The New Middle East: Iran & Israel (Part Three of Four)

One of the most annoying countries in the Middle East is Iran. The reason I state that Iran is “annoying” is due to its ability to always do something that interferes with the safety, and security, of the United States.  It is clear the relationship between the two nations has been strand since before the Jimmy Carter Administration.  It is only recently that the Iranian Government has really been a growing thorn in the United States’ side. Iran’s stance regarding Israel, its continue hatred for the U.S. and its allies, the nuclear weapons program that they state are not building, and other stressful issues are just the tip of the iceberg of a major headache for U.S. foreign policy.

Let’s take one issue at a time.  In fact, let’s start with Israel. Since the signing of the Camp David Accords in September of 1978, Israel have been connected, politically of course, at the hip. For the past few administrations, they have all been supportive of the right of Israel to be a nation within the world.  Presidents Bush & Obama have stated that their administrations are ready to defend Israel in the event they are attacked from Iran – or any other aggressor. The main reason I keep bringing up Iran is because they have continually called for Israel to be “wiped off the face of the map” and to be eliminated as they pose a threat to the region.  The fact that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is no longer the president of Iran is a potential good sign for the region.  Granted, it will be interesting to see how the new President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, goes about dealing with the west.  During his campaign, he proposed the idea that he would be able to resolve the issues with the western hemisphere (mainly the United States) which is interesting because he believes Israel is “a wound that needs to be removed” and essentially putting Israel in a state of constant jeopardy – more than what they are already accustomed to by living in the region. 

When the thought of Israel having nuclear capabilities to retaliate against an Iranian attack, it makes sense for the United States, and the rest of the world, to step back and quickly try to expedite a peaceful solution to end any hostile tensions.  This would be an ideal time to point out that the Non-Proliferation Treaty doesn’t have the United States’ signature, which is just a tad bit hypocritical.  The point I am making is that we should not pressure other nations to end their nuclear programs or ambitions when we haven’t even taken measures to eliminate or reduce our own.  The United States likes to “lead by example” but at this point, the United States needs to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

The nation of Iran has a new leader; hopefully, their new president will be able to reconcile their ties with the west.  In that same token, it is important for Iran to recognize the existence of the nation of Israel in the region.  Granted, it will take time (I’m guessing within the next twenty to twenty-five years), but I fear it will come at a deadly cost of cross exchanges between Iran & Israel.  It is because of this the nations of the United States, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the People’s Republic of China, and the French Republic to step up and exercise extreme delicacy regarding the looming Middle East conflict surrounding the nations of Iran & Israel.  In the end, they will be able to live in the same region, but have a low tolerance of each other.