Doubtlessly Zarif's denial comes in sharp contrast with too long list of statements made by top Iranian officials including the former and current leader describing Israel as a “cancerous tumor” that should entirely be "removed" from the region.
Does or does not Iran intend to annihilate
Israel?
Ironically to what we usually hear from the
Islamic Republic of Iran, FM Javad Zarif
claims that absolutely no Iranian leaders has ever threatened Israel with
annihilation. “When did we say we want to annihilate Israel? Find one person
that has said so. Nobody has said that” says
Zarif firing back at a challenging question put to him by the French weekly, Le
Point why the motto, "Death to Israel" is plastered on the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps' missiles?
Doubtlessly Zarif's denial comes in sharp
contrast with too long list of statements made by top Iranian officials including
the former and current leader describing Israel as a “cancerous tumor” that
should entirely be "removed" from the region.
If everybody -including Zarif himself-
realizes that his weird statement is a false, then the fundamental question is
how we should read Zarif’s blatant denial? To my perception there are two
answers to the question: a simple easy answer and an in-depth one.
The simple answer to the question is as
following: Zarif is lying. Once he is trapped by foreign media asking about the
Israel’s’ destruction as repeatedly heard from Iran, he has no choice but
obvious lie. In other words, Zarif as a familiar diplomat with international
norms is aware he cannot repeat the rhetoric allegations about the destruction
of another state that is a member of the UN. Zarif is well aware that he would
be under attack by hardliners inside Iran for his denial. No matter who has
said that motto and how many years, Zarif is not in the position to repeat it
despite the fact he was aware he would be under scathing attack by hardliners
inside Iran for his denial. As an example and in the same vein, a couple of
years ago he had been grilled by hard-line MPs for his “reactionary stance
towards the Zionist regime and the Holocaust” as the aftermath of an interview in
which he entirely rejected that anyone, including the supreme leader Khamenei,
has ever denied the Holocaust. "I have spoken to the leader on this issue.
He rejects and condemns the killing of innocent people." said Zarif during
the interview adding that the statement in the leader’s website suggesting
otherwise “was simply a mistranslation.”
Despite the fact that the
above answer is not wrong but it is not accurate enough for it covers only the
Zarif’s individual intent of avoiding giving any pretext to foreign media.
Notwithstanding, the second and in-depth answer –which I crucially hold- argues
that it is not Zarif but the leader himself who no longer denies the existence
of Israel though he himself dose not dare to openly declare it. This argument
is supported by several undeniable findings. Here I individuate my argument to
only two following facts:
1. At least Zarif in
his position as Iran FM twice and in separate denials blatantly rejected that “anyone”
in the Islamic Establishment –including the leader Khamenei- has ever denied
the Holocaust or threatened Israel with annihilation. Although he was severely
fired back by hardliners but the leader’s silence says something differently. We
have never heard Khamenei publicly, though mildly, blame his FM for such a fire
back on one of the fundamental principles of the Islamic Establishment as we
have also never heard that he secretly blamed Zarif for taking such stands. The
question, then, is why Khamenei stays silent?
2. It was just within
two month since the victory of Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979 once the Ayatollah
Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic of Iran, ordered the breaking off
diplomatic relations with Egypt for recognition of Israel by Anwar Sadat
according to the Camp David Accords. Nonetheless, once the same event took
place by the unexpected visit (late October 2018) of Israel’s PM to Oman
accompanied meaningfully by the
Israeli intelligence chief and military officials warmly welcomed by Sultan Qaboos –Iran’s close
friend-, ironically not even a single voice of rejection or blame ever heard
from revolutionary Iran’ officials from top to bottom. Such a silence, no way,
can be interpreted as the Zarif’s individual intent of avoiding giving any
pretext to foreign media. It is, in fact, the entire Islamic Establishment’s
silent endorsement to Oman’s support of two state solution (78% Israel, 22% Palestine)
which necessarily but implicitly means the recognition of Israel by Iran at
first.
Moreover, not only
this but also once the Netanyahu’s recent visit to Muscat followed by Oman's FM
Yusef bin Alavi's statement advising “other” countries to treat Israel like “a
state present in the region” no one doubted that the message from Oman –the
Iran and US secret nuclear talk mediator- is essentially a message to Iran to recognize Israel.
Soon in February 11th,
2019 the Islamic Republic of Iran is going to celebrate her full fortieth
anniversary. Now back to the question whether or not the Islamic
establishment of Iran intend to annihilate Israel? The answer is simple. No
one is naive to believe Zarif as far as he is the “sole” Iranian official
denies the last forty year rhetoric official axiom of annihilation of Israel.
Notwithstanding, if he wishes the world to believe him, first and foremost, the
fundamental question to Zarif is whether he is honest enough to tell the entire
truth to his people that the I.R. Iran has already but not publicly endorsed
the two sate solution implying the “de facto recognition” of Israel Iran?
Published in: Iran
International
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