Mideast needs dialogue, not hegemons, minister warns
NEW YORK: Iran’s foreign minister said on Monday neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia can be the dominant power in the Middle East and what’s needed most is for countries in the Persian Gulf region to talk to each other — not about each other.
“In an attempt to be the strongest in the region, to exclude one another from the region, we have managed to destroy the region,” said Mohammad Javad Zarif.
He told the Council on Foreign Relations that there is “a dire need for change” and “Iran is ready for it because we are big enough, old enough, mature enough to appreciate this reality”.
Mr Zarif expressed hope that Iran’s neighbours, with help from other governments, can also appreciate the fact that “none of us can become the new hegemon” in the region.
He called for a new “regional dialogue forum” that would include five Gulf Cooperation Council countries along with Iran, Iraq and Yemen. And he urged the others to embark with Tehran on a transformation of the Middle East.
Mr Zarif ’s comments followed the annual Arab League summit on April 15 where Saudi Arabia used its position as host to push for a unified stance by the 22-nation bloc against Iran, blaming Tehran for instability and meddling in the region.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are locked in proxy conflicts in Syria and Yemen, and they also back opposing groups in Lebanon, Bahrain and Iraq.
Mr Zarif told the Council on Foreign Relations “our neighbours, particularly Saudi Arabia, want to create an impression that we are an existential threat against them”.
He said that was “one of the most important messages” of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent two-week tour of the US.
The Trump administration signed off on the sale of more than $1.3 billion in artillery to Saudi Arabia during his visit. Other neighbours are also coming to the US “to compete with one another in buying more weapons to attract support and help against other neighbours buying millions worth of arms in the region,” said Mr Zarif.
But “security cannot be purchased,” he said, it requires “understanding in the region.
“The most important fact to realise is the era of hegemonic influence is long gone. Neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia can be the hegemons of the region.”
Mr Zarif said Iran believes the region is suffering from “a dialogue deficit” and that’s why it has suggested creating the regional dialogue forum.
He said there is already a basis for this forum in a UN Security Council resolution adopted in 1987 during the Iran-Iraq war that was never implemented. It called for the secretary-general to examine and consult with countries in the region on “measures to enhance the security and stability of the region”.