Iran’s regime saw the Israeli strike on Hamas in Qatar as an opportunity. It believes it can leverage the attack to bring itself back in from the cold in the region.
The Islamic Republic was weakened, embarrassed, and humiliated by the 12-day war with Israel earlier this year. However, it now feels it can get back into the good graces of the Arab and Muslim states after Jerusalem attacked Doha.
Tehran had also attacked the Qatari capital in June after US strikes on Iran, but that now appears to be water under the bridge, as Arab and Muslim countries have rallied against Israel.
Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “‘rootless child-killing criminal’ after he baselessly described Israel as ‘the frontline of American civilization,’” IRNA noted. Larijani said that therefore, “You can’t blame Americans if they feel like suicide.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian flew to Doha to meet with top officials there. He says Tehran seeks to strengthen cooperation with “Lebanon and other regional states on the basis of mutual respect and shared interests, stressing that ties between Iran and Lebanon should be elevated on the foundations of ‘justice and fairness,’” IRNA noted.
Iran riding Israel strike backlash on all fronts in Middle East
He also met with Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun in Qatar. Iran backs Hezbollah in Lebanon and doesn’t want to see the Aoun government take away Hezbollah’s guns.
“We believe in treating others as we would like to be treated ourselves. If this principle is observed, there will be no problems in relations and interactions. I hope Iran and Lebanon can further enhance their relations based on justice and fairness,” Iran’s president said.
“Pezeshkian also condemned the actions of the Israeli regime, saying its conduct clearly shows disregard for any boundaries or norms,” IRNA noted. “What we are seeing from the Israeli regime today reflects its aggressive and brutal nature. More regrettably, countries claiming to defend freedom and human rights have not only remained silent on the killing and starvation of people in Gaza but also continue to provide this regime with military and legal support,” he said.
“The Zionist regime [Israel] recognizes no boundaries or frameworks for its actions,” the Iranian president said, noting that it has attacked several Islamic countries, including Qatar, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has also slammed Israel.
“Addressing the 69th General Conference of the IAEA in Vienna on Monday, Mohammad Eslami said two extraordinary meetings held by the IAEA Board of Governors and two others by the UN Security Council since the June attacks failed to take a decisive position against the perpetrators as a result of the US political pressure,” the Iranian news agency said.
This is an Iranian full-court press against Israel. The Doha strike has given Iran an opportunity to ingratiate itself again with Gulf countries, hoping that they will forget past Iranian aggression.
Iran, for instance, attacked Saudi Arabia’s oil processing facilities at Abqaiq in 2019 using drones and cruise missiles. It also mined and attacked ships off the coast of the UAE. It also backs the Houthis, who are opposed by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
Tehran is hoping that all of this inter-Arab aggression will be forgotten.