The second round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran has failed. More precisely, the Iranian negotiator does not want to admit defeat, and is instead attempting to stall and buy time. When I said some time ago that the Iranians’ habit is to stall in negotiations, I was referring to a wound the American negotiator does not want to see due to cultural differences, as well as because of the U.S. desire to prolong the blockade on Iranian ports, hoping it might lead to the regime’s collapse. Above all, many Arab citizens, especially in the Gulf, believe they understand the Iranian character best because we have dealt with them for thousands of years.
As Arabs and Gulf citizens, we are fully aware that Iran seeks to buy time by any means necessary and raises the banner of victory after every defeat, even if its country is left in ruins. This is why I have repeatedly stated that the Iranian regime, particularly the current one, has turned many defeats into narratives of victory, beginning with the overthrow of the Shah, the Iran-Iraq War, and the systematic interference in Gulf states through the formation of terrorist cells, bombings, assassination attempts, and threats to the holy sites in Makkah and Madinah. This also includes support for Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia and the backing of Hezbollah, which is relentlessly destroying Lebanon. The Iranian regime also played a role in the destruction of Syria and in fueling crises throughout the Arab world.
Iran’s activities in Palestine, especially Gaza, are another matter altogether. The Iranian regime implicated Hamas in the attack of October 7, 2023, and then abandoned them the following day, despite extensive coordination with Hamas leaders, most notably Ismail Haniyeh, who was reportedly killed in Tehran in coordination with the Iranian regime. Today, a similar scenario is unfolding in Islamabad, which has attempted to bridge the gap between the two parties. However, the Iranian negotiator has thwarted Pakistani efforts, as he has nothing substantive to offer and continues instead to obstruct progress. On the other hand, the Iranian regime is threatened by the possibility of a popular uprising. This situation explains the Iranian negotiator’s insistence on stalling and buying time through negotiations that, as many see it, will only prolong a state of neither war nor peace, which is highly dangerous. Over the past few days, the Iranian regime violated the declared truce through its Iraqi proxies, which launched an attack on Kuwait.
This violation was accompanied by media campaigns targeting Gulf states. Each time, the Iranian regime used the presence of American bases in Gulf states as a pretext for repeated escalation, despite the fact that Gulf capitals had contacted Tehran prior to any military operations and made it clear that they would not allow U.S. forces to use those bases to launch attacks on Iran. However, from the very first moments, the Revolutionary Guard launched attacks on civilian facilities in Gulf countries, which indicates that hostile intentions were premeditated in advance against the Gulf states, rather than being a reaction to any American- Israeli attack.
Therefore, the Arab Gulf states must adopt a new strategy for dealing with Iran and Iraq, as both are viewed as parties involved in the aggression. The Gulf states should demand that Iran and Iraq pay reparations for the damages incurred. This is a right enshrined in international law, and the Gulf states should not relinquish it. Similar cases occurred in Germany and Japan after World War II, as well as following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. As the saying goes, cauterization is the last remedy. Likewise, Iran must be compelled to end its delay tactics by imposing sanctions and obligating it to pay compensation to the affected countries. Otherwise, the Iranian regime will continue to plague the region and instigate crises worldwide.
