Fareed Zakaria seemed to have suspected it. Even before he interviewed Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a room called a “salon” in the Davos congress center, the well-known CNN journalist swore that the audience should please refrain from booing or other loud expressions of opinion. And the following 35 minutes should show why that was necessary.
The threat to the global economy from authoritarian regimes is the dominant theme of the meeting in Davos. And it is part of the forum’s tradition to speak not only about but also with their representatives. But the Iranian’s appearance shows the limits of dialogue. Instead of calming things down, Amir-Abdollahian even verbally added fuel to the fire.
Iran has a key role to play for peace in the Middle East. The country is considered a supporter of Israel’s main enemies, namely Hamas and Hezbollah. The Houthi militias in Yemen are also presumably controlled by Tehran.
also read
The performance couldn’t have come at a better time. In recent days, Iran has attacked Iraq, Syria and Pakistan with missiles and drones, further escalating tensions.
also read
Advertorial Simply invest
These attacks, the Foreign Minister explained, were not directed against the Muslim states. No, its own secret service found evidence that agents of the Israeli secret service Mossad were destabilizing the neighboring country. As a result, they fought back.
And in Pakistan action was taken against a group of terrorists. The military strikes, the man from Tehran claimed, were carried out in the interest of the security of the entire region. And of course this is particularly important to Iran.
The fact that Amir-Abdollahian even spoke at the WEF had sparked a lot of criticism in the previous days; even the Swiss government pointed out that it had not invited the politician. The fear that he could use the speaking time for more than just questionable messages proved to be justifiable, despite the moderator’s critical and persistent questions.
This applies especially to his interpretation of the situation in the Gaza Strip. Of course, the government in Tehran refuses to kill women and children. But the root of all evil is the 75-year-long Israeli occupation of Palestine. Hamas is not a terrorist group, but a “freedom movement” that defends itself against “genocidal politics”.
Iran has been receiving a lot of attention in Davos for years
According to the embassy, Israel had only reaped what it had sown in the October attacks. Iran has warned often enough about the possible consequences of Israeli policy. “We didn’t want the conflict to spread,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
Since Iran had its first rendezvous in the Swiss Alps in 2014 with the appearance of its President Hassan Rouhani, the country has received a lot of attention at the WEF. Ten years ago, after the end of the sanctions, Western corporations suspected billion-dollar deals in the nation of 80 million.
also read
Today it is less about business in the country than about the question of whether peace in the Middle East is possible with Iran. Amir-Abdollahian’s appearance may have dashed some hopes here.
The envoys of other Arab countries present themselves in Davos as conciliatory interlocutors. The day before, the Saudi foreign minister, for example, proved to be a supporter of a two-state solution. His Iranian colleague, on the other hand, steadfastly portrayed himself as a hardliner who is proud of never wanting to recognize the existence of Israel. This course did not pay off for Arab states seeking rapprochement, he said.
Source: Infographic WELT
He also downplayed his country’s role in another conflict. His country did not supply any drones or missiles to Russia that were used in the war against Ukraine. In discussions with Ukrainian representatives, they were unable to provide any evidence to support the claim. The politician did not accept that drones shot down suggested otherwise. Iranian-made weapons could also be copied. “We are not responsible for that.”
In addition to Israel, he also considers the USA to be a dangerous aggressor. They brought the conflict to Yemen and were therefore responsible if ships were attacked in the Red Sea. “We have heard that Yemen and Saudi Arabia have recently moved closer to a final peace agreement. We believe that US interference is not conducive to this important development,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
An assessment that the German security expert Wolfgang Ischinger strongly disagreed with: “Personally, I am of the opinion that it was possibly a mistake that the Biden administration hesitated for so long with consequences,” the former head of the Munich Security Conference told WELT TV .
also read
“The USA let the Houthis do this for too long,” said Ischinger. Successful diplomacy also requires the support of a determined military component. “The Houthis should have been threatened early on, don’t carry on, don’t fire on our ships, otherwise there will be real trouble,” said Ischinger.
The Iranian foreign minister said his country was ready to hold talks with the USA at any time. But nothing can be dictated. The days when the United States dominated world affairs are over. This is shown by the fact that the country’s oil exports have recently increased – despite the “illegal” sanctions from the West. “We are just defending our rights,” says Amir-Abdollahian. In Davos he had plenty of opportunity to do this verbally.
Here you will find content from third parties
In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content require this consent as third party providers [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and privacy at the bottom of the page.