What Did the Three Shadow Dwellers Say
What did the three shadow dwellers say? Ali Larijani made some remarks in a media appearance last week.
Although this political figure has a principled origin, he gradually emerged as a moderate politician. Despite having chaired the parliament for three terms and currently serving as an advisor to the leadership, Larijani has never taken a harsh stance, yet he has been at the center of the most controversial disqualifications in the thirteenth and fourteenth presidential elections.
Currently, Larijani is close to those politicians and analysts who say that if war flares up, we have the ability to confront it and defend ourselves, but we should avoid war as much as possible.
Ali Akbar Salehi, our country’s seasoned diplomat, former Foreign Minister and former head of the Atomic Energy Organization, also adopted a similar stance in his latest remarks. He says Iran should strive not to recognize the Palestinian issue as a point of conflict between Iran and Israel.
Currently, there are two predominant thoughts regarding Iran’s relation to war.
Hardliners, in their comments and analyses, demand entering the war. The most prominent of this analytical line can be seen in recent editorials of the Kayhan newspaper and some televised remarks to theorize war.
This current seeks to theorize a broad confrontation and calls for a comprehensive and wide-ranging approach. The second thought advocates for defense and says that as much as possible, widespread and direct war should be avoided because its results are damaging.
Larijani: We Live for Peace, Not War
Ali Larijani, the former speaker of our parliament, raised several important issues in his recent remarks that drew attention. Analyzing the two sentences ‘neither delay nor act hastily, neither underestimate nor exaggerate’ presented by Ayatollah Khamenei in two speeches, Larijani said everyone must accept that we live for peace, not for war.
War is also a phenomenon that is sometimes necessary, but everyone tries to make wars less frequent and avoid them as much as possible, resolving issues through diplomatic means. This doesn’t mean that we aren’t committed to our beliefs, but the important thing is whether it starts with war or peace.
Emphasizing the role of the U.S. in supporting Israel, Larijani continued, ‘Reason dictates that we use paths and methods that cost less. If not, they might resort to another method. In the situation we are in, first, we must accept that this adventure was created by the Americans and Israelis.’
That is, the Americans are active, and the Israelis are their tools. In this recent aggression against Iran, it was revealed that the Americans provided both the information and the equipment to the Israelis.
The former Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, regarding the discussions about the level of Israeli infiltration due to actions and operations carried out in Iran and the resistance axis, stated that the issue of infiltration in Iran has been serious in recent years.
In my opinion, some negligence has occurred for years, and although the country’s security sectors have struck them, they haven’t been able to prevent all of them. Anyway, it’s an important point that they are still pursuing and making arrangements.
In response to the question of whether we have infiltration in the political and security structure of the country or military, Larijani emphasized, ‘I can’t say in which part, but I know that anyway, incidents like assassinations have occurred, whether for scientists or others, showing that they have infiltrated.’
Discovering it is very important, both in terms of quantity and quality, so this issue must be sensitive, and its leads must be obtained, which this sensitivity has now arisen.
A member of the Expediency Discernment Council, regarding Iran’s role in the October 7 operation, said, ‘Regarding October 7, there was no consultation with Iran; they did it themselves. What the leadership also said was the exact reality; it had not been shared with Iran.’
When it was done, Iran realized. Now, we don’t say they should take permission from us because they make their own decisions. Iran’s mechanism is not such that others take permission from it, although the outside perception is otherwise, but the reality is not that. Our behavior is not domineering.
These are militant individuals, and they make their own decisions. They might sometimes consult with us, but in that case, they did not consult with us.
In another part of his remarks, Larijani said, ‘I believe that we must have sufficient readiness in the field and also use the right diplomatic capacity. We must have a strategic diplomacy. The current conflict text is in the region, but its level of impact is strategic, so its diplomacy must also be at this hyper-political level and not minor. For this reason, I think readiness must exist in both arenas.’
This crisis will eventually end, but it must be addressed with its requirements. It’s very important that the depth of the matter is properly understood and that the issue is precisely communicated to the people so they don’t feel that the Islamic Republic is truly interested in conflict.
He emphasized that the Islamic Republic is not interested in conflict but is ready to defend itself. These are two separate issues.
That means we do not want to be adventurous; rather, we want to defend our national interests.
This must certainly be intertwined with specific diplomacy, and hopefully, the government will do it.
Turning the Palestinian Issue into an Iran-Israel Issue
Ali Akbar Salehi, our former Foreign Minister, also made remarks worth noting. Salehi said the Islamic Republic must ensure that in the world’s public opinion, the Palestinian issue does not turn into an Israeli-Iranian conflict but remains a struggle between Israel and the rightful Palestinians. They are trying to portray it worldwide as if it’s a conflict between Iran and Israel, and they are gradually erasing the term Palestine, which represents the identity and truth of the issue.
Therefore, Iran, the Arab world, and the Islamic world must be sensitive to this issue and not let it come to fruition.
Salehi, regarding the attachment of some opposition currents abroad to Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, said, ‘The U.S. gave the same salvation message to Iraq. What is Iraq’s situation now? It doesn’t even have control over its own sky.’
The U.S. gave the same message to Afghanistan, and you saw what happened. Is Israel a benefactor to Iran, saying it will bring you freedom and prosperity?
The former Foreign Minister of our country, in response to Israel saying that our problem is only with the government, can we only fight with the government? Can we separate the government from the land? He said no, no free nation, with Iran at the forefront, will allow such an action. Look at what cost we are paying now. We are paying a cost to support a rightful issue called Palestine. If we abandon Palestine and say it doesn’t concern us like other countries, we will no longer be labeled as terrorists, nor will we be accused of having nuclear weapons or being anti-democratic. However, as I’ve mentioned before, if the path was clear for Israel, rest assured it would claim the entire Middle East.
If the threat continues, the nuclear doctrine will change.
Last night’s interview with Kamal Kharazi, head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, was broadcast on Al-Mayadeen network. Kharazi, regarding Iran’s commitment to negotiation to resolve issues, said, ‘We are committed to our negotiations and previous agreements, provided that the other parties are also committed.’
Unfortunately, they are not committed and continue to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran instead of negotiating.
Kharazi, in response to the question that you were the first to say that if the Islamic Republic of Iran is threatened or attacked, it may change its nuclear doctrine, what did you mean by changing the nuclear doctrine? He said, ‘That stance still stands, that if the Islamic Republic of Iran is existentially threatened, we will be forced to change our military doctrine policy.’
We currently have the necessary capability to produce weapons, and the only obstacle is the Leader’s decree prohibiting the production of nuclear weapons. In terms of projectiles and missiles, everyone acknowledges our missile power.
In the Promise of Sadeq operation, we fully demonstrated this capability. Regarding the missile range issue, so far we have considered Western sensitivities, especially Europeans, but when they do not consider our sensitivities, especially on the issue of the territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, there is no reason for us to consider their sensitivities. Therefore, the possibility of increasing the range of Iran’s missiles exists.