Arab nations reject Iranophobia project
Dialogue key to solving regional crises
By Ebrahim Beheshti
Staff writer
The results of a survey conducted by the Qatar-based Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies among 8,000 people in 16 Arab countries indicate a heightened anti-American sentiment in the Arab world after the Gaza war. According to the survey, 94% of respondents evaluated the US position in the Gaza war negatively, and 98% opposed the official recognition of Israel. To discuss the results of this survey, Iran Daily interviewed Diako Hosseini, a researcher on strategic issues in Tehran.
According to the survey, the majority of people in 16 Arab countries perceive the United States and Israel as the biggest threats to the security and stability of the West Asia region. 51% of respondents consider the US the biggest threat, while 26% see Israel in that light. What factors do you think have contributed to these anti-American sentiments in the Arab world?
Public opinions are largely influenced by recent significant events related to a country, region, or the world. For instance, in 2003, when the US invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime, there was a brief positive evaluation of the US actions in the Arab world. However, as the attacks intensified and insecurity escalated, opinions turned against the US. In 2011, during the Arab Spring protests, public sentiment in the Arab world initially supported US positions, but as tensions and US interventions persisted, sentiments turned against the US.
Especially regarding the Israel-Palestine issue, the US has lost credibility as a neutral mediator. Despite America’s efforts to improve its image through soft power, this survey indicates its failure. Today’s Arab society, largely educated with a strong middle class, naturally compares US policies with those of other major powers like China, which tends to intervene less in Arab countries’ internal affairs. Therefore, the intensification of anti-American sentiments doesn’t seem unnatural. Recent Israeli atrocities, committed with US support, have undoubtedly played a significant role in this situation.
While the US has tried to repair anti-American sentiments through soft power, its Iranophobia policy aims to portray Tehran as the main threat to regional security. However, the survey shows that only 7% perceive Iran as the primary threat, while 51% consider the US the main threat in 2024, up from 39% in 2022. What does this tell you?
This suggests the failure of the Iranophobia policy, which used the alleged Iranian nuclear threat as a pretext and intensified after 2003. Despite heavy investments, Arab nations’ historical and cultural ties with Iran prevented the success of this policy. The Iranophobia policy peaked during the Syrian war when Tehran was supporting Bashar al-Assad’s government. But even then, the majority of the Arab world considered the US to be the main threat to the region’s security. Iran’s rational positions during the Gaza war and support for the Palestinian people have increased its popularity in the Arab world, making it difficult for the US to convince the Arab world to view Tehran as a regional threat.
It seemed that before the Gaza war, Israel, with US support, had amassed some capital to strengthen its position in the Arab and Islamic world. For example, it had successfully advanced its project of normalizing relations with several Arab countries to the extent that there was talk of normalizing talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia right before October 7, 2023. However, according to the survey, 89% of people in Arab countries oppose recognizing Israel. Has Israel, along with the US, lost whatever capital it had acquired?
Yes, it appears so. It is noteworthy that if there were some achievements, they were made between Israel and Arab states, not Arab nations. Since the establishment of the Israeli regime, the majority of Arab nations have had a negative attitude towards it. The Palestinian issue holds both an Islamic and an Arab dimension for the Arab world, and the failure of Arab armies in wars against Israel was seen as a blow to Arab identity. However, Arab nationalism is still dear to Arab nations, which makes things difficult for Israel and the US. In this survey, 92% of respondents stated that the Palestinian issue concerns the entire Arab world.
Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in the early days of the war that it would bring fundamental changes to regional security. However, the survey reveals that, at least in terms of public opinion in the Arab world and globally, these changes have not benefited Israel. Only 5% of the Arab community considered Hamas’ October 7 attack illegitimate.
Nothing else was expected from the beginning. What happened on October 7 with Hamas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Storm was a predictable counter-attack against Israel by Hamas. The Gaza Strip had been under complete Israeli siege for years. What Hamas did was within the framework of legitimate defense, responding to Israel’s numerous injustices against the Palestinians. Like the majority of the Arab world, most consider the October 7 attack a just defense.
The victimized image that Israel initially created for itself gradually disappeared with mass killings and genocide in Gaza. Strategically, Israel has little chance of achieving its stated goal of destroying Hamas, as long as discrimination and injustice persist. These groups will continue to exist under any name and ideology, as long as discrimination, injustice, and crimes persist.
You said that the US has lost its credibility as a neutral, sincere mediator. Considering the now-substantiated anti-American sentiments of the people of the region, is there the possibility of other major powers stepping in to solve the Israel-Palestine issue?
It’s hard to predict that. The waning US influence does not necessarily mean that other major powers will increase their presence in the region or in the case of Palestine. We are faced with a complicated global situation where no single power has enough influence to solve the Palestinian issue. What is more, the positions of Israel and Palestine are worlds apart. So, other powers, like China, neither have the ability to play a significant role, nor the willingness to try. Currently, China lacks the willingness to enter into major political issues that would entail some commitment from Beijing.
Therefore, there’s no simple solution to various regional crises in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, and other countries that is developed by major powers. The solution is for the regional countries to engage in dialogue and achieve understanding, just as agreements between Iran and Saudi Arabia ended the destructive, drawn-out war in Yemen.