There is no such thing as an Arab NATO
KeywordsEgyptDiameterSaudi ArabiaAmericaIran
Ahmed Ibrahim
In conjunction with Biden’s visit to the region, talk and predictions escalated about the imminent establishment of a military defense alliance involving Arab countries with the Israeli occupation state, and under American supervision, and some predicted that the announcement of the formation of this alliance would be during US President Joe Biden’s visit to the region a few days ago and to Saudi Arabia yesterday and the first yesterday..
These allegations were reinforced by the statements of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who participated in the Arab-American Summit, that he supports the formation of a military alliance in the Middle East, similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization “NATO”, where he said: “I will be one of the first people to support the establishment of an alliance in the Middle East.” Middle East as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Also, what confirmed these allegations was what the Israeli Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, announced on June 20, 2022, that Israel was building an “air defense alliance in the Middle East” led by Washington.
Gantz’s statements did not include the identity of the countries participating with him in this alliance, nor did they include any details about the attacks that the Israeli Defense Minister claimed that the alleged alliance had responded to. But he added in his speech: “I hope that we will take another step forward in this aspect during President Biden’s important visit.”
* But the genie of the Arabs?
Qatar is rising with a clear and balanced policy:*
If we search for Qatar’s position on the Arab-Israeli NATO, we will find a Qatari reluctance to respond, but the Qatari policy with its clear messages, we will find that it is keen to keep its relations with Iran positively balanced, not to mention the visit of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Iran on May 12 Al-Madi, which was interspersed with His Highness’s statement, “We agreed on the importance of all working in the region to resolve conflicts, reduce tension, and make the region in a better position to serve its peoples.
With regard to Qatari-Iranian relations, His Highness the Amir indicated that the State of Qatar is keen to establish a permanent and continuous dialogue, stressing that Iran is a neighboring country and has historical relations with the State of Qatar based on common interests, mutual respect and meaningful discussion for the sake of stability in the region and strengthening international peace and security.
Therefore, the Qatari policy clearly and explicitly states that it will not enter or put itself in an alliance, not to confront Iran or any other country, especially since Doha has always called for peace and a policy of constructive dialogue in all crises.
Saudi Arabia: There is no such thing as an Arab NATO
The Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, was clear in direct press statements, as he stressed that there is no such thing as an “Arab NATO,” stressing that his country did not participate in any consultations in this regard.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan denied, in a press conference on the sidelines of the Jeddah Security and Development Summit, that there was no talk of a Gulf alliance with Israel, although… Saudi Arabia did not participate in any talks.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan added: “No kind of military or technical cooperation with Israel was ever suggested. I do not know where this news came from, nor was it suggested or discussed at the summit or before it.
The Saudi foreign minister continued: There is no such thing as an Arab NATO, and this is not on the table, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proposed nearly five years ago the formation of a joint Arab defense system.
The UAE denies:
In turn, the United Arab Emirates denied its involvement in a military alliance that the United States is seeking to establish among the countries of the region to confront the Iranian threat, and the Wall Street Journal quoted the UAE government’s response in a statement to the newspaper regarding this news, saying, “The UAE is not a party to any military alliance. regional or cooperation targeting any particular country.
What is more, the UAE denied being aware of any discussions about this alliance, as the statement stated: “Moreover, the UAE is not aware of any official discussions related to any such regional military alliance.”
Egypt: complete military and intelligence refusal
Egypt, too, has sent clear messages that Cairo does not want to engage in a military confrontation with Iran in any way. According to the sources, these messages were one of the main objectives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s visit to the Sultanate of Oman.
Private Egyptian sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “there is a strong current within the Egyptian armed forces and the National Security Authority of the General Intelligence Service, which recently expressed its complete rejection of the idea of Egypt’s participation in any military alliances directed against Iran.”
The Egyptian position, as the statements show, indicates disagreement on the basis of the idea itself, and the Egyptian refusal, by virtue of history and its regional and military standing, foretells that one way or another will be able to blow up this alliance, no matter how much it might support America and the West.
In addition to the above, the idea of establishing a military alliance directed against Iran, with the participation of the Gulf states, as well as Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, with the participation of the Israeli occupation state, and under American supervision, is an idea that experts see as impossible to implement.
Based on all of the above, Biden, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, did not present the issue of establishing this alliance and did not even discuss it with Arab leaders, as the Saudi Foreign Minister emphasized, for several reasons, the first of which is the prior Arab rejection of the idea, and the second is the words of Arab leaders rejecting any new conflict in the region, and perhaps the most important of them is what His Highness said: “Everyone realizes that there is no security, stability or development in the midst of conflicts. The fact that the parties to the conflicts invoke the provisions of international law and the Charter of the United Nations save their peoples and humanity as a whole many victims and tragedies.”
