The Reformist Administration, a Golden Era in Iran-Arab relations

He began his talk with a few questions: Are the strained Iran-Arab relations due to the recent positions taken, or do they have other reasons? How independent are the Arab countries, and to what extent are they just proxies? What are Iran’s actions?

In answer to these questions he stated the following:

The strained Iran-Arab relations must be thought of in a set of security issues. A geopolitical issue is also at stake, and that is the fact that the country that controls the Persian Gulf will be able to dominate the world through a minimum influence on macro polices. The other issue is regional stability, and how it can be reached. There are three important points for each country in this area. First is internal stability, second is foreign stability, and third is regional stability. It is according to these points that the nature of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council can be understood.

Before the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the security structure of the Persian Gulf was different. In the past there was rivalry between the US, UK, and the Soviet Union. Whenever the British position was consolidated, the competition was over. When in 1968 Britain decided to withdraw its forces from the region, a vacuum was created and it was since then that competition among other countries over their influence in the region began. The rivalry first started between Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Iran and Saudi Arabia gradually ended up on the same side, and Iraq, which had tendencies toward the Soviet Union, was on the other side. This situation continued until 1975 when Iran was finally able to use its power and impose its decision on other regional countries. After the consolidation of Iran as the regional power, the issue of collective regional security was brought up. Prime Minister Hovaida announced then, that when Britain went out the door, we wouldn’t let it enter through the window, and otherwise we would deal with it severely. It was also emphasized that regional countries should provide their security collectively and without the aid of foreigners. Two meeting were held in this regard. The second meeting failed due to the leftist approaches of Iraq and its pursuit of Soviet interests, and therefore a collective security was not realized.

This situation continued until the Iranian Islamic Revolution. This revolution was a turning point in the region. Two incidents happened during this time, the first being the “Tanker War”, and then the Iran-Iraq war. The Tanker War provided the pretext for foreign intervention and a presence in the region. The occupation of Kuwait by Iraq and a change of approach in the relations between the West and Iran were other turning points through which the strained relations of Iran and Arab countries could be seen. During this era Iran experienced three stages. First we had the Reconstruction government, during which the prevailing thought was that to save the country from a war-torn situation we would have to change our foreign attitudes. In other words we needed to improve our relations with the Arabs. Among these Arab countries Saudi Arabia could play the biggest role. We had conflicts with this country since the time of Shah, on the issue of oil. After the war, we needed financial resources and Saudi Arabia could help us in increasing the price of oil.

The second period was the time of the Reformist government, which was a time of transparency and confidence. We never had such a brilliant era before or after the revolution; an era in which Iran was able to improve its relations with the Arabs.

The third stage was the time of the Justice government, in which everything started going backwards. 

We should divide the Middle East into two parts; the Arab Middle East and the non-Arab Middle East. The Arab Middle East is in itself divided into three parts: North Africa, Syria, and thirdly the Persian Gulf.  In the Persian Gulf there are Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, which stand against Qatar, Oman, and the Emirates, each possessing their own characteristics.

The non-Arab Middle East is also divided into two parts. First are Afghanistan and Pakistan, who play a great role in the formation of Iran’s relations with Arab countries. And the other part is comprised of Turkey, Iran, and Syria.

The crisis happening in the region- especially in the Persian Gulf- greatly influenced international affairs in the past four decades. Iran has had the most important role in these developments. Once, the Shah declared that, “we have reached a point where we face no regional threat and we should approach the Indian Ocean and beyond”. He believed that his imperial government was at its peak at that time.

The occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union and the formation of the Afghan Mujahedin is another turning point that the world is still struggling with. Other points which determine the developments in the region include the Iran-Iraq war, the occupation of the American embassy in Tehran, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the 9/11 attacks, the US invasion of Afghanistan, and the rise of Islam and popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. Just as 9/11 changed the course of history, the Arab revolutions will change the course of history as well.

The Middle Eastern policies of Iran after the revolution have had many ups and downs. According to Arab countries, after the Reformist government when Iran was at its pinnacle, it moved backward with the Justice government to what they consider a revival of the Safavid Empire. Now the question is whether we can expand our relations with the Arabs. There are four approaches in answering this question. First is that the Arab countries do not see the possibility of improving their relations with Iran unless Iran starts normalizing its relations with the US.

The second view holds that Iran can expand its relations with the Arabs when it is turned into a real regional power in all aspects. Then the Arab countries will willingly step forward to strengthen their relations with Iran.

The third view is that, based on the way Iran and Iraq see each other, establishing stable relations with Arab countries is impossible.

The fourth view, which I would like to emphasize, is one stemming from our experience during the reformist government. Which holds that if we reduce tensions, build confidence, and avoid totalitarianism, we can build stable relations based on mutual respect, territorial integrity, and national interests. This is a view which we can pursue, and replace conflict with interaction.

I have to conclude that we should have a realistic view of ourselves, and of our surroundings. We should change our traditional view of the region and the world, which sees everything in terms of a conspiracy. We should not get stuck in history and use it to reach our interests. We should consider each country separately and not say that Bahrain is only a third of Gheshm, because even this small country can create many challenges for us. And last but not least, we should always act based upon our capabilities, and never attempt to go beyond them.