Since 2008, the Iranians have taunted us with the claim that they have seized control of four Arab capitals: Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, and Sanaa. Except for Syria, which barely escaped the full grip of their militias, the remaining capitals and countries have remained either occupied or under constant threat.
Consequently, the Gulf states and Jordan, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, have become targets for missile and drone strikes launched by Iranian proxies. Iran is now threatening that if it faces renewed American strikes, it will resume its bombardment of the Gulf countries, echoing its actions during previous confrontations with the United States and Israel.
There is no longer any difference between Israel and Iran when it comes to waging war on Arab countries. Since Syria expelled the Iranians, the Russians, and their respective militias from its territory in 2024, Israel has rushed to open a front in southern Syria, which is now subjected to near-daily attacks. Just as Iran and its militias do not bother to justify their assaults, Israel occasionally cites the protection of the Druze in Sweida, while repeatedly ignoring the underlying pretexts for its aggression.
In Lebanon, both the Iranians and Israel align in their total disregard for the state, the land, and the security of its population. While Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy visited Beirut to announce his support for the Lebanese government, Hezbollah - Iran’s armed faction in the country - threatened dire consequences after authorities intercepted a truck transporting hundreds of kilograms of explosives from the Bekaa Valley to the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The other development involves the Lebanese military delegation that traveled to the US to meet with an Israeli military delegation for a ninth or tenth round of negotiations. Ahead of this meeting, Netanyahu issued threats stating that the Israeli army, which has occupied hundreds of kilometers in southern Lebanon and reached the outskirts of Nabatieh, will not withdraw from its occupied positions until the Lebanese government disarms Hezbollah. Knowing that the Lebanese army is incapable of doing so, he implies that the occupation will remain.
The Iraqi government, which had previously demonstrated strong enthusiasm for disarming pro-Iranian militias, suddenly fell silent on the matter and proceeded to grant concessions and ministerial portfolios to the ruling Iraqi-Iranian militias in the country. This time, the Americans also remained silent and withdrew from Iraq late last month without explaining this abandonment - a move that has terrified the Kurds and delighted the Iranians.
These state-destroying disasters pale in comparison to the resurgence of massive Houthi attacks in Yemen, aimed at seizing control of Bab al-Mandeb, Taiz, al-Mokha, and potentially other regions. Iran has returned to utilizing the Houthis, directing them not against Israel and the US, but against Yemen and Saudi Arabia. This is the same course of action that we have come to expect from Iran for decades. The Iranians will not change despite appeals and incentives, as they believe themselves to be cleverer than everyone else!
To make matters worse, thousands of Houthi missiles and drones spare no region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in their aggression, extending even to the Grand Mosque and Madinah. These strikes have particularly targeted civilian airports, causing casualties among dozens of civilian Umrah pilgrims, workers, and travelers.
Virtually every party, both Arab and non-Arab, has condemned these actions. Yet, such is the hypocrisy of the Iranians that they have offered to mediate, despite the fact that all of the Houthi weaponry and the commanders of their brigades come from Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Iraqi volunteers!
We, the older generation, still remember how the Kingdom and everyone else rallied during the wars of 1967 and 1973 to support Egypt and Syria. Alliances are forged either through a unity of vision and shared interests, or through a tribal solidarity akin to Ibn Khaldun's "Asabiyyah". Both forms are readily available to Arabs, and to Gulf citizens in particular. People, there are ten million Arabs from your nations working in the Gulf, so where is the collective resolve?
The UK has offered to protect Saudi airspace, while millions of workers from both the West and the East reside in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. Will Iran's "sincere" friends not step up to compel it to halt its aggression and that of its proxies, especially since they claim that relations with the Gulf countries have transcended mere alliances to become strategic partnerships?
What we are witnessing right now are lessons that should not be forgotten, whether in terms of friendship or in terms of alliance and partnership.
This is the ongoing Iranian war against the Arabs, aimed at toppling or weakening stable and developing nations. While the Arabs of the Peninsula have successfully built prosperity over the past decades, they are undoubtedly capable today of protecting their achievements and deterring the aggression of destructive militias acting on behalf of Iran!
