Elahe Koolai is a professor of international affairs at Tehran University. In an exclusive interview with Rooz, she spoke about her views on Iran’s relations with the Arab states at a time when this country is under increasing pressure from the UN Security Council and the US. Koolai believes that the Arab states that participated at the recent Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Doha and at the recent Caspian Sea conference in Iran, are pursuing their interests and taking advantage of the pressure that exists on Iran to maximize their benefits. Even the open door policy pursued by the officials of the Islamic Republic at the two meetings did not help advance common interests between Iran and the Arab participants. Here are the excerpts.
Rooz (R): Are the relations between Iran and the Arab states subject to Iran’s moderation or their strategic alliance with the US?
Elahe Koolayi (EK): The Arab littoral states of the Persian Gulf, which are completely under the influence of the United States, created the Gulf Cooperation Council after the 1979 revolution in Iran that brought the clerics to power and they decided not to use the well accepted name of this waterway, i.e. the Persian Gulf for their new grouping, choosing instead to call it the Gulf Cooperation Council. At times these countries have strived to pursue their own national interests with Iran. Because of the influence that the US has in these countries, the formation of their foreign policy and relations with Iran are reflective of US positions on the Islamic Republic, and under the influence of events dominating US foreign policy towards Iran.
The fact that the Gulf Cooperation Council member stresses on the fake claims of the United Arab Emirates over the Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf and repeatedly raises their occupation status, is a demonstration of the opportunism that these states exercise at a time when the US is exerting greater pressure on Iran. This is an effort to get more benefits and concessions out of existing circumstances contrary to the history and geography of the region.
R: Have relations between Iran and these states been always like this since the 1979 revolution?
EK: During the reform years (Eight-year Presidency of Mohammad Khatami that ended in 2005) the relations improved and expanded considerably leading to the signing of a number of political and economic cooperation agreements between them, particularly Saudi Arabia. That was unprecedented since the revolution. Khatami’s confidence building policy for the region deprived those states of their opportunism, while the Islamic Republic made considerable gains, which were unprecedented and continue to be so.
After the reform period and a change in Iran’s foreign policy which is based on a confrontational approach towards the US, and after the issues that came up in US foreign policy – vis-à-vis the Europeans – it appears that the Persian Gulf states too have returned to their former policies towards Iran. This means that the conditions for public relations work for the US against the Islamic Republic have improved for the US former and are unfavorable for Iran. So the Americans have acquired the opportunity to conclude large contracts with the Arab states by exaggerating the threat of the Islamic Republic.
The US government has taken advantage in the region because of the deteriorating relations between the Islamic Republic and many countries of the world. Military agreements are only one such example.
R: What is the strategy of the Persian Gulf Arab states on which UAE’s claims to the three Iranian Persian Gulf islands and other unfriendly gestures of the Arabs in the Persian Gulf are based on?
EK: It appears that when the political environment is ripe, strategic interests and historic-cultural differences that exist among the countries of the region come to the surface. The Persian Gulf countries who in their short life have witnessed the dominating influence of Iran strive to improve their situation and conditions by using the international pressure that exists over Iran. These countries pursue their own interests by manipulating the confrontation between Iran and the US.
Furthermore, during the last decades these countries have greatly benefited from events inside Iran, its confrontations with the international community, and US efforts to isolate Iran. Dubai is a good example in point. This emirate has transformed itself into a huge investment, trading and financial center. It is a reinvestment center for Iran as well. In other words, Iran’s geopolitical potential has turned into unique opportunities for some of the regional states.
R: How can this misuse be stopped?
EK: By expanding relations with the world community and these states it is possible to limit US presence in the region and the provision of mutual interests of all countries.
R: During the last two years, President Ahmadinejad has taken a confrontational posture towards the West, while at the same time has attempted to improve the relations between Iran and the Arab states, particularly those in the Persian Gulf region to the point where he even recently announced that Iran was ready to provide these countries with its nuclear know-how. Has this new moderation improved Iran’s relations with them?
EK: I believe that any such moderation on the part of Iran, under the conditions when there is great international pressure on the Islamic Republic, particularly through the United Nations Security Council and the US and Europe, only benefits the regional Arab states and equips them with getting more out of Iran. The experience of the foreign policy during the reform years is with us and it clearly shows that as our relations with the world improve, the opportunity for some regional states to take advantage of us diminishes. The opposite is true as well, meaning that as international pressure on Iran increases, regional countries become more aggressive towards Iran.
