Iran is closely watching the reports of potential moves for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. In a long series of comments to the media by Nasser Kanani, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, the regime revealed how closely it is monitoring these developments.
In addition, Iran is focused on Syria, it is threatening Israel regarding Syria, and it is potentially interested in heating up the Lebanese front.
Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met his Syrian counterpart and slammed Israel’s actions in Syria.
“We strongly condemn the repeated attacks of the Zionist regime on the territory of Syria and the continuation of these attacks,” he said. “This regime is the main source of instability in the region.”
Amir-Abdollahian hinted that these alleged incidents would not go “unanswered” and that the region would not be “indifferent” to the actions of Israel.
Currently, Iran has been working to increase tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.
Tehran is clearly concerned about reports of US support for an Israel-Saudi Arabia deal. Iran recently normalized ties with Saudi Arabia, and it has been working to improve its diplomatic role in Iraq and the Gulf, as well as in Egypt.
“In the framework of this [US normalization] policy, the United States made many efforts and succeeded in normalizing political relations between the Zionist regime and a number of countries in the region,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said.
Israel’s recent actions in the West Bank have harmed Palestinians, and this illustrates that normalization has not reduced the conflict, it said.
Iran trying to increase conflicts close to Israel
The Iranian regime did not mention that it is responsible for some of the increased violence in the West Bank, particularly in Jenin. Clearly, Iran is trying to increase conflicts closer to Israel, such as in Jenin, to try to sabotage relations between Israel and the Gulf and potential new ties with Saudi Arabia.
Taken together, Iran’s statements on Syria and the region are important. Iran also noted how it is working to increase its role in Iraq and how it wants to discuss with Syria the role of the US in Syria and also the role of Russia and Turkey in Syria.
Iran is also focused on other files, such as a deal with Afghanistan over water and deals with the Gulf states. Iran is using diplomacy to increase its image in the world, including new outreach to South America and also the BRICS countries.
Leveraging these diplomatic successes to try to harm Israel is key to Iran’s strategy today. That is why the regime is openly mentioning Israel’s Syria policy and potential Saudi-Israel normalization.
Any moves by Riyadh to warm ties with Israel will be a setback for Iran, or at least this is what Tehran is saying to the region.