Telling Iran to stop “meddling” in its backyard, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir warned Iran of consequences for backing the Shiite government of Syrian President Bashar-al Assad. Saudi Arabia funded Syria’s civil since March 11, 2011, when the Kingdom tried to capitalize the so-called “Arab Spring,” bringING revolution to dictatorships around the Middle East and North Africa. When Russian President Vladimir Putin started bombing Saudi backed Syrian rebels Sept. 30, the Kingdom convulsed to the Kremlin’s intervention. Putin opposes the Saudi and U.S. policy of regime change in Damascus, believing it would repeat the same mistakes in Iraq where U.S. forces toppled Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein April 10, 2003. Watching the ensuing chaos give rise to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Putin believes toppling al-Assad would make things worse.
Iran, the Mideast’s largest Shiite government, backs Bashar-al Assad’s Alawite regime, despite attempts by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to upend Damascus. Riyadh has problems with Tehran backing Yemen’s Houthi rebels, currently at war with the Kingdom since May 25. “We wish Iran would change its policies and stop meddling in the affairs of other countries in the region, in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen,” insisted Jubeir at a press briefing with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Pointing fingers at Tehran fully exposes how Saudi Arabia, more than any other Mideast player, meddles in the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors. Despite pouring billions of cheap petrodollars into various causes around planet, it’s the Kingdom that messes with sovereign states. White House officials need to urgently rethink its foreign policy with the Kingdom
Saudi’s Foreign Ministry—not the U.N. Security Council—decided independently it’s time to fund various Sunni terror groups to topple al-Assad’s government. White House officials seem to rubber stamp Saudi’s agenda, despite compelling evidence of Saudis involvement in Sept. 11. President Barack Obama insists on the autonomy of the U.S. State Department, yet the official U.S. position on Syrian regime change rubber stamps Saudi Arabia. “It is difficult to have positive relation with Tehran,” said Jubeir. “When Saudi Arabia and its people are the target of continuous aggression from the Kingdom’s archrival,” exposing any illusions supported by Iran that the two sides were allies. Tehran often likes to exploit Israel as a common enemy with Riyadh, when it reality Riyadh and Tel Aviv cooperate on a variety of security issues and weapons sales.
When it comes to Syria, Obama’s State Department, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, finds any reason to counter Moscow. With Obama’s relationship with Putin at near Cold War lows, the White House can’t see its failed regime change policy in Syria. Because two former U.S. enemies, Russia and Iran, back al-Assad’s government, it doesn’t mean the U.S. should do the opposite. Adopting Saudi’s foreign policy does nothing to advance U.S. national security. Ending the nearly five-year civil war should be the top U.S. priority, since the flood of refugees to Europe and beyond threaten the European Union, U.S. and global economy. If the EU can’t climb out of its current economic slowdown, it’s bound to spillover to the U.S. and Asia, threatening a global recession. With Russian backing al-Assad’s sovereignty, the Saudi position of regime change isn’t realistic.
White House backing of Saudi’s regime change policy in Damascus promises to extend the conflict into the indefinite future. Backing Iran and Russia’s attempt to bolster al-Assad, then deal with ISIS, would be the surest way to end the Syrian civil war. Putin’s decision to back al-Assad only partly relates to Russia’s interests at its Tartus naval base on Syria’s Mediterranean coast. Putin believes that toppling al-Assad would make a bad situation worse. “We will make sure that we confront Iran’s actions and shall use all out political, economic and military powers to defend our territory and people,” said al-Jubeir, referring to Iran’s backing of Yemen’s Youthi rebels. Saudi Arabia has funded various Wahhabi groups seeking to topple al-Assad and set up a radical Sunni state in Damascus. Iran pales in comparison to Saudi Arabia’s overwhelming backing of radical Sunni groups around the globe.
Al-Jubeir exposes how Saudi Arabia backs its radical Islamic agenda by funding Wahhabi groups around the planet. Funding a large part of the Syrian civil war, Saudi Arabia, not Iran, shows how in meddles in the sovereignty of U.N. member-states when it feels like it. “It will be difficult for Iran to play a role” in ending the Syrian conflict, said Jubeir, as long as they back al-Assad How the Kingdom decides to fund various Wahhabi terror groups is anyone’s guess. Riyadh has mastered the art of proxy war, paying mercenaries under the guise of radical Islam to fight its battles. Admitting it was “very difficult at the moment to really bridge the deep divide between Tehran and Riyadh,” Steinmeier took no position on regime change in Damascus. Accusing Iran of “colonizing” Syria, Riyadh goes over the top justifying its proxy war costing over 250,000 lives and two million refugees.
