BY BERIL DEDEOGLU
TODAY'S ZAMAN- There was an interesting report in The Times of London a few days ago which Turkish media paid little attention to. According to the British newspaper, Israel asked Saudi Arabia to open an air corridor for its warplanes, and the Saudis approved it. The Israeli Air Force even held a drill with the obvious aim of preparing for an airstrike to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities.
If this report is true, then Israel has already decided to punish Iran if the latter doesn't abide by the latest UN Security Council resolution. Israel probably has a strategy in mind aiming at destroying Iran's military capabilities once and for all. But if Israel puts into practice these plans, every country in the region will suffer.
Should Israel carry out the first strike, an Iranian response would be legitimate, and Israel will again find itself on the wrong side of international law. Besides, this initiative's military success wouldn't really count, as its political outcome wouldn't be in Israel's favor. Iran, a country whose hands are far from clean, would all of a sudden appear as a victim, a position that would lend it enormous diplomatic credit. The civilian deaths caused by such an operation and the rhetoric that would come from people's grief would put Israel in trouble for many years to come. So Israel can eradicate Iran's nuclear capabilities, but this wouldn't increase Israel's ability to survive one iota.
In fact, this report's most critical aspect is Saudi Arabia. No one knows what this introverted country's policies really are regarding Gaza, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Kyrgyzstan. If Saudi Arabia is opening its airspace to Israel without a problem, this would mean that these two countries have a strategic relationship. It is true that they were allies during the Cold War; they fought together against the spread of communism in the Middle East and so on. But now that's water under the bridge.
Helping Israel hit Iran is a reflection of the policy of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' From a historical point of view, it's no secret that Iran and Saudi Arabia are rival regional powers. But great powers are no longer happy with Saudi Arabia's manipulations in the Middle East and Central Asia. The antagonism between the Saudis and Iran is the main reason for the Shiite-Sunni divide in the region, and the fight between these groups' legal and illegal representatives is one of the reasons for international terrorism. When you add economic rivalry over natural gas and oil to that list, one can even claim that the region's major conflict isn't between Israel and Iran but between the latter and Saudi Arabia.
An Israeli decision to launch an attack on Iran would be destructive to Saudi interests. Nevertheless, the permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with the other members of the G-20 forum, are as against Saudi Arabia's ambitions as they are against Iran's. Saudi Arabia and Iran, thanks to their military capabilities and geographical positions, protected US and Russian interests during the Cold War, but this forged a genuine antagonism between these two Middle Eastern powers, exacerbated by their rival religious regimes, which support extremist movements all over the region. Today, Russia and the US have decided to act together, and they notice that these regimes' activities are no longer useful. That's why they pressure Israel through Turkey and Saudi Arabia through Israel. However, due to its current policies, Israel appears as the player most exposed in this configuration.