It’s time to act rather than talk if Iran really wants to be a good neighbor

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said one of his administration’s priorities was to improve relations with Tehran’s neighbors, including the Gulf states. But such statements are only collections of words unless they are followed by tangible actions.
Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior military adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and former commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also suggested that Tehran’s foreign policy has entered a new period. rooted in improving relations with other countries in the region. In addition, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said last week: “Iran and Saudi Arabia, as two important countries in the region and the Muslim world, can enter into a new chapter of interaction and cooperation to achieve regional peace, stability and development through constructive and dialogue-based approaches.
But, as Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan stressed last year, the Kingdom will judge the Raisi administration based on “the reality on the ground”.
Unfortunately, former Iranian presidents, including the so-called moderate Hassan Rouhani, have also made similar promises to improve relations with Gulf states. But ties between the Iranian regime and the Gulf states have soured under the Rouhani administration thanks to Tehran’s military adventurism and destructive policies in the region.
Furthermore, Raisi’s administration has yet to make any changes to Iran’s regional policy despite its claims that the country wants to improve relations with other nations in the region.
As far as Yemen is concerned, the IRGC is still a key supporter and sponsor of the Houthis and has stepped up its arms supply to the group. The sophisticated drones and missiles the Houthis are using to target Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates most likely originate from Iran, which has recognized the terror group as the official government of Yemen. The Iranian government continues to smuggle illicit weapons and technology into Yemen and these weapons are deployed for offensive purposes by the Houthis.
In Syria, the Raisi administration is still using the Arab nation as a proxy battleground to secure victories against Israel and to extend the Iranian regime’s military stranglehold in the Levant. By exploiting the instability in Syria, Iran’s IRGC and Quds Force now enjoy a military presence near the Israeli border. The IRGC has also established permanent military bases in Syria and exercises significant control over some of the country’s airports.
Meanwhile, the IRGC under the Raisi administration continues to exploit Iraq as a proxy battleground in order to achieve its revolutionary ideals and hegemonic ambitions. Iraqi militias in Tehran also exploit religion, using bigotry as a tool to seize power and advance Iran’s parochial, religious and political ambitions. The Iranian regime’s militias are also known to escalate the conflict by engaging in various crimes against civilians.

Raisi has yet to make any changes to Iran’s regional policy despite his claims that the country wants to improve relations.

Dr Majid Rafizadeh

And regarding the Iranian regime’s nuclear program, Raisi has shown no signs that his government will stop or slow down the advancement of its nuclear activities, which have been a source of serious concern for other countries in the region. . While Iran’s nuclear breakdown time (the time needed to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a single nuclear weapon) was estimated to be around a year under the Rouhani administration, it has shortened to weeks. only since Raisi took office last year.
If the president is serious about improving relations with Iran’s neighbors, he must address their concerns and that requires a major change in Iran’s foreign policy. It is important to stress that improving relations between Iran and its neighbors could have a significant impact on the geopolitical, economic and security landscapes of the region. If the Iranian government prioritized its relations with Arab nations on the basis of mutual respect and economic and geopolitical interests, rather than ideological ones, and if the theocratic establishment stopped supporting, arming and financing the militias Shiites and their proxies throughout the region, this would bring significant benefits. in Tehran and the region.
In a nutshell, the Iranian regime must go beyond words by fundamentally changing its regional policies if it really wants to improve its relations with the Gulf States and other neighboring countries.

• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

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