Losing moral high ground
Editorial
17 كانون الأول 2014 07:57
Iran has influence in Arab states, stretching from Yemen to Lebanon.
The comments by Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign affairs adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Ali Khamenei, come as no surprise to people in this part of the world, but the West should contemplate this description of today’s wretched state of affairs.
Iranian officials no longer remain silent nor deny their intervention in other countries’ affairs. On the one hand, the pronouncement can be mocked - should Iran be proud of influencing events in places that suffer from economic underdevelopment, political tension, massive corruption and horrific violence, as in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, to name the “brightest” examples?
Has Tehran produced anything of value in these places without the benefits being restricted to a certain sect? Does it inspire anyone to adopt Iran’s culture, political model, health care or economic system?
While it’s fairly easy to poke holes at the type of influence of which Iran is boasting, the tougher questions should be addressed to Western politicians who have aided and abetted this situation. U.S. officials have adopted a mindset of “let Iran do what it wants” in Arab countries, as long as a deal can eventually be reached on Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. Such an agreement will generate billions of dollars in business, after all.
But the decision to indulge the whims of Iran’s regime comes at a heavy price, including the West’s absolute lack of credibility. What else can result when countries talk about the importance of issues like sovereignty and democracy while tacitly supporting a regional bully that respects none of these things?
The comments by Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign affairs adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Ali Khamenei, come as no surprise to people in this part of the world, but the West should contemplate this description of today’s wretched state of affairs.
Iranian officials no longer remain silent nor deny their intervention in other countries’ affairs. On the one hand, the pronouncement can be mocked - should Iran be proud of influencing events in places that suffer from economic underdevelopment, political tension, massive corruption and horrific violence, as in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, to name the “brightest” examples?
Has Tehran produced anything of value in these places without the benefits being restricted to a certain sect? Does it inspire anyone to adopt Iran’s culture, political model, health care or economic system?
While it’s fairly easy to poke holes at the type of influence of which Iran is boasting, the tougher questions should be addressed to Western politicians who have aided and abetted this situation. U.S. officials have adopted a mindset of “let Iran do what it wants” in Arab countries, as long as a deal can eventually be reached on Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. Such an agreement will generate billions of dollars in business, after all.
But the decision to indulge the whims of Iran’s regime comes at a heavy price, including the West’s absolute lack of credibility. What else can result when countries talk about the importance of issues like sovereignty and democracy while tacitly supporting a regional bully that respects none of these things?