Persian Iran’s leaders were surprised by Operation Decisive Storm and the attitudes and decisions of the alliance for the defense of the constitutional legitimacy in Yemen. Regional changes in the balance of power and strategy calculations that the operation entailed further surprised them. The result was clearly confused and reckless in Iranian politics.
Yearning for Persian expansionism, Iran made constant accusations and insults to some GCC countries in the recent years and expressed extreme disdain for Arabs. Last month, Iranian politicians even boasted occupying four Arab capitals. Tehran city delegate in the Iranian parliament, Ali Reza Zakani, who is close to Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, said that ‘Iran is today controlling three Arab capitals, as part of the Islamic revolution. Sana’a has become the fourth Arab capital, which is now on its way to join the Iranian revolution.’ The strategically defeat of Iranian schemes in Yemen made Iranian leaders nervous and pushed them to act recklessly. The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari accused Saudi Arabia of ‘treason’ in Yemen and ‘following the example of Israel in the region.’ a wave of media accusations followed as well as sharp criticism by senior Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Jafari even considered that when the alliance for constitutional legality intervened in Yemen, they proved to be enemies of Iran’s Islamic revolution; ‘enemies of the Islamic revolution are showing up,’ he said. His position is strange because normally what is happening in Yemen has nothing to do with the Iranian revolution, its fate or implications. Tehran itself denies day and night any involvement in the events in Yemen and denies providing any strong military support to the Houthis. If Iran has nothing to do with the situation in Yemen as it claims, why is the alliance intervention considered hostile? What does Iran have to do with Yemen, an Arab country for which major Arab States wanted security and stability, legitimacy restored and insurgents pushed back?
Declarations by Iranian Leaders and officials reveal that their plans to promote Persian expansionism in Yemen failed. Increased attacks against Saudi Arabia reflect concern in Tehran of the increasing GCC role in the region. The more painful it is, the more you scream. Credibility has been lost in the eyes of a large segment of supporters. Big pieces fell apart from the false mental image of the regional emperor that was being promoted for years. Alliances crumbled. Consequently, Tehran had no choice but to attempt to throw random accusations. It claimed that Saudi Arabia committed ‘genocide’ against the Yemeni people, whereas the entire international community recognizes the legitimate intervention of the alliance to protect Yemen from the Houthi insurgency.
There are those who say that modern Persia wanted to incite the Houthis to occupy Sana’a and have full control over the state of affairs there in order to make up for the losses in Syria. When the Yemen plans failed, modern Persians lost their nerves, so they resorted to verbal attacks against Saudi Arabia. They knew what happened in Yemen was the tip of the iceberg for a new regional balance of power that they wanted to be in their advantage and make use of in negotiations with the West for concessions against the interest of the GCC.
Decisive Strom will help to correct the situation later and redefine the regional balance of power in the near and long term. Perhaps the bold position of the GCC should have been made clear few months earlier, when Iran had not yet reached an agreement with the West about its nuclear program. Nonetheless, everyone now has discovered the true limits of Iran’s power and that will be the new rule of the game of strategy in the Gulf region. Iran is a player but not a dominant one. After all, it may be just a paper tiger.
