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Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22715/iran-war-on-arabs
Iran's War on the Arabs
(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - Over the past week, the Iranian regime has demonstrated once again that its ambitions extend far beyond destroying Israel. Tehran has launched an unprecedented campaign of missile and drone attacks against several Arab states, targeting critical infrastructure, ships, airports, oil facilities, power stations, desalination plants, ports and even residential neighborhoods. These attacks should remove any doubt: Iran's war is against the entire Middle East and, ultimately, against the U.S. and the West. The Iranian regime has never demonstrated any willingness to abide by agreements if they conflict with its revolutionary ideology or strategic objectives. In reality, the negotiations gave the regime time to retrieve missiles it had hidden and to resume firing on U.S. forces and allies in the Gulf. Iran's terrorist proxies - Hamas, Hizbullah, and Yemen's Houthis - also have repeatedly violated ceasefire agreements. Over the past few months, Iran has carried out sustained missile and drone attacks against at least seven Arab countries, including the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Tehran claims that it targets only American military facilities. Reality tells a different story. Civilians have been killed and civilian infrastructure has suffered significant damage. Iran's aggression is steadily eroding whatever sympathy it once enjoyed among many Arabs. Iran's missiles threaten Gulf capitals. Its proxies destabilize Arab governments. Its attacks endanger Arab economies. Arab states therefore have every reason to openly align themselves with the U.S. and Israel in confronting the Iranian threat. This is about defending their own sovereignty, their own interests, their own citizens, and their own future. Until the Iranian regime abandons its expansionist ambitions or loses the capacity to pursue them, the Middle East will remain trapped in recurring cycles of violence. Until then, the Arab states would be wise to recognize that this is their fight as much as Israel's.