publish time

28/12/2020

publish time

28/12/2020

THE definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result - these words are credited to the acclaimed genius Albert Einstein, and they perfectly apply to the fluffy politics of Ankara and Tehran in the region.

 These two regimes continue to repeat the same method of expansionism and hegemony, instead of utilizing the opportunity they have to establish strong relations with the regional countries and the world through the principles of good and neighborly diplomacy, and adherence to international treaties and laws.

41 years after the establishment of the Mullah regime in Iran, and 17 years after the rule of the Justice and Development Party in Turkey, nothing has been achieved other than isolation, chaos and economic losses.

 Regarding Iran, it had a regime led by an enlightened king “Muhammad Reza Pahlavi”. He, within a few years, was able to build the core of an industrial and economic system that, had it continued to develop, could have turned Iran into a large regional economic pole. Unfortunately, all that evaporated with Khomeini’s arrival to power through a revolution.

 Khomeini’s revolution came with illuminating slogans that captivated the minds of the Iranians who rallied to overthrow the Shah, hoping that there would be a just Islamic rule. However, this rule quickly turned into a source of concern for the people of Iran, before the neighbors and the surrounding region, because instead of being open to the world particularly the region, and its people enjoying peace and comfort, it pursued the state terror policy of the Mullahs.

 This system of rule led to the isolation of Iran, and sectarian strife that ignited in the region, as well as the drug smuggling networks sponsored by the Revolutionary Guards that are working to poison youth in various countries of the world.

 If the Mullah regime worked according to the correct Islamic approach, it would have established the best relations with the world by respecting the sovereignty of states, and not interfering in their affairs. Instead of seeking expansion on the basis of sectarian and religious politics, it had the opportunity to transform Iran into the Japan of the Middle East.

 Meanwhile, Turkey, until 2003, was one of the most powerful countries economically and industrially. It did not interfere in the internal affairs of any neighboring country.

 However, when it fell into the clutches of the Turkish Brotherhood’s Justice and Development Party, it abandoned the “no interference” policy, and went on to interfere in Syria, and then Iraq, Yemen, and Libya. It established military bases in Somalia and some Gulf countries, at a time when the Ottoman Erdogan’s rhetoric rose about the empire that ruled large areas of the world.

 Turkey today suffers from the boycott of the Gulf markets for its products, as well as the US sanctions that burden its economy and reduce the purchasing power of its Lira. The unemployment rate has risen to about 15 percent, and its foreign debt has reached $ 431 billion.

 The Justice and Development party did not act according to its name. It did not uphold principles of justice when it began to fabricate files against its oppositions. As for the development part, it turned it into a war abroad with the help of the mother organization “The Muslim Brotherhood Group”, which for the last eight decades adopted a policy of assassination, bombing, murder, and inciting sectarian and religious strife, let alone being an essential partner of the Mullahs regime since 1979.

Today, in light of the international changes that the world is witnessing, both Iran and Turkey have become outcasts. Their people suffer from choking living crises. Despite this, the regimes continue to follow the same crazy policies that neither achieved the dream of a Persian empire, nor the Ottoman Sultanate. Rather, the two regimes are dying while increasing internal popular resentment against them.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times