"Iran Launches Diplomatic Offensive to Unite Anti-Israel Countries into One"

As the Israel-Palestine war was triggered by an attack on Israel by the Palestinian armed group Hamas, the U.S. think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analyzed on the 12th (local time) that Iran is accelerating its diplomatic efforts to unite anti-Israel countries.

ISW stated, "Senior Iranian officials were busy making calls with foreign leaders on the 11th and 12th to discuss the war in Israel," diagnosing the situation as such.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi held consecutive calls with Saudi Arabia's influential Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also made a series of phone calls with officials from Egypt, the Philippines, Hungary, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Russia, T?rkiye, Algeria, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Among these, ISW pointed out that "the call with Crown Prince Mohammed is particularly noteworthy as it was the first call since the normalization of relations between the two countries in March this year."

Additionally, Amir-Abdollahian is touring Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, which may be interpreted as political cooperation with senior leaders of the so-called 'Axis of Resistance.'

Iran, the leading Islamic Shia country, has led the 'Shia Belt,' referring to Shia forces in the Middle East, and the Axis of Resistance is a term denoting an alliance of anti-Western and anti-Israel countries and armed groups in the Middle East that have emerged under Iran's support.

On the same day, Amir-Abdollahian met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani in Baghdad, Iraq, warning that a 'new front' against Israel could open, adding that this depends entirely on "Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip."

According to ISW, Amir-Abdollahian met with President Assad in Damascus, Syria, on August 31, and on September 1, he also met with leaders of the Lebanese armed faction Hezbollah, the Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad, and Hamas.

ISW said, "Historically, the Iranian government has sought to unite Muslim countries opposing Israel and position itself as a defender of the Palestinian cause," adding, "Iran also conducted a similar diplomatic campaign for the same purpose when tensions escalated between Israel and Palestinian militias in April this year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.