It is possible for any two nations to reach a peace treaty, but it depends on a variety of factors, including political
Here is what you need and what you get!
Lives in Meknès, Morocco (1900–present)4y
After all, Iranians are not even Arabs. Possibly if Iran is no longer a theocracy, would that make a difference?
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Sure, if it serves Iranian interests which at the moment it doesn’t.
The problem isn’t the ethnicity of Iranians or anti-Semitism but rather Iranian interests. There was once a time Iran had an alliance with Israel and it didn’t anger the populace at all with the exception of a few sympathetic Iranian leftists and islamists.
So then what’s the problem today?
The Islamic Revolution brought to power a batch of ambitious Islamist politicians. This new Iranian government dreams of dominating the Islamic world and to achieve this goal has begun an aggressive foreign policy.
Take for example the fact that Iran has established armed militias in the following nations:
Pro-Iran Iraqi militiamen in Iraq, if you notice the photo on his chest it’s a photo of Iranian cleric Sistani.
At the same time, Iran has recruited over 20,000 Afghans and Pakistanis to fight in Syria
[5] and there are fears these foreign volunteers will return to their homelands to establish even more pro-Iran militias.
Unfortunately for Iran, its success so far has been limited to Shia communities who naturally see Iran as their defender and protector. (Quite similar to the role the Russian Empire played in the 19th century with foreign orthodox Christians)
However Iran wants to extend its influence to the Sunnis which brings us to the Palestinians.
The Israel-Palestine conflict is still something (Sunni) Muslims feel strongly about and Iran has sought to exploit these strong feelings by presenting itself as the sole defender of the Palestinians and this has worked.
Many (Sunni) Muslims have become sympathetic to Iran especially after the work of Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah in the 2006 Lebanon War which sparked such a wave of support for Hezbollah and Iran that the Arab states actually criticized them and supported Israel!
The editor in chief of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Seyassah, Ahmed Jarallah, has written a number of editorials on the subject. On July 15, he wrote that Israel’s operations against Hezbollah are in the interest of the world: “People of Arab countries, especially the Lebanese and Palestinians, have been held hostage for a long time in the name of ‘resisting Israel.’ … Unfortunately, we must admit that in such a war the only way to get rid of ‘these irregular phenomena’ is what Israel is doing. The operations of Israel in …Lebanon are in the interest of people of Arab countries and the international community.”
Arab World Divided Over Hezbollah
But this failed to stop the popular support, Hezbollah even created a Sunni wing due to the large number of Sunni recruits it began receiving after the 2006 war.
“Lebanon is my country … I am patriotic. I wanted to join the resistance and Hezbollah came by and they offered the ideology of resistance,” Usman, whose whole family is Sunni and supports Hezbollah, told International Business Times. “We don’t talk about sectarian issues.”
A plumber by day, Usman moonlights as a foot soldier with Saraya al-Muqawama (Resistance Brigades), a nondenominational military wing of Hezbollah made for Lebanese fighters whose religion — or lack thereof — makes it impossible for them to join the so-called Party of God, funded by Shiite powerhouse Iran. Hezbollah’s way around this is the creation of Saraya, where Lebanese fighters from Sunni and Shiite Islam battle common enemies in Israel and Syria.
This is why peace is not possible at the moment, it isn’t in Iran’s interests.
Iran needs a way to attract Sunni supporters and its opposition to Israel helps bridge the gap between Sunnis and Shias throughout the Islamic World.
Take my country Morocco for example, nobody cares about Iran’s respect of Shia Islam or its Islamist principles but its opposition to Israel and constant support for the Palestinians has earned it a lot of support and goodwill.
This is a photo of a pro-Palestine rally I visited in Meknes last year over the Jerusalem dispute, to my surprise many of the Moroccans at the rally were pro-Iran and condemned Saudi Arabia’s silence over Israel’s transgressions in Jerusalem (as they called it) but praised Iran’s courage to stand up to the Israelis.
As one elderly man put it, the Saudis are trying to sell Al-Quds Mosque to the Israelis but thankfully God gifted us Iran to stop them and the Israelis.
Then why did Egypt sign a peace treaty but not Iran?
In the 1970, Egypt’s ambitious and active leader Nasser died and was replaced by a nationalist named Anwar Sadat. Sadat disagreed with Nasser’s active foreign policy which saw catastrophes such as Egypt’s intervention in Yemen that saw 26,000 Egyptian soldiers lose their lives.
Sadat adopted a new domestic policy that can be best described as “Egypt First”, this saw Egypt end its support for foreign states through its militarily and monetarily. He also sought peace with Israel to encourage foreign investors to come to Egypt and generate economic growth.
Israel occupied the Sinai peninsula post 1967 putting it rather close to 95% of the Egyptian population which lives on the Nile River.
It’s difficult to convince British tourists to vacation in a hotel that is just 2 kilometers away from a fortified Israeli military base.
These conditions resulted in Sadat’s interest in peace.
But as we saw before, Iran doesn’t have these interests. It’s more beneficial to fight Israel than to make peace with it.
This will continue to be the case until the situation evolves to a point where peace is more beneficial.
Footnotes
[1] Iraq’s Shia militias formally integrated into state’s security apparatus
[2] In first, Hezbollah confirms all financial support comes from Iran
[3] Iran, Deeply Embedded in Syria, Expands ‘Axis of Resistance’
[4] Exclusive: Iran steps up support for Houthis in Yemen’s war – sources
[5] Iran recruits thousands of Afghan and Pakistani Shiites to fight in Syria
