Iran Emboldened By Saudi Deal Continues Push Against Israel

Iran continues outreach to regional Arab countries aimed at isolating Israel, as top Israeli officials are warning of a multi-front war orchestrated by Tehran.

President Ebrahim Raisi held a telephone conversation with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Thursday and urged unity among Muslim countries against Israel and in defense of Palestinians.

Tasnim news website affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard claimed that the Emir also “harshly condemned Israel’s aggression.”

Iran’s diplomatic activism follows an agreement in March to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, which has emboldened Tehran to use military and political levers to harm nascent ties between Jerusalem and Arab capitals.

The rapprochement with Saudi Arabia opens the door for the Iranian regime to explore deeper ties and influence with other Sunni Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan and others.

Mehr, another IRGC-affiliated website, reported a telephone conversation between Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi Thursday evening.

Amir-Abdollahian praised Jordan’s “efforts in defending the Palestinians and their holy places in Quds” (Jerusalem). He also emphasized the importance of Islamic unity, saying “the Zionist regime is the biggest threat in the region.”

Israeli officials have been warning of a multi-front conflict with Iran’s proxies in the region, with attacks coming not only from Gaza but also Lebanon and Syria.

In the most recent round of violence, Palestinian groups under the protection of Hezbollah launched rocket attacks from Lebanon, as Iranian forces continue their plans to amass weapons and power in Syria.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Thursday that his country would likely see multi-front military escalation in the near future.

This is the end of the era of limited conflicts,” he told reporters. “We are facing a new security era in which there may be a real threat to all arenas at the same time.”

Gallant went on to say, “We operated for years under the assumption that limited conflicts could be managed, but that is a phenomenon that is disappearing. Today, there is a noticeable phenomenon of the convergence of the arenas.” 

The defense minister directly accused Tehran of orchestrating the new strategy as “the driving force” which supports its proxy militant groups by transferring “resources, ideology, knowledge, and training.”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Iran International this week that the Iranian regime spends tens of billions of dollars every year to support terror groups such as Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad instead of its own people, noting that such a substantial amount should be invested to improve the lives of Iranians.

Although Gallant’s estimate was a bit lower, but still it amounted to a few billions of dollars a year, including hundreds of millions to loyal Shiite militias in Iraq and Yemen.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad Nakhaleh admitted recently that Iran has spent billions of dollars to prop up Palestinian militant groups in the past two decades. Tehran pays for every house destroyed in Gaza and transfers all the weapons needed, he added.

Iran’s overall military spending should also be considered as part of the threat Tehran poses to Israel., as it readily transfers troops to Syria, finances proxies in the war-torn country and develops a formidable drone and missile force.