Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Will Iran Become Part of the Arab League? | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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In an interview with Iran’s Press TV, Walid Jumblatt said that Lebanon could turn to Iran to acquire the weapons it needs to protect itself from its enemies, adding that Israel does not hide its threat to Lebanon. That’s not all; Jumblatt further stated that “unity between Arabs and Iranians could help prevent a possible Israeli attack against either side,” quoting Arab League Secretary General Mr. Amr Musa on Arab-Iranian ties. So is what Jumblatt asking for achievable?

Of course not! However, we do not know if Jumblatt made these comments with conviction or if he was flirting with Iran to protect his own interests and the interests of his denomination or if he can feel danger looming. If Iran wanted to help Lebanon it would have ordered Hezbollah to stop providing Israel with excuses [to attack].

For those who suffer from selective memory in Lebanon, or in our region as a whole, let us remind them of the day rockets were launched from south Lebanon towards Israel at the height of the Gaza war. At the time, Hassan Nasrallah came out in response to accusations that Hezbollah was responsible for launching these rockets; Nasrallah accused these people of wanting to give Israel excuses to launch an attack on Hezbollah and at the time he was happy to sit by and watch what was happening in Gaza just like Tehran, as the Supreme Guide warned his citizens against getting involved in the battle, giving the excuse that there are no shared borders between Iran and Israel even though there is the Syrian front and the Hezbollah front. In the Gaza war Nasrallah was content with shouting in the media and sending his cells to Egypt.

So why did Nasrallah seal the door of excuses on Israel on that day but is not doing so today in order to protect Lebanon? The reason of course is to heat things up on the Lebanese front against Israel in order to serve Iranian goals regarding negotiations with the international community, as the Iranian regime, according to the proposals it offered the West, is presenting itself as having the solution to all the problems in our region.

Therefore, we are baffled by Jumblatt’s recent comments, especially as Mr. Walid Jumblatt is also calling for a Saudi-Syrian-Iranian agreement to form a Lebanese government and to just accept dialogue with Iran, which would mean accepting Iranian leadership of the region and its states. In this case we would have consented to Iranian control of Lebanon and Iraq and that’s not all as we are also being asked [to establish] Arab-Iranian unity!

This is a funny matter on its own, and even if Amr Musa said it, and even if Arab leaders called for this, then, just as we have said before, merely accepting Iranian interference or unity with Iran will be like throwing ourselves to the wolves, as we will be acknowledging Iranian leadership over us and our countries. Is there any defeat worse than that? Is this the way to protect the pan-Arabism that some people in our region and in Lebanon in particular commend?

The truth is that we Arabs are more dangerous to ourselves than Israel, Iran and others. It seems that there’s nothing left to do now but allow Iran to become a member of the Arab League!