MOTTAKI’S VISIT TO SAUDI ARABIA

thoroughly rough second and no more draft

Here’s a summary of an article by Ali al-Haj Yusef, who writes from Tehran for the Lebanese as-Safir . The article appeared on 3/17/09, and was titled. “Mottaki’s Visit and the Four-Way Reconciliation, and the Syrian [Positive] Prediction of [closer] Arab-Iranian Relations; Saudi Arabia and Iran Leave Their [respective] Trenches [to consult with each other].”


The interpretation some had advanced that the recent reconciliation meeting among Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait and Egypt was to entice Syria to sever its strategic alliance with Iran -- that interpretation was wrong. Mottaki’s recent tour of the Gulf countries, in particular his stop in Saudi Arabia, dispel that falsehood.

Iranian sources which had followed Mottaki’s tour told Yusef that there couldn't be a permanent rupture in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia because so many issues are of concern to both -- such as the security of the Gulf, the re-birth of Iraq, the Strait of Hormuz, OPEC, and so on. {Editor’s comment: Yusef’s “sources” are full of it. Underlying Mottaki’s tour and his visit to Saudi Arabia was the opportunity to build on Iran’s achievements anad do it in a timely fashion -- that the struggle for Saudi Arabia is now tilting in Iran’s favor, with Iran hoping that the Kingdom would sever its not-so-secret relations and informal alliance with Israel.]

The same “sources” pointed to the false interpretation of the reconciliation conference in Saudi Arabia which included Syria. In fact, the sources say, that reconciliation conference had paved the way for Mottaki’s visit -- that Syria in fact had played the role of the mediator -- to bring Iran into the Arab fold.

That Iran was collecting on its victories in Mottaki’s visit comes out in what the sources told Yusef about an American retreat in the region - -

“‘[Nite] the proposal by [President] Barrack Obama for negotiating with Tehran and the American and European opening towards Syria and the British dialogue with Hezbollah and the visit by the American and European delegations to the Gaza Strip and their meeting with the Hamas leaders in Damascus –All of these events are indication which should be seen as transformation in the Western position -- that the West[is in fact] conceding the probable rise of the Axis of Rejection (Iran and Syria -- rejection of domination by the Axis of Conquest and New Colonialism --Israel, the harmful idiots,a dn the Diaspora nationalists) following (the relative victory of Hezbollah and Hamas in) the Lebanon and the Gaza wars -- [that it would be wrong to read these events] as indicating disintegration among the ranks of the Axis of Rejecction, as some imagine and delude themselves.’” [Editor’s note: correct analysis.]

These sources explained that Syria had attended the reconciliation conference as a country that was proud of the correctness of its path and of its choice of alliances --- and all one needed to verify this interpretation was to look at the “ashen face” of Hosni Mubarak at that conference. [Editor’s note: totally correct: That face, with pouting lips, and worried and nervous look, couldn’t have expressed more of a sense of defeat.]