The Iranian regime is a problem for the world, the entire world. It is not merely a problem for Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Jordan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Yemen's legitimate government or, of course, the United States alone.
It has been a problem for the world ever since it entered the international political arena in 1979. It is a problem for its own people and the interests of ordinary Iranians, just as it is a problem of its own making!
The Houthis in Yemen are one manifestation of this Iranian problem. Today, we see them threatening global trade by jeopardizing safe navigation through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, just as their sponsor, Iran, has done in the Strait of Hormuz. If they had their way, they would impose the same scenario on the Suez Canal!
When the leaders of Iran's Khomeinist regime, from the new, absent-from-view supreme leader to the defense minister, threaten these days that Iran's retaliation will recognize neither borders nor geographical limits, we are dealing with the logic of a militia, not that of a state, despite the efforts of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to portray it otherwise, just as the affable Mohammad Javad Zarif did before him.
Neither Trump, his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth nor his Secretary of State Marco Rubio invented the Iranian problem, regardless of the criticism that can be directed at Trump's positions and remarks, or the mockery of Hegseth's tattoos and muscles.
It is in this context that we should read the recent remarks made to Al Arabiya English by former US Secretary of State and former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who warned that the Houthi threat extends far beyond Saudi Arabia.
"The Houthis are not just a Saudi problem. They are a regional and global problem," Pompeo said.
The Republican former secretary of state also stressed the need for coordinated international efforts to ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.
The focus, therefore, must be on establishing that the Iranian problem, along with the threats posed by the Houthis, Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilization Forces in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq, is an international problem requiring an international response.
What the world should be called upon to establish is a genuine, powerful global coalition to eliminate this threat, similar to the international coalition formed against Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 or the coalition assembled against ISIS in 2015.
This danger threatens the entire world, including China, incidentally, by potentially cutting off the energy supplies it receives from the Gulf.
The bottom line is that Pompeo's remarks put the problem back where it belongs: in its proper international context.
Pompeo is not a member of the current Trump administration. He is also a seasoned political figure, unlike Hegseth, whom critics describe as having been merely a Fox News presenter.
His words restore the proper perspective: This is a global problem that demands a genuine global response. Period.
What is both painful and ironic about Pompeo's remarks to Al Arabiya English is this bitter observation:
"Iran hasn't fired at Israel lately, but is targeting fellow Muslim countries."
