MANAMA: The Islamic Republic Iran’s quest for regional dominance has resulted in complicating the Yemen conflict causing destabilization and widespread impacts of instability across the region.
Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bahrain in his speech while addressing during the second plenary session at the 14th IISS Manama Dialogue Security Summit said on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has become the latest casualty of Iran’s ambitious hegemonic approach.
In Iraq, and in Lebanon, the Minister said, the effects of regional interference are also stark.
“As both countries under their respective leaderships attempt to guide their nations toward the path of prosperity, they are confronted by Iranian backed groups or individuals who place loyalty to the Islamic Republic over the national interest of their countries, resulting in bad governance, inefficiency, and ultimately, political paralysis. Hezbollah and associated groups continue to use bases in Lebanon and Iraq to destabilize the region. Young men and women are recruited from across the region and trained in such things as bomb making, weapons smuggling, and military tactics and then sent back to destabilize their countries and advance the Iranian regime’s hegemonic ambitions,” the Minister added.
In Bahrain, he said, we believe in the importance of partnerships between allies, and of our historic alliances in the region.
“We are committed to share the burden of protecting this region and have always done our part. We committed our forces to repel aggression almost 30 years ago, we have sent our security forces to aid the mission in Afghanistan, and have contributed to protecting the Gulf of Aden from Piracy. We are active member of the global coalition to defeat Daesh and we continue our role in ensuring maritime peace in the Arabian Gulf and beyond as part of the Combined Task Forces lead by the United States Navy’s fifth fleet based here in Bahrain. We will remain ready to act in coordination with our friends and allies and do what must be done to ensure the stability and prosperity of the region.”
“As we look toward the next few years, we must maintain hope and confidence for the future of our region, and we are confident! We must realize that although change is inevitable, it is up to us to direct the changes in beneficial ways.
“I am certain that if we can stop attempts to hegemonize the region, to spread influence and power through proxies, to use free media sources to incite hatred and spread false information by some countries in the region, and if we strengthen partnerships between countries that seek to build and not destroy, countries that seek to make the citizens of the region stakeholders in their own future, we will have gone a long way to ensuring the future peace and prosperity of the Middle East.
“The challenges we face today are deep and complex, and have the potential to alter the region for decades to come and if we, as an international community do not take action to direct the coming changes in a way that ensures regional stability, we will find ourselves facing the possibility of a prolonged state of instability and unease.
In Syria, a proud and historic Arab country with a multicultural society has now become a battleground for territory and influence, with regional states attempting to stake their claims, and terrorist organizations and non-state actors competing for influence and control amidst a decline in the capacity of the central government to cope with the various challenges it faces. Although the physical presence of Daesh is almost gone, we cannot discount the possibility of its re-emergence in a different form or under a different name within Syria or anywhere else, so long as the situation remains the same,” he said.
The Minister while highlighting the critical importance of the role of the region’s international partners he said that countries that have a role and a stake in the region such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the French Republic, and the Russian Federation must engage with the region and with one another to help us bring stability and to ensure that the emerging order is a stable one. What we need in the region is balance, a non-competitive balance between major powers in the region, a balance that does not draw lines placing countries on opposing sides against one another, a balance of interests, a balance that places the shared interest of the international community in the region first.”
“There is an underlying theme tying all the crises I have discussed so far. It is the attempt by regional states to impose hegemony on others. Whether it be Iran’s decade long quest to spread their revolution and control more territory through proxies, or Qatar’s attempts to seek its own way of influence in the region, I am certain that the emerging regional order cannot and will not be a stable one if regional states continue to compete over dominance and continue to interfere in the affairs of other countries whenever an opportunity arises,” he said.
“The trouble with hegemonic ambitions in our region is two-fold. On one hand, they contribute to a constant source of tension and distrust among regional states, which are then forced to take the necessary defensive measures to protect themselves such as enhancing military capabilities, forging alliances with other regional states, and boycotting offending states. The other effect of regional hegemonic ambitions is that they make existing crises even worse. Crises that are not initially caused by regional competition are utilized by aspiring hegemons to further their aims, thereby prolonging the original crisis.
In response to the problem of regional hegemonic ambitions, the Minister hoped that international partners should engage with our region and not abandon it, nor should they support the hegemonic ambitions of regional countries neither in any way nor for any short-term gain.
Instead, he said, we call on our international partners to coordinate with responsible regional states to direct the coming changes in a positive way and to realize that the interests of all relevant international states and responsible regional states are very much aligned. We all seek a stable, prosperous, conflict free Middle East that contributes positively to the world economy.”
Referring to the importance of the proposal from the United States of America to establish the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA) as part of the solution he said such initiative would help address the issues face by the region.
“MESA is not against anyone, it is an alliance for security and prosperity in the region and it will be open to those who accept its principles. Through MESA we aim to boost the collective security of the region and to make sure our defense partnerships are ready to withstand the challenges of the 21st century including terrorism, cyber security, and the effects of rogue states.
MESA is not designed as a purely defensive partnership either, it is also an economic partnership that seeks to boost trade and foreign direct investment between its members. These are the kinds of solutions we need in the region going forward. MESA is an example of the ideal vehicle through which to manage the affairs of the region.
There are those who think now is the time for regional countries to take the lead in managing their own affairs, we have suggested this in the past, we put forward a proposal for the region to come together over ten years ago, yet it did not receive the necessary support, and the events of the past couple of years have shown us that our proposal was perhaps ahead of its time. Hegemonic regional countries simply could not be trusted to take part in such an effort. “We need our friends and partners around the world to recognize their own interest in working with us to bring order to the region.”
