Towards new world order
THE hard work was done by America, but the fruit was wrapped in China’s cradle. Perhaps the reason for this was that the intention of America was wrong, but China is at least sincere in this matter. Negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia were initiated by the Iraqi government on the authority of the United States and there were several rounds of it, but suddenly a beautiful and pleasant change took place in Beijing. On 6 March 2023, key officials of Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to the revival of diplomatic relations as well as previous agreements, mediated by China in Beijing. Not only this, the 2022 peace deal in Yemen will be pushed forward. Iran will stop the Houthi rebels from sending or launching missile attacks in Saudi Arabia. Iran’s trade with the GCC countries will be increased while negotiations to create a regional security framework will begin and the process will be overseen and mediated by China.
Our Pakistani politicians have enough time to play election and the Supreme Court while the media is sniping from them, but the fact is that the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia brokered by China is not less than a major revolution for the region and the world. We can name it the New Regional Game Order. It will also affect Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain and to some extent countries like the UAE and Oman. Less on some and more on some, but the fact is that the proxy war of Iran and Saudi Arabia was going on in all the above countries. When these two countries are reconciled, these wars will gradually end automatically in these countries as well. Due to the proxy war between two countries, Pakistan was a victim of sectarianism and terrorism. In diplomatic and commercial terms, Pakistan was always a victim of confusion. If Pakistan were to get closer to Iran in any respect, Saudi Arabia would get angry and would increase its proximity to Saudi Arabia.
Iran is a neighbour and a large number of Shias live in Pakistan who sympathize with Iran. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is centre of devotion for every Pakistani, being the home of Allah and His Messenger. The most foreign exchange in Pakistan comes from Saudi Arabia, while country that helps Pakistan most in every difficult time is also Saudi Arabia. Thus, if these two countries reconcile, then Pakistan will get out of this confusion. Similarly, these two countries have fought a proxy war in Afghanistan for a long time and it is obvious that Pakistan is directly affected by situation in Afghanistan. In the same way, if any Muslim is killed by another Muslim in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, then an important factor in this is the proxy war of Iran and Saudi Arabia. In Iraq, perhaps not as many Iraqis died during the American occupation as died in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Afghanistan. Muslims died in sectarian wars and obviously one of the main factors was that both Iran and Saudi Arabia wanted to increase their influence in Iraq. Now the Arab countries will also move towards peace and instead of fighting with each other on the basis of jurisprudence or on the basis of pro-Iran and pro-Saudi Arabia, the way will be paved for cooperation in the field of trade and development.
Another important consequence would be that the ability of the US to blackmail Iran and Saudi Arabia would be further reduced, because by instilling fear in Iran, the US would sell its weapons to the Arab countries and gain control over their oil reserves. Iran, on the other hand, did not fear the US as much as the Arab countries, so instead of using it against the US, most of its resources were used to arm its proxies in Muslim countries and provide assistance in other ways. Now after joining hands Saudi Arabia and Iran will spend money on the development of their nations. The process of Arab countries restoring relations with Israel further increased Iran’s fears that this alliance was being turned against it. My guess is that the process of improving the relations of the Arab countries with Israel will continue, but now it will be based on mutual survival and trade, not against Iran.The credit for the positive progress that has been made goes to the leadership of Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Iranian leadership Ebrahim Raisi and of course Ali Khamenei for recognizing and understanding new realities on the ground and realizing that mutual enmity will seriously damage both sides.
It is happening, but the insight of the Chinese leadership in this regard cannot be left without praise. From what happened, it seems that China has been quietly active in this matter for a long time.The actual work was done during the Chinese President’s visit to Saudi Arabia and then the Iranian President’s visit to China and then behind the scenes through secret diplomacy. More than Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Arab countries, this is the success of China. Through this, China gave a clear message to America that if not the world, then at least the mastery of this region will not be with America but with China. China is now investing rapidly in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries as well as in Iran. In the same way, Saudi Arabia has started to improve its relations with Iran through the mediation of China, showing eyes to the United States, and has given the message to the United States that if it tightens more, a new option, China, will be chosen in response.
—The writer is editor, book ambassador political analyst and author of several books based in Islamabad.
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