Iran still a destabilising force in region: UAE

Dubai - "Iran's destabilising behaviour in the region must stop."

One year after the Iran nuclear deal, the country has continued its "hostile, expansionist, violent" policies, according to Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE's Ambassador to the United States.
In an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal on April 3, Al Otaiba said that Iran remains a dangerous and destabilising force in the region.
"At the time, President Obama said this agreement would make 'the world safer.' And perhaps it has, but only in the short term and only when it comes to Iran's nuclear-weapons proliferation," he wrote. "Sadly, behind all the talk of change, the Iran we have long known - hostile, expansionist, violent - is alive and well, and as dangerous as ever. We wish it were otherwise."
"In the United Arab Emirates, we are seeking ways to coexist with Iran. Perhaps no country has more to gain from normalised relations with Tehran," he added. "Reducing tensions across the less than 100-mile-wide Arabian Gulf could help restore full trade ties, energy cooperation and cultural exchanges, and start a process to resolve a 45-year territorial dispute."
But, despite the deal, Al Otaiba said that Iran "has only doubled down on its posturing and provocations". As an example, he noted that Iran has conducted several ballistic missile tests in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, fired rockets dangerously close to a US naval vessel in the Straight of Hormuz and detained a group of American sailors.
"In Yemen, where peace talks now hold some real promise, Iran's disruptive interference only grows worse," Al Otaiba noted. "Last week, the French navy seized a large cache of weapons on its way from Iran to support the Houthis in their rebellion against the UN-backed legitimate Yemeni government."
"The interference doesn't stop there. Since the beginning of the year, Tehran and its proxies have increased their efforts to provide armour-piercing explosive devices to Shia cells in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia," he added. "A former Iranian general and close adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for Iran to annex all of Bahrain. And in Syria, Iran continues to deploy Hezbollah militias and its own Iranian Revolutionary Guard to prop up Syria's Bashar Assad."
Al Otaiba said that these acts are reminders that "Iran remains the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism", posing a risk to the region as well as to the United States itself, noting that Iran is suspected of having orchestrated attacks against Americans in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. He also said that Iran allegedly offered $1,000 to Taleban fighters for each American they killed in Afghanistan.
"Death to America has always been more than an ugly catchphrase; it has been Iranian policy," he said. "It is now clear that one year since the framework for the deal was agreed upon, Iran sees it as an opportunity to increase hostilities in the region. But instead of accepting this as an unfortunate reality, the international community must intensify its actions to check Iran's strategic ambitions."
To combat Iranian provocations, Al Otaiba recommended that the United States and the states of the GCC "should reach an agreement on a common mechanism to monitor, expose and curb Iran's aggression", which should include specific measures to block the country's support to the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in the Levant, and Iranian-backed militants in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
"If the carrots of engagement aren't working, we must not be afraid to bring back the sticks," he said. "Recent half measures against Iran's violations of the ballistic-missile ban are not enough. If the aggression continues, the US and the global community should make clear that Iran will face the full range of sanctions and other steps still available under UN resolutions and in the nuclear deal itself."
"Iran's destabilising behaviour in the region must stop. Until it does, our hope for a new Iran should not cloud the reality that the old Iran is very much still with us - as dangerous and as disruptive as ever."
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• MENA