The Iranian supreme leader and Hitler
ACCORDING to a certain commentator, there is a historical and sectarian conflict between Iran and the Gulf states that might not fit Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s comparison of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to Hitler. But in my opinion the comparison is very clear, as Khamenei leads an expansionist regime that could not care less about threatening lives or contributing to the death of hundreds of thousands of people.
This regime refused to reconcile with and open up to its Arab neighbors or the West. It is dedicated to building a superior and hostile state, with a network of terrorist proxies from Indonesia to central Africa.
Europe’s problem began with Hitler’s aggressive aspiration and desire to control what he considered areas of vital importance to German security, such as Czechoslovakia, Poland and France. Hitler kept expanding his power until the Allies decided to unite against him.
Today we face the same situation with Khamenei, who justifies sending his Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to Iraq and Syria by claiming they are vital regions to Iran, even though his country has no border with Syria. In addition, he and his military and religious leaders unequivocally claim that almost all the Middle East is under their control, and that countries that are not yet under their control will soon be.
Iran’s regime has been ideological and fascist since religious leaders seized power about four decades ago. This does not mean it is a ShiiteSunni sectarian conflict, as the aforementioned commentator says, because Iran supports Sunni extremist organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Iran is the only political regime in the region that dared support Al-Qaeda and give it refuge after the 9/11 attacks, the US invasion of Afghanistan and the destruction of the terrorist organization’s bases. Nor can we describe the conflict as ethnic and claim that Iran is fighting Arabs as a Safavid state, because we would be simplifying the danger since Khamenei, the most powerful official in Iran, is not Persian but has Azeri origins.
The Iranian regime is a fascist, dangerous and expansionary power that has no limits. Khamenei will expand his power like all other fascist leaders. He will move to Saudi Arabia, with states such as Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain on the way. This is similar to what Hitler did in seizing East European countries en route to Russia.
Most of the differences between the Gulf states and Iran can be solved. But Tehran is not looking for solutions because it has built a state based on a partisan military expansionary project that is very similar to Daesh, a colonialist state that demands obedience from others. That was Hitler’s dream. Khamenei’s project is like fascist Germany’s, with disdain for people’s lives, be it their own citizens or those from other nations.
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a veteran columnist. He is the former general manager of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor in chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, where this article is also published. Twitter: @aalrashed
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