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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 May 1999 Issue No. 430 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 May 1999 Issue No. 430
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Supplement Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Gulf warmth
By Rasha SaadIranian president Mohamed Khatami successfully concluded on Wednesday an eight-day regional tour that took him to Syria, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The warm welcome which Khatami received from the leaders and senior officials of these countries is regarded as proof that there exists an atmosphere of rapprochement between Iran and its Arab Gulf neighbours.
In Syria, Iran's closest Arab ally and its sole Arab supporter during its 1980-1988 war with Iraq, Khatami and his high-level delegation were received by Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad at the airport. Pictures of Khatami and Assad shaking hands adorned the streets of Damascus.
Khatami, who was accompanied by his Foreign minister Kamal Kharazi and other senior Iranian ministers and officials, was making his first visit to Syria since he was elected president in 1997.
At the end of Khatami's two-day visit, Iran and Syria called for an end to Israeli occupation of Arab territories, including an unconditional troop pullout from south Lebanon.
Khatami, whose country opposes the 1993 Oslo agreement signed between the Palestinians and Israel, prompted US criticism when he included in his visit a meeting with Syria-based Palestinian opposition groups and invited them to visit Tehran soon. Khatami also met with Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbullah's secretary-general, hailing the group as an "ideological and humanitarian movement that seeks independence".
Both Tehran and Damascus play an effective role in resisting Israeli occupation in south Lebanon. Syria, with 35,000 troops stationed there, is the main power broker in Lebanon while Iran backs the Hizbullah resistance in south Lebanon.
Syria's most important role lately has been to mediate in mending fences between Iran and other Arab countries. Since his election Khatami has demonstrated his moderate politics by restoring ties with Arab countries. He wishes Iran to break out of its isolation both on the regional and international levels.
Following his stay in Damascus, Khatami headed to Saudi Arabia for the first visit by an Iranian president since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The occasion was seen as a "turning point" in relations between he two countries. Two events highlighted the warming of relations. Khatami was awarded one of the Kingdom's highest decorations by King Fahd Bin Abdel-Aziz. The opening of a new Iranian consulate in Riyadh was the second. This will facilitate the establishment of closer ties on a practical level. An agreement between these two large powerful neighbours is considered crucial to peace in the region especially as they straddle one of the world's most strategic trade routes. Iran is attempting to redress the balance of power within the Gulf that was upset by the events of the Gulf war.
Iran is a major power in the Gulf which believes that it has a crucial regional role, according to Hassan Naf'a, a professor of political science at Cairo University. Now that Iraq -- its historical rival -- is out of the way, "Iran is trying to expand its presence to fill the vacuum for fear that the US will assume the role instead." The policy of the new Iranian government is to achieve their aims in a moderate manner. Iran has repeatedly called for military cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries as it opposes the presence of thousands of American troops based in Saudi Arabia since the 1991 Gulf War.
During his visit Khatami indirectly criticised the presence of US troops by saying "we can preserve security together through mutual respect and we do not need others." The Saudi government has responded cautiously to such remarks as it wishes to defer military cooperation until a later stage in the diplomatic warming. The Saudis feel that priority should be given to commercial and cultural matters.
Fahmi Howeidi, an expert in Iranian affairs, told the Weekly "Iran knows that with the presence of US troops in the region it is very difficult to negotiate security agreements with these countries". However, Howeidi added, "the security which Iran demands will not necessarily be achieved through military agreements. Iran will eventually achieve its security objectives through political dialogue with Saudi Arabia".
Howeidi cited reports of Saudi mediation to find a solution to the territorial dispute between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran over three Gulf islands -- Abu Moussa, Greater and Lesser Tunb -- annexed by Iran and claimed by the UAE.
The Saudi-Iranian talks unnerved the UAE which feared that Saudi Arabia's wish for stronger ties with Iran would weaken the UAE's negotiating position in the dispute. UAE President Sheikh Zayed Al-Nahyan reportedly boycotted last week's "consultation" summit among leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh in protest at the Saudi move. However reports say that Saudi Arabia is trying to intervene in the dispute using its new warm relations with Iran as a lever to get a settlement. According to reports, Iran only agreed to negotiations about Abu Moussa, insisting that the two other islands are part of Iranian territory.
