Iran’s Strategic Patience to Bear Fruit with Regional Transition Settled

Last Saturday, Etemad daily, a reformist outlet, printed an interview with Alireza Miryousefi, who is now directing the Middle East department of Iran’s Institute for Political and International Studies.The interview, for the most part, focuses on remarks recently made by Kuwaiti Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim in which he said Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council are partners. Al-Ghanim has called for grounds to be prepared in order to strengthen ties between GCC member states, including Kuwait, and Iran.

These remarks were warmly received by Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi who said it was doubtlessly a political priority for Iran to establish the best possible relations with neighbors and countries in the region.

Miryousefi tells Etemad that Iran hopes countries in the region return to their previously logical positions, after the transitional phase, which has already taken five years. Here is the interview:

Kuwaiti Parliament Speaker has welcomed strengthening amicable ties with Iran. Could we expect improvements while the GCC, led by the Saudi Arabia, is pursuing escalation of tension against Iran?

Such hope does exist and all the sides should work toward it, in addition to hope. The first think one should consider when analyzing regional ties in the Middle East and the Gulf is that the region has been in a transitional state for the past five years and one of the characteristics of such an era is the instability and inconsistency of policies, positions and collaborations. Of course, such fluctuations are more in some countries and less in some others. Particularly speaking of the Gulf sub-region, there is no univocal approach toward relations with Iran among the GCC member states. In other words, the member states do not have a consensus on Iran and there are some difference among them. On the one side of the council is Saudi Arabia and on the other side stand some countries such as Oman, which do not show much alignment with Saudi policies regarding Iran and pursue neighborly relations with Tehran. In such circumstances, Kuwait is one with traditional and long-standing ties with Iran. However, it is sometimes pressed by third-party countries due to its bonds with the Saudi Arabia. A second point is that Iran has always tried to improve its ties with its southern neighbors and this has been declared as one of the priorities of Mr. Rouhani’s administration. In line with the same policy, Mr. Zarif’s proposition on the establishment of an assembly for regional talks between Iran and GCC member states as well as some major Middle East countries should be noted. It was brought up for the first time in the foreign minister’s article published in New York Times in April 2015. Then, four months later, it was repeated in an article jointly published by four major Arabic newspapers in August 2015. Even in the midst of tensions with the Saudi Arabia, Mr. Zarif stressed that the proposition is still on table, at the end of an article published by the Washington Post. However, the KSA and its allies adopted a non-constructive approach toward Iran in response to the proposition. Propositions by some countries in the region to host the assembly or contribute in its establishment did not receive Saudi affirmative. This refusal is in large part caused by the KSA’s domestic issues and unstable policies. At any rate, even though there is no univocal position in foreign policy among these countries or their domestic groups, Iran has always welcomed any stance based on positive collaboration and interaction.

Where does Kuwait stand in the Gulf Cooperation Council?

Traditionally, Kuwaitis have had long-standing amicable relations with Iran. Many Kuwaiti traders are of Iranian origin. Despite the vicissitudes in mutual relations, there have always been strong bonds between the two countries. However, Kuwait also has strong ties with the Saudi Arabia and the hardline division of the GCC, putting it in the middle of the existing spectrum in the council. In other words, in spite of their positive interactions with Iran, some groups in the country are concerned about third-party considerations in these interactions. Inside Kuwait, just like in any other countries, there is a variety of inclinations toward the country’s foreign policy and the way Kuwait should work with Iran. Some factions seek positive cooperation with Iran while others, influenced by their relations with third-party states, prefer an approach that is not quite friendly.

Kuwaiti Parliament Speaker has recently called Iran an equal partner for his country and other GCC members. Could Kuwait play the role of a mediator between Iran and the Arab countries of the Gulf?

Two essential points should be taken into account, here. The first is that, Iran’s principled, stable policy has been one of the advantages of the country’s foreign policy in the past decades and will continue to be so. The structure of Iran’s foreign policy has succeeded to control the adoption of excited and hurried policies in recent years, when seen in comparison with other countries [in the region]. This has given Iran a stable position, not changing its strategies in wake of events, but showing instead having strategic patience. This sophistication and stability is an advantage other countries fail to have in their foreign policy so that they can have the possibility to return to their more logical policies when excitements fade away after a while. Because of this, Iran has never demonstrated excited and destructive responses and has been able to control crises with more ease at the same time. Other countries have found it easier to adapt their policies with Iran. The second point is that, the region is in a transitional state and is undergoing a metamorphosis during which foreign policies, coalitions, friendships and animosities will characteristically change at a rapid rate. Some Persian Gulf countries, have seen their policies undergoing interim shifts influenced by foreign pressures or excitements, but there is hope that they return to their past policies and relations as these pressures or excitements ease, with the help of Iran’s strategic patience.

Kuwaiti Parliament Speaker has said that Iran should always support stability and solidification in the region in order to better pave the way for other countries [in the region] to cooperate with Tehran and take the steps necessary to realize common interests. What does this stability and solidification in the region mean?

Any relations and improvements in them require political will among the sides and both sides should really want it. Iran is considered as a regional power that looks for stability and solidification because it enjoys all power factors equally. In addition, it is among the main regional powers since it has a remarkable population, is geographically vast, geopolitically located in an important place. On the other hand, it enjoys a robust economy and unique military power. It is also the only country in the region, whose defense strategy is autonomous, self-reliant. All these make Iran a regional power that seeks stability, territorial integrity and integration among the countries in the region and disagrees with any kind of secession and expansionism. That is why Iran naturally welcomes any proposition to improve relations.