Calls for Arab States and Iran to Unite

Arab countries should “befriend” Iran in order to prevent Israel from blocking the possibility of dialogue between the United States and the Islamic republic, said a May 11 opinion article in pro-government newspaper, Al-Watan.



The daily’s columnist, Hasan Hardan, referred to Washington’s recent attempts to open channels of communication with Iran.



He wrote that he thought what he described as the extreme rightwing Israeli government was worried about the new United States policy in the region to give priority to pursuing an Arab-Israeli peace agreement.



Israel is trying its best to push the US to focus its attention on tackling Iran and its alleged nuclear programme, he said.



According to Hardan, presenting Iran as the biggest threat to the world and the region was the purpose of an official visit to the US by Israeli president Shimon Peres this month.



This was also the aim of Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman during his recent visit to some European countries, he said.



The author argued that what he said were Israeli efforts to vilify Iran would not affect the new US approach towards the Islamic republic.



According to him, the US understands that carrying out military action against Iran will harm its interests in the Middle East and lead to a regional war.



Hardan called on Arab countries to follow Syria and Sudan in supporting Iran against Israel.



He concluded that by uniting with Iran, Arab countries could switch the balance of power in the region to their favour.