he deal of releasing frozen funds in exchange for prisoners, is brokered by Qatar, between Iran and the United States, in the last few days. It has suggested that there is a progress in diplomatic reasoning which could, under the right conditions, be built upon and developed. This is particularly in the context of the larger issue including the Iranian nuclear programme, as well as smaller issues like Gulf security and potential breakthroughs in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon.
However, what’s strange is that the recent conditional deal coincided with multiple movements and types of mobilisation of Iranian-backed militias within Iraq and along the Syrian-Iraqi border. This raises the possibility of targeting US bases there and ongoing attacks on vessels associated with the United States or Israel in the Arabian Gulf.
In response, Washington has also taken several actions and announced the transport of three thousand soldiers to their bases in the Gulf and sent modern F-35 aircraft to protect those forces.
Saudi Arabia, on its part, has shown a desire to maintain a balance of power with Iran. Faced with American attempts at normalisation between the kingdom and Israel, Riyadh has made strong demands for binding US guarantees of defence, and support for the creation of a Saudi nuclear reactor. It has also utilised its rapprochement with Türkiye to localise the production of drones.
In this sense, all parties are showing their teeth like lions, and they don’t particularly care what the other side thinks.
[Editorial Al-Quds Al-Arabi]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque
