The most recent Iranian attempts to supply weapons to the Houthis in Yemen have been foiled. Fearing the reactions of the United States or the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, the flotilla of the nine Iranian ships reportedly carrying arms sailed away from the Gulf of Aden and in the direction of Iran.
Iranian leaders know that the international community is fed up with Iran’s unremitting attempts to aggravate the situation in the strife-torn Yemen. Additionally, Tehran was not oblivious to the determination of the United States and the Saudi-led coalition to deny Iran the ability to supply weapons to the Houthis. And yet, Iran sought to call the bluff of the Saudis and the Americans by sending the ships to the Gulf of Aden despite the United Nations Security Council’s resolution that bans the provision of weapons to the Houthis. But when Iran sensed there would be a price tag for its grandstanding it caved in and its ships changed course.
It is not as if Iran is behaving according to the will of the international community and the resolutions adopted by the United Nations. If anything, Iran has been working systematically to destabilize the region while it is still trying to deceive the world. Not a while ago, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote an article that was run by the New York Times in which he underscored that Iran was engaging positively and constructively in the region.
Needless to say that the actions of Iran on the ground contradict what the Iranian foreign minister was trying to sell. An in-depth analysis of his article reveals that Iran is flirting with the United States trying to lure it to cooperate with Iran in the region. Zarif desperately tries to send the Americans the message that his country is a normal country that is looking for a “positive” cooperation with the United States. Implicit in his article is his attempt to remind the Americans that his country was a close ally to the United States.
Of course, during the Shah’s era, Iran was a close ally and it occupied a central place in Nixon Doctrine at a time the Cold War was the main theme in international relations.
Contrary to what the Iranians have been saying, their offer to cooperate with the United States is a function of weakness. Tehran has reached the hard conclusion that there would be no chance for it to expand its influence in the region without reaching a sort of understanding with Washington. The perception in Tehran is that President Barack Obama attaches a great importance to a deal with Iran so that he could claim a legacy. While the Iranians’ reading of Obama’s motivation is correct, they made a huge mistake when they thought the key countries in the region would come to terms with any understanding that put their interest at risk.
It takes no genius to figure out that Iran has been unsuccessfully misleading the international community. In his article, Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote, “On a broader level, regional dialogue should be based on generally recognized principles and shared objectives, notably respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all states; inviolability of international boundaries; noninterference in internal affairs; peaceful settlement of disputes; impermissibility of threat or use of force; and promotion of peace, stability, progress and prosperity in the region.” Has Iran been adopting these principles vis-à-vis the region? Hardly!
Perhaps, the strongest message came from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the members to the Arab coalition. The Saudis’ readiness to use force is indicative. First, the Saudis took the initiative in their hands. Saudi Arabia started a campaign against Iran’s proxies in Yemen. Once Riyadh felt that its campaign realized its military objective it called it off and called for a peaceful settlement of the crisis in the strife-torn Yemen.
Riyadh has proved that it could act independently and effectively. Rather than deterring the Arabs from defending their interests, Iran’s bullying has pushed them to put their act together and act assertively and effectively.
Many observers in the region have realized that Iran is not as effective as it was thought of at the beginning. Its inability to make a difference in what has been taking place in Yemen convinced an increasing number of observers that Iran is nothing but a tiger on paper. The fact that Tehran cannot come to the rescue of their proxies in Yemen may serve as a game changer in months to come.
