Give Riyadh a Mirror

My suggestion to Saudi Arabia: when you suffer a painful retaliatory blow on the battlefield in Yemen, rather than pointing the finger of blame at others, first look carefully into the mirror.

Ambassador Arjan of the International Group: Mohammad Sarfi, the editor of Tehran Times, in today's editorial of this newspaper, responded to the recent note of the editor of the Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, in which he made accusations against Iran. You can read the translation of its full text below.

In an article he published on Monday, the editor of the Saudi newspaper "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" used Ansarullah's attack on the Riyadh airport as an excuse to make a series of extensive and sometimes strange accusations.

His strangest claim is when he writes about this attack: "Rarely in the history of wars has a civilian airport full of passengers been attacked." Mr. Sharbel should be asked: are they forgetful or are they deliberately trying to hide and distort the facts?

A very long list of Saudi airstrikes on civilian targets in Yemen can be prepared; The attacks that have taken place since 2015, at the same time as Riyadh began to invade its southern neighbor. Even the mourning ceremonies and wedding celebrations of the oppressed people of Yemen were not spared from the bombardment many times and turned into a blood bath. In some cases, the number of victims of an attack reached 150 people.

Let us examine just one in more detail.

At noon on August 18, 1397, a bus carrying students stopped in the local market of Dahyan, located in Saada province. The students were returning from a recreational excursion; A trip that was probably the happiest day of their lives for them.

The fighters of your country had been flying in the sky of the region for nearly an hour. They were equipped with MK-82 laser guided bombs; The bombs you bought from the United States just a year ago. The bombs were fired and moments later, the happiest day of 40 children's lives turned into their last. Most of them were less than 10 years old.

Have you ever considered that almost everything about the war you imposed on Yemen is strikingly similar to America's wars?

You named your operation "The Decisive Storm"; America also had "Desert Storm" in its history before. The war that started with the participation of Israel against Iran was called "epic rage". You have attacked Yemeni civilians many times, and America has not been in any war without repeated attacks on civilian targets.

Does the terrible similarity between the crime of Dahyan and the attack on Minab School make you think?

And there is another meaningful similarity: Riyadh, just like Washington does in most of its military adventures, tried to create a semblance of legitimacy for its aggression by assembling a formal coalition.

Have you ever asked yourself why despite having such modern and advanced weapons, you have not been able to defeat Ansarullah?

Your problem from the beginning was that you never knew Yemen and its faithful and resistant people properly. You called them "proxies of Iran" and you still do so. It is strange that you insist on denying the fact that Yemenis are an independent people and they make their own decisions in matters of war and peace.

Until you accept this fact, you will never get out of this quagmire that you have created for yourself, and no mediator will be able to help you.

We Iranians, as your Muslim brothers and neighbors, want you to be dignified and proud. We are not happy to see America milking you like a "milking cow" and stealing your wealth through large arms and security contracts.

How can the American, who is not able to protect his bases and forces in the region, protect you and ensure your security?

Do you remember what Trump said in 2018? He openly stated that Saudi Arabia will not last even two weeks without our support. A year later, he proudly said that he took $500 million from them with just one phone call.

In today's world, money may solve many problems, but it certainly cannot buy authority or respect.

Undoubtedly, you have not forgotten what Trump said about your crown prince in the meeting in March this year; A meeting held by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) in Miami was attended by about 1,500 prominent figures from the world of business and investment.

"He didn't think he was going to kiss my butt," Trump said at the meeting. He really didn't think about it. He thought that I would be another loser president of America who would lead the country down the slope. But now he has to be nice to me. Tell him he better be nice to me."

Have you ever wondered why Trump allows himself to insult your leaders so recklessly?

The solution to Saudi Arabia's problems today, however, is not in Washington or Tel Aviv. They have a civilizational and existential enmity with Muslims; An enmity that will not be resolved with several hundred billion dollar bribes.

And in the end, my suggestion is this: when you suffer a retaliatory and painful blow on the battlefield of Yemen, instead of pointing the finger at others, first look carefully in the mirror.