The Arabs and Extracting Lessons from the War on Iran

Although the agreement reached by Iran today, April 8, with the United States through Pakistani mediation is merely a temporary ceasefire, it does not signify the end of a war that has expanded beyond a regional conflict to have global implications due to its effects on the global economy. Furthermore, it represents only a round in an ongoing struggle and war in the region that has global strategic dimensions, predating the emergence of the Iranian nuclear file and even the establishment of the mullah regime. However, what transpired will have greater repercussions for the Arabs than for others, especially in light of the reshuffling of cards following Iran's targeting of Gulf countries and Jordan.

Regardless of the final outcomes of the war, in which the Iranians fought courageously, and after both sides of the conflict declared their victories while Arab countries—particularly in the Gulf—remained silent and failed to announce a clear position, it is essential for the Arabs to extract lessons. The most important lessons are:

Lesson One: The American and Western military bases in Arab countries did not protect these countries from Iran or any other threats; rather, they exist to safeguard American and Israeli interests.

Lesson Two: Normalization with Israel did not protect the normalizing countries, did not achieve security and stability for these nations, nor did it bring peace in the region or the world. Certainly, it did not work in favor of the Palestinians.

Lesson Three: Iran's enmity towards the Arabs is no less than its enmity towards Israel and the United States, and while Iran can reach reconciliations and settlements with these two countries, it will not forget its historical vendetta against the Arabs.

Lesson Four: All Arab bets on relying on external alliances to protect their security and stability have failed, and what can protect Arab countries from external dangers, and even internal ones, is to strengthen their internal front by strengthening the relationship between rulers and their peoples, recognizing full citizenship without sectarian or factional biases, and also activating the Arab Joint Defense Agreement or any new format to safeguard Arab national security.

Lesson Five: Even if the American-Israeli alliance succeeds in weakening and even eliminating the military capabilities of resistance fronts in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, and even in Iran, this will not bring security and peace to Israel; because the latter will not be able to subjugate all Arab and Islamic peoples indefinitely as the balance of power is not stable, and political systems and ruling elites change and vary, in addition to the fact that ballistic missile technology has become accessible to all.

Lesson Six: This exaggeration, arrogance, and haughtiness in the speeches of Netanyahu and Trump, as they talk about changing the Middle East and the world, along with what they have achieved in military accomplishments, is closer to hyperbole and intimidation. There is a reality that must not be ignored: the majority of countries worldwide have started aligning and unifying their positions in the face of American arrogance and Israeli terrorism and racism. Additionally, global public opinion, even in America itself, has turned against the Zionist narrative and has become more understanding of the Palestinian narrative and supportive of the Palestinians' right to an independent state.

Lesson Seven: The misuse of excess power by Israel, combined with appealing to the United States and aggressive policies beyond Israeli borders, along with talk of a "Greater Israel," is an attempt to conceal the existential crisis that Israel is experiencing. This crisis is manifested in its failure to achieve a "pure Jewish state" within the borders of Mandatory Palestine while having approximately seven million Palestinians within its boundaries, who today constitute more than half of Israel's population. How can a state that has failed to subdue and fully control seven million Palestinians living within Israel, in an area estimated at only 5,500 square kilometers (the area of the West Bank and Gaza Strip), hope to dominate and control more than 400 million Arabs living in an area estimated at 14 million square kilometers? Not to mention the challenge of subjugating Iran, whose population is around 90 million, occupying more than one million six hundred thousand square kilometers.

Lesson Eight: The utilization of the right-wing Zionism under Netanyahu and the Christian right under Trump, alongside the religious rhetoric evoking "the holy Torah" for the sake of the state and its strategic interests, necessitates Arab and even Islamic countries to recalibrate the relationship between Islam, nationalism, and the nation-state for the benefit of the latter.

Lesson Nine: Trump and Netanyahu are not reckless individuals acting on personal whims but reflect extreme right-wing tendencies in their respective societies. Therefore, it would be a mistake to believe that even in their absence, peace and stability will prevail in the region and the world. This requires Arab countries to formulate long-term strategies to maintain national and collective security for each state, rather than waiting for Trump and Netanyahu's terms to end.

Lesson Ten: Peace in the region and the world can only be achieved by resolving the root of the conflict, namely, the Zionist occupation of Palestine. Consequently, wars and conflicts will not cease until the Palestinian state is established.