(MEMRI) A. Savyon and Yigal Carmon - In the past month, Iran has escalated its violent activity against Saudi Arabia and the UAE with the aim of bringing the U.S. into negotiations with it on Iran's terms, aimed at lifting U.S. sanctions. For the U.S., the aim of negotiations is completely different; it is demanding changes to the nuclear deal, a halt to Iran's subversive activity in the region, as well as limitations on Iran's development of its ballistic missile capability. The head of the Iranian judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, stated on June 3, 2019: "We see how America is begging to negotiate with Iran. This is further proof of the correct and clear-sighted position of [Supreme] Leader [Khamenei], who has said time and again: 'In the face of the excessive demands of the enemy, resistance is the only way for the Iranian nation to achieve victory.' Today America needs negotiations, and if we insist on our principled positions, the enemy will retreat." In light of the impasse, Iran is expected to escalate its violent activity. In a May 22, 2019, editorial, the regime-affiliated Kayhan daily called for destroying the Saudi regime. Indeed, the Houthi militia is continuing to attack Saudi targets. The policy of employing terror, directly or via proxies, in varying degrees of intensity in order to achieve diplomatic aims, is Iran's regular strategy. Yigal Carmon is president and founder of MEMRI, where A. Savyon is director of the Iran Media Project.
2019-06-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive