By Denis Korkodinov
Tehran and Tel Aviv could establish relations with each other for the reason that rapprochement is beneficial to both countries. Moreover, the region may become much calmer.
The loud statements of Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel is ready to start a war with Iran, it would seem, should have formed a firm conviction that Tehran and Tel Aviv have always been irreconcilable opponents. However, during the reign of the last Iranian Shah and in the first years after the Islamic Revolution, the countries maintained fairly friendly relations and collaborated in the field of security and energy. In particular, Israel helped Tehran withstand the so-called “Soviet threat”, Saddam Hussein in Iraq and train military personnel.
For this reason, Iranian-Israeli tensions have no long history and are caused, first of all, by different visions of geopolitical processes that began in the 1990s. Based on this, provided that a common opinion is developed that takes into account the interests of both Iran and Israel, it is quite possible that the parties can establish a constructive dialogue with each other and renew friendship.
Cooperation between countries will undoubtedly contribute to the reduction of regional threats and challenges, which are a problem for many states of the world.
Perhaps, at the first stage of cooperation, the Ayatollah regime and Israeli politicians will have to hold behind-the-scenes meetings with each other so as not to create a public outcry. The need for a behind-the-scenes format for meetings is also due to the fact that Tehran does not formally recognize Israel as a state, due to which public negotiations between the countries could undermine confidence in Iran and form an opinion of it as a state with an unstable foreign policy towards official Tel Aviv. This would cause confusion, first of all, among Iranian nationalists, who are used to seeing a sworn enemy in Israel, and therefore, the cooperation of the ayatollah regime with the “enemy” is completely unacceptable to them.
In the end, Riyadh has recently received more reasons to be dissatisfied with Iran’s policies. However, this did not prevent the Saudis, through the mediation of Iraq, from seeking an opportunity to resume the negotiation process with the Ayatollah regime.
In addition, Tehran could also strongly protest cooperation with Saudi Arabia, given the fact that the kingdom actively supports the opposition in Iraq and Syria, which contradicts Iranian interests. At the same time, the Ayatollah regime accepted the Saudi proposal to begin a policy of detente.
In a similar scenario, Iran and Israel may also try to establish credentials or, at least, agree to be neutral to each other. Such a rapprochement of countries would allow the Ayatollah regime to gain additional advantages in the process of ensuring regional stability.
(The views expressed in this article belong only to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights)
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