At the end of last week, a senior official in Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned those he described as "hated Arabs" of the consequences of interfering in Syrian affairs. He threatened those Arabs saying that they will receive “critical strikes” if they intervene in Syria, and here some may ask who exactly does he mean by the “hated Arabs”?
The truth is that it is a mistake to begin with this question. It would be far better and easier, to ask the question in reverse, in other words: Who are Iran’s beloved Arabs? Are the Yemenis, for example, among Iran’s beloved Arabs? How can this be when the Iranian president is currently trying to mitigate the scandal of the Iranian spy cell in Sanaa, which had finally prompted the Yemeni president to say enough is enough?! Is it possible that, for Iran, Morocco is a beloved Arab state? This is also inconceivable given that the Iranian ambassador was previously expelled from there. Perhaps Iraq? This is also not possible, given that half of the Iraqis today are against Iran, and its role in their country, and here we see Iraqi political forces trying to topple a government that has undermined the Iraqis with Iranian support.
If the Republican Guard commander believes that the Kuwaitis, for example, are among Iran’s beloved Arabs, Kuwait previously announced the existence of an Iranian spy cell in its country, and of course the UAE cannot be on Iran’s friends list at a time when Iran is occupying UAE islands! Likewise Egypt, even after Mubarak, cannot be considered a beloved Arab state for Tehran, especially after the scandal of the fabricated Iranian interview with the new Egyptian president! Therefore, who’s left for Tehran? Lebanon, held hostage under the weapons of Hezbollah? Or Sudan, where the ruler presides on the destruction of his country?
Here, by simply listing Iranian-Arab relations, we can clearly see how Khomeinist Iran has lost ground with most Arab states, from Bahrain to the Arab Maghreb. Now we see Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi apologizing to the Syrian rebels for inviting Hezbollah to participate in the Ennahda movement conference in Tunisia, especially as Hezbollah is one of the most prominent supporters of the tyrant of Damascus, and is merely an agent of Iran colluding against the Syrians.
Therefore, the scandal of the Iranian term “hated Arabs” is nothing but a failed attempt to compensate for the exposure of the “resistance” lie, which has recently been unmasked. When I say a scandal here the reason is simple: The term “hated Arabs” reveals the racial element that drives Iran in our region, for the story is not only one of sectarianism, but also one of Tehran’s Persian racial prejudices against Arab countries. If (by using the term “hated Arabs”) Iran here is referring to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, then Tehran must remember that Doha was an ally of Assad and Hezbollah, and hence also with Iran, only two years ago. The Qataris changing their stance today does not mean that they are “hated Arabs”, it simply means that Iran’s policy in the region has failed, and has been exposed as sectarian, racist and discriminatory. Are those in the Iranian regime aware of this fact, or are they still surprised and preoccupied by what is happening to their ally Assad?

— The author is editor in chief of Asharq Al-Awsat.
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