Iran has test fired a high-speed missile, which is capable of targeting a number of targets simultaneously, under the very nose of its neighbors. Iran is also proud that its missile can travel undetected by enemy radars.
The Arabs must congratulate their neighbor for its spectacular achievement, which is nothing but one more addition to its arsenal. Never mind that the Iranian people, like their Arab neighbors, are more than fed up with the war and weapons of the eighties.
Iran has launched its earlier versions of the medium-range Shahab missiles to the Gulf horizon, carrying with these tests the message “peace and friendship.” The country has also held naval maneuvers involving more than 500 battleships off the Gulf coast. Where is the love and peace in all these displays of might?
If Iran is seeking to frighten away the US fleet stationed in the Gulf waters by flexing its muscles, it has succeeded only in affirming the US claim that Iran is a hostile force in the region. This, of course, gives the US an excuse to start a showdown.
If these shows of might are aimed at the Arabs, then they have succeeded only in adding to Arab concerns over the president’s stated views on acquiring power, instigating confrontations and preparing for war.
It would have been welcome news if Hussein Salama, commander of the Revolutionary Guards, had announced some accomplishments in the area of industry and technology in the civilian area instead of the successful test firing of weapons of war. Iran has been striving hard to develop its indigenous potentials since the United States clamped a ban on them.
Iran has proven itself on past occasions in various areas of civilian life, such as health, petroleum and electronics.
Where will the Fajr 3 missile and other advanced weapons take Iran? What has Iran achieved with its rockets in the past 20 years?
Iran is wasting money and inviting the hostility of the world, especially the world’s big players. A future war will destroy everything Iran has achieved in a matter of days, if not hours, as happened in the case of Saddam, a leader who was infamous for his boasting and grandstanding that ultimately proved to be impotent.
Iraq’s wealth has been laid waste and its people left bleeding. Similarly, Iran needs to focus primarily on social development rather than fruitless attempts at exhibiting military prowess. The Middle East is already replete with weapons and armies; a new missile adds only more burdens to Iran’s own national budget.
Weapons are the toys of powerful grown-ups with children’s mentalities giving them a false sense of self-confidence — a feeling that prompts them to seek the option of war instead of peace.
What’s the point of Iran developing nuclear weapons on its own after it has been piling up conventional weapons for over a quarter of century and yet is still in the same tight corner militarily and economically? As Iran festers inside a self-imposed fortress, several of its neighbors are exhibiting considerable progress in engaging the world in a constructive manner.
Many in Iran might claim that their condition is better today compared to the conditions of, say, the nations of Eastern Europe behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War — but what about those countries today? Countries like those in Eastern Europe have replaced their philosophy of confrontation with that of economic competition.
Many countries that were closed in the past have now devoted their national potentials to the development of civil societies.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to shoot rockets over the skies of its neighbors. Congratulations.
