Al-Rashed discussed this matter in his article "Saudis in Sanaa." "The end of the war will not end the Byzantine and childish debate about winners and losers."
This naivety was pushed by the Muslim Brotherhood and the left in the past, and by countries, including Western ones, as well. There is nothing new here. Rather it has long been a feature of the history of the region and its politics. Accordingly, the discussion of this matter will swing between different events and dates.
Thus, whatever the outcomes of the negotiations in Yemen, Saudi Arabia is no occupier. It does not have forces on the ground to bring back home like those that the US withdrew from Afghanistan. Rather, if the negotiations succeed, Saudi Arabia would have succeeded in preventing one Yemini component from swallowing all the others.
Saudi Arabia's success lies in the fact that it put down a coup and quelled the attacks on its borders without implanting militias. History will remember that the Saudis never sought to divide Yemen, but to unite it and integrate all of its components. Moreover, the Saudis have respected a long truce, and Riyadh is now ending a war that had already ended.
Backing up, this movement began after China's mediation efforts, which followed a long set of statements by Iran calling on the Saudis to engage in dialogue and reestablish ties. Meanwhile, US Envoy Robert Malley was trying to negotiate with Iran, even through intermediaries - negotiations in which he is in one room, the Iranian negotiator is in another, and an interlocutor sits between them!
Highlighting the statement that former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made after relations with Riyadh were reestablished would suffice. "I pray that God will not forgive those who had prevented Iran and some neighbors from having positive relations…"
The fools did childish and stupid things and attacked diplomatic buildings. If it were not for these attacks, we would be in a better position today." Despite all of that, some continue to speak of Saudi concessions!
The fact is that what Saudi Arabia did was take an independent position and decision. We have seen American writers criticize the Saudi foreign policy after it did so, including Fareed Zakaria, David Ignatius, and others. As I have said earlier, Saudi Arabia does not strive to zero problems but to serve its development strategy.
As for those who are naive, they don't say anything new. They said the same as the courageous late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat liberated Sinai. The same is true for the rhetoric they espoused during liberation of Kuwait and the Arab Spring. Indeed, we heard it a few months ago. After Cristiano Ronaldo was signed, their leader Hassan Nasrallah discussed Ronaldo and entertainment!
To sum up, the victor is the one who stops the bloodshed, consolidates stability and development, and safeguards the communities of his neighbor. This is what Saudi Arabia has done, and this is the role of the wise. What matters, beyond the narratives of the naive, is that the story in Yemen will not end with the signing of a peace agreement. The peace marks the beginning of the story.
And the Saudis must keep in mind that half of the battle is fought in the media.
