Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

By : Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

Despite the euphoric fanfare in Vienna on Jan. 16 announcing the start of implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal, we have seen no signs of possible change in Iran’s regional policies.

It has yet to apologize for the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in early January or restrain its proxies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere, who are waging sectarian warfare and destabilizing the region.

President Hassan Rouhani has staked his political reputation on concluding the nuclear deal, promising Iranians great economic rewards if it were concluded. Expectations were raised during the last phases of the talks to counter internal opposition. As such, his attempts this month to dampen those expectations drowned in a sea of popular jubilation.

Average citizens are hoping the deal would reduce Iran’s isolation, attract foreign investment and improve their standard of living. Optimists also hoped that sanctions relief would tip the balance in favor of “moderates” in February’s Parliamentary elections. A win by the moderates, the argument goes, could lead to a reassessment of Iran’s foreign policy, which is now based on exporting “Islamic Revolution” by destabilizing neighbors, and supporting terrorism and sectarian militias.

But the attacks in January against Saudi diplomatic missions and the wholesale exclusion of moderate candidates have exposed considerable challenges facing the upbeat scenarios. As expected, the international community strongly condemned the ransacking and burning of Saudi embassy and consulate, as we saw in the Security Council statement at the time and similar statements issued by most countries, including some of Iran’s allies, such as Russia.

Obviously, attacking embassies, a clear violation of international treaties, is something universally abhorred, but not in Iran, where the attacks were not some spontaneous protests, as some have tried to portray them, but the deliberate work of organized groups incited by senior clerical officials, who are yet to show remorse or a change of heart. But condemnation of attacks on diplomatic missions is relatively straightforward and in itself could not by itself change Iran’s regional policies, especially as those attacks were inspired by powerful actors who appear keen on inflaming regional conflicts. They may not be reporting to President Rouhani directly, whose ability to restrain them is quite limited.

Worse yet, some Iranian forces who appear to be treating the nuclear deal with superpowers as a license to escalate their conflicts with lesser powers. Iran, with the help of fighters from around the globe, had successfully turned a political conflict in Syria into a sectarian war tearing apart its social fabric, but things got much worse since the start of the nuclear deal. Hezbollah and other Iran-affiliated militias tightened the noose around besieged towns, starving their inhabitants to death, and taking advantage of carpet bombings carried out by the Russian air force to make territorial gains. Iran has not only turned a blind eye toward its allies’ crimes, but swelled their ranks with regular IRGC troops.

Hezbollah had already become a center of excellence for regional terrorist training and sectarian warfare. It has now succeeded in polarizing Lebanon socially, paralyzing it politically, terrorizing its politicians and journalists, and snuffing any vocal opposition.

The story is repeated elsewhere in the region. In Iraq, Iran’s proxies, the so-called “holy popular mobilization” militias have frustrated the Iraqi government’s efforts to forge a national front against Daesh. Those militias have engaged in an orgy of killing, looting and destruction, inflaming sectarian hatred and making it easier for Daesh to recruit supporters and prolong its reign of terror.

This year, Iran’s destabilizing activities in GCC states have continued, unabated by signing the nuclear deal: Bahrain has uncovered another terrorist cell supported by IRGC and Lebanese Hezbollah. In Saudi Arabia, attacks against security forces have increased, also carried out by Iran-affiliated terrorists. And in Kuwait, tens of terrorists were sentenced for conspiracy, amassing a 23-ton cache of weapons, and plotting to commit attacks to destabilize Kuwait and the region.

It is clear then that deal or no deal, Iran has failed to evolve from its revolutionary phase to that of a normal state that lives according to international laws and diplomatic conventions. Its financial and military support for terrorism that started with the revolution in 1979 has not stopped. Instead of confronting those revolutionary impulses, Iranian officials have lashed out against their neighbors. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s breathless tirades against Saudi Arabia have portrayed him as an accomplice and apologist for Iran-supported terrorists.

Similarly, Rouhani’s snide remarks in his first press conference, after the nuclear deal had entered into effect, against Saudi Arabia only confirmed that Iran has no plans any time soon to change its rogue-nation status to that of a good neighbor and responsible member of the international community.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.

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