Iran Threatens The Apprentice

Khamenei’s threats to Donald Trump

Al Arabiya 

“I do not fear Trump. We must thank the new American president because he showed the real face of America and because he exposed what we have been saying for decades about the political, moral and economic corruption in it.” This is the recent statement made by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against the newly-elected US administration.

Yes, we’re passing through a new phase. There has been a major transformation following the reactive years of isolationism which show the depth of the roots that America has returned to in terms of engaging with world crises and contributing to managing its development.

This is something that influential academic and politician Fouad Ajami had called for. Ajami passed away heartbroken because the former administration was “hopeless” since it neglected managing the concept of the “world order.”

The current US administration is convinced that its predecessor’s legacy on Iran weighs heavy on its shoulders. Development of ballistic missiles is the result of the Obama administration’s complete negligence. The major reason of terrorism in the region is Iran. The latter’s involvement in Syria has awakened sectarianism in the region and it is time to discipline this political rebellion represented by the Iranian regime.

US Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, nicknamed the Mad Dog, said Iran sponsors terrorism across the world and the White House announced that all options, including the military one, are on the table. This is the new rhetoric which has shook Iran.

Trump’s administration focuses on Iranian terrorism in an unrivaled manner as they seek to restore the necessary firm position as was the case during Bush administration

The axis of resistance is in shock because the old strategic facilitations are now out of its hand. Trump has inherited a bad legacy and he must screen it beginning with besieging the terrorism of the Iranian regime. Everyone knows that Iran killed the most number of Americans in Beirut, Tehran and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian regime is skilled at blowing up embassies and masters executions, murder and assassinations.

But how did the Revolutionary Guards’ cadres comment and what’s their reaction to Trump’s statements against Iran’s terrorism?

Hamid Reza, the media and cultural consultant of the Revolutionary Guards, angrily and defiantly said that the new US president has begun his presidential term with a heated media fuss, just like what America witnessed during his electoral campaign that stirred controversy in the American and global political scene due to the vagueness of his future plans and political orientations on the local and international levels.

Reza added that Trump’s recent statements – claiming it’s important to be more accurate when monitoring Tehran’s activity after it conducted a successful missile experiment – confirms the repeated and pitiful statements of his predecessor, Obama, that all options are on the table.

Wishful thinking

However, Trump clearly said that the display of kindness is over and that he’s different than his predecessor. Iran and its axis, however, continue to maintain their wishful thinking and Trump attacks them because they forgot this threatening rhetoric since the days of George Bush.

Trump’s administration focuses on Iranian terrorism in an unrivaled manner as they seek to restore the necessary firm position as was the case during Bush administration. During a speech on January 29, 2002, Bush coined the famous term “Axis of Evil” which included Iran that, he said, represents terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and organized and institutional work to carry out violent practices that oppose international agreements.

The Iranian regime is passing through a different phase amid domestic unrest. It is faced with a suffocating economic crisis, which is leading to growing poverty and unemployment. Meanwhile, it is spending tens of billions on the leaders and commanders of terrorist groups. The commanders of the Revolutionary Guards receive wages that are enough to support an entire state. Iran has engaged in absurd wars which it will not exit from until after it’s broken – in Yemen or Syria or even Iraq.

The era of adulating the Houthis and Kerry’s plan under the excuse of dealing with a political party are over as Trump and his team believe the Houthis are a terrorist group. This is the time of transformation and of restoring prestige to nations so each country retreats to its borders. The Supreme Leader’s threats to Trump are pointless.

The article was first published in Al Sharq al-Awsat on February 14, 2016.
_____________________
Turki Aldakhil is the General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel. He began his career as a print journalist, covering politics and culture for the Saudi newspapers Okaz, Al-Riyadh and Al-Watan. He then moved to pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat and pan-Arab news magazine Al-Majalla. Turki later became a radio correspondent for the French-owned pan-Arab Radio Monte Carlo and MBC FM. He proceeded to Elaph, an online news magazine and Alarabiya.net, the news channel’s online platform. Over a ten-year period, Dakhil’s weekly Al Arabiya talk show “Edaat” (Spotlights) provided an opportunity for proponents of Arab and Islamic social reform to make their case to a mass audience. Turki also owns Al Mesbar Studies and Research Centre and Madarek Publishing House in Dubai. He has received several awards and honors, including the America Abroad Media annual award for his role in supporting civil society, human rights and advancing women’s roles in Gulf societies. He tweets @TurkiAldakhil.

Last Update: Tuesday, 14 February 2017 KSA 09:32 - GMT 06:32

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Al Arabiya English's point-of-view.