2024-01-24 16:47:36
At a time when regional and international parties are trying to search for a way out of the escalation crisis in the region, Khamenei called for the continuation of Houthi attacks in Yemen on commercial ships in the Red Sea, which threatens the expansion and extension of the conflict.
The Hamas movement’s attack on Israel, on October 7, ignited a war that has not yet subsided, causing thousands of Palestinian civilian casualties and destroying most of the residential facilities and infrastructure in the Strip.
In light of the current situation, “continuing the war in Gaza” appears to be a clear goal for both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Khamenei, who stated the following:
- Some of the positions and statements of officials of Islamic countries are wrong. Because they talk regarding issues like ceasefire.
- The ceasefire is outside your control and in the hands of the malicious Zionist enemy itself.
- Officials of Islamic countries must address the issue at hand, which is cutting off the vital arteries of the Zionist entity.
- These countries must sever their political and economic relations with the Zionist entity and not provide assistance to this entity.
Iranian position
- These are not Khamenei’s first statements. In early November, he called for obstructing oil and food exports to Israel.
- In mid-November, the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) said that the missile destroyer USS Thomas Hadner confronted drones coming towards it from Yemen.
- Then, on November 19, Khamenei came out, saying that the countries of the region should sever political relations with Israel “for at least a limited period of time.”
- Concurrent with these statements, the Houthis in Yemen began launching attacks on commercial shipping traffic in the Red Sea, disrupting global supply chains.
- Returning to the October 7 attack, Khamenei praised what he called a “devastating earthquake” for Israel. He said, “We kiss the hands of those who planned the attack,” and denied Iran’s involvement in the attack.
Throughout the 1990s and the first decade of the twenty-first century, Iran played an important role in supporting Hamas, as the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, had previously warned on more than one occasion of “the Middle East region going out of control” if Israel did not stop its attacks on Gaza strip.
Speaking to the American ABC News channel on Tuesday, Abdullahian said, “The scope of the war has become broader. This means that the risk of a broader war in the region has risen,” blaming the United States and Israel for escalating tensions.
Recently, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on targets in three countries: Syria, Iraq, and Pakistan.
These attacks are not directly related to the war in Gaza, but analysts on the American channel CNBC considered that they reveal an intention to send a clear message.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, said: “Its launch of a medium-range, solid-fuel ballistic missile capable of striking Israel from Iranian territory once morest ISIS in Syria was a historical precedent and a message to Israel.”
But the American magazine Foreign Policy considered, in its analysis, that the attacks were an Iranian attempt to display its military power, but it revealed its inherent weakness and strategic limitations.
Commenting on Khamenei’s statements, Iranian analyst Omid Shukri told Sky News Arabia:
- Iran wants to keep things this way in order to emphasize how much it opposes Israel and how much it supports Hamas.
- Boycott and embargo calls are calculated steps that support Iranian ideological opposition to the existence of the Israeli state while working to isolate Israel politically and economically. This policy is reinforced by Houthi strikes in the Red Sea, which cause difficulties and disruption to Israel and its partners in their maritime endeavors. Iran wants to continue to be a major force in the resistance movement once morest Israel in order to enhance its power and influence in the region.
- Iran is using the war card and the specter of expansion strategically to advance its political agenda regionally and internationally. The Houthi attacks, which disrupt maritime traffic in a vital waterway, are a calculated step to highlight their influence in the region.
- By creating geopolitical influence through such actions, Iran seeks to position itself as an important player and draw attention to its staunch opposition to Israel.
- These unrest serve as a means to garner political support or concessions from sympathetic international and regional actors who may see Iran as a major force in shaping regional dynamics. In essence, Iran is using conflict dynamics as a strategic tool to enhance its position and influence on the international and regional stages.
In turn, Muhammad Mohsen Abu Al-Nour, head of the Arab Forum for Analyzing Iranian Politics, told the “Sky News Arabia” website:
- There is a rule in the Iranian strategy, which is the necessity of moving the arenas of conflict from inside Iran to outside it, keeping the interior safe, and preoccupying public opinion with external problems far from known geographical areas.
- Iran has historically suffered from what is known as the “curse of geography or strategic exposure” to external enemies. Throughout the recent years and months, we have seen qualitative and complex operations in the heart of Iran, including, for example, the Kerman bombings and the assassinations of nuclear scientists.
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