Foreign Policy: Middle East replaced America with Iran.
The American magazine Foreign Policy, in an article dealing with the resumption of relations between Tehran and Riyadh, considers it a sign of changing regional conditions to the benefit of Iran and to the detriment of the United States.
Foreign Policy started its article with the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Riyadh in early December and his attendance at the meeting of the leaders of the Arab countries bordering the Persian Gulf. A trip in which the Chinese president, in addition to meeting and talking with the senior officials of Riyadh, also consulted with the heads of Arab countries. The trip, of course, took place at a critical time, when issues such as energy security, regional security, and human rights had strained the relations between the two old allies, Riyadh and Washington.
Foreign Policy’s account of this event is as follows: the foreign ministers of several Asian countries gathered to discuss the end of regional turmoil. One of the present countries (China) appears as a mediator to end the hostility of two other countries (Iran and Saudi Arabia) and the 2023 Beijing Agreement was formed to normalize relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. An agreement is reminiscent of Bangkok’s mediation in 1967 to end hostilities between Indonesia and Malaysia. It was at that point that the concept of one of the world’s most successful regional organizations was born: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
This American publication continues to discuss the reasons for the formation of ASEAN, where in the late 60s, the countries of Southeast Asia came to the conclusion that without cooperation, they would neither experience economic growth nor be able to secure themselves, especially Considering the emergence of China as a new power. The intensification of the war in Vietnam and the fear of the spread of communism from the movements supported by China became the reason for ASEAN to be formed and gradually bring more countries under its umbrella.
The Middle East on the way to Southeast Asia
Referring to this history, Foreign Policy writes that the recent de-escalation in West Asia proves that the regional consciousness that Southeast Asia reached in the 1960s is now being formed in the Middle East. Talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia started in Baghdad in April 2021, went to Muscat, Oman, and finally reached Beijing, where they reached an agreement that is expected to continue.
Foreign Policy believes that uncertainty remains about the prospects for diplomacy in the Middle East. This applies especially to the normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, where some differences between Riyadh and Tehran cause concerns about the durability of the resumption of relations between the two sides. But as in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, there are forces at work in the Middle East and the world today that can reduce these doubts.
This American publication concludes from the recent developments in the Middle East that instead of dancing to the tune of foreigners, the countries of the Middle East have placed their national interests as the basis of agreements. As competition between great powers intensifies, regional powers have more options and prefer to act freely rather than be committed allies of global powers.
America is an unreliable ally
While America has no intention of leaving the Middle East, its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf have questioned its credibility as a guarantor and security partner. This is what makes them move closer to Iran instead of moving away from it.
In order to turn Saudi Arabia away from the United States, Foreign Policy refers to the drone attacks in 2019 on two refineries of the Aramco oil company and writes that at that time it was thought that these attacks were the work of Tehran, but the administration of Donald Trump, despite the strong and numerous positions against Tehran, has a special reaction. This incident did not show.
It was after that that the Carter Doctrine lost color for the Saudis, a doctrine that was formulated in 1980 under the title of the US commitment to using force to defend its national interests in the Persian Gulf. Undoubtedly, this development made the Saudis ready to negotiate with Iran. And after the Saudis, now the United Arab Emirates and Oman are also trying to expand their dialogues with Iran.
Foreign Policy writes that despite the belief in Washington that the Middle East cannot achieve stability without American intervention, in the current situation, the obvious issue is that the primary motivation for stability must come from the regional powers. As these recent developments and the move towards negotiations with Iran have proven, there is a view in the region that stability and de-escalation – from the civil wars in Yemen and Syria to the problems in Lebanon and Iraq – require cooperation between regional actors, with or without the US.
