Iran, rock knock politics
ONCE upon a time, a king sent some of his guards late in the night to bring one of his advisors to him. The choice was made based on his knowledge about the advisor’s sagacity and insight.
The king asked the advisor a question that was troubling him, which was – “What is better, holiness or luck?” and the advisor answered without hesitation, “Holiness, your highness”.
The king laughed, and stated that he will refute his advisor’s opinion with evidence unless the advisor backs his opinion with a proof.
The next morning they went together to a market where the king saw a miserable looking porter. He ordered his guards to bring the porter to the palace, feed him and provide him with silk clothes, and then appoint him as a minister.
The king went to ask his advisor again, “Which is better now, luck or holiness?”
The advisor asked permission to be allowed to back his opinion with evidence. He then went to the market where he saw a frail tired donkey. The advisor stood next to the donkey as people started gathering around him. He told the people that, as long as the donkey had carried a holy person in the past, the donkey is holy. He stressed that it has been mentioned in many books, and the story was narrated by so and so, the son of so and so.
It did not take long before this frail dirty donkey became a shrine and people touched it and presented offerings in return for blessings.
The king applauded, and the advisor smiled and said, “Your highness, do you know what is the difference between luck and holiness? You put on this porter the garment of wellbeing, money and power. However, such a garment is temporary because you can take it away. As for me, I put on the donkey the robe of holiness, and no one can take it away from it, not even you!”
There is no doubt that this story applies to the current situation of the Mullah regime as it bets on the new American administration and relies on a stroke of luck to be different from its predecessor. However, this luck clashed with the sacred strategic interests of the United States that cannot change with the change of people.
Those who study the current Biden administration will find hawks who cannot accept the persistence of Iranian terrorism to tamper in the region and the world. They also realize the great sin that the Obama administration committed by pumping oxygen, through the nuclear agreement, into the lungs of a system that was almost suffocating with sanctions, and how that agreement was a loss to the US.
The US administration, despite the hard-line policy adopted by the Trump administration towards Iran, cost the United States many losses by prolonging the life of the crisis. Therefore returning to that agreement devoid of any other consequences will be a fatal blow to the US interests not only in the Middle East, but throughout the world, because any concession made on the negotiation table with Tehran will be followed by concessions of other capitals.
Based on this fact which was proven by the stances of American officials, the Iranian reaction came from Iran’s Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif, who publicly admitted his country’s funding of militias loyal to it in the region, and justifed this as spending for its foreign policy.
This message has been sent to the United States, according to which the failure to submit to Tehran’s conditions means inciting these gangs to commit more terrorism. We have seen how refreshed ISIS became through the recent attacks in Baghdad and some Iraqi regions, as well as the theatrical military confrontations between the Popular Mobilization Forces and the terrorist organization.
The objective behind these theatrics is to portray Iran as an important regional player and partner in fighting terrorism. Conveniently, Iranians have forgotten that such terrorism is of their creation, and therefore the trick will not fool anyone but the trick-master.
Today, the Mullah regime is taking Iran into a new tunnel of delays and procrastination in the hope of escaping from facing the very complicated internal situation and the grinding living crisis.
The Mullahs are suggesting that any progress achieved in negotiations with the United States is an Iranian victory, but the reality is that there are no negotiations except those based on the conditions set by the US and other regional and international countries.
Therefore, the current Iranian policy is like a goat trying to knock down a rock with its horns, but the horns end up breaking and the head bleeding while the rock still remains.
What the Mullah regime must understand is that bets on lucky strikes will not change the reality. Therefore, its return to the international arena must begin with abandoning the dreams of summer nights which will never come true.