Between Attrition and Awareness: Who Ignites the Fires of the Arab-Iranian Conflict?

Between Attrition and Awareness: Who Ignites the Fires of the Arab-Iranian Conflict?

In every turbulent phase of regional history, the idea of "reshaping the Middle East" resurfaces, drawn not only with ink but also with fire. A common perception prevails that there is a project seeking to expand like a long shadow over the geography of the East, recognizing no borders or balances. The notion of "Greater Israel" is viewed not as a fleeting slogan in the literature of some extremists, but as a dream feared to find its path through chaos and division.

The increasing statements in this regard by the Prime Minister of the occupation, the United States Ambassador to the occupation, and high-ranking diplomatic figures of global weight are nothing but indicators that must be taken seriously.

Facing this nefarious plan stand two obstacles: a resistance clinging to the land like olive roots to their soil, and a political or regional will that refuses to bow to the stormy winds. The path to any geographical expansion or regional hegemony will only be paved when those wills are broken or exhausted to their last breath.

However, the most dangerous element in the scene is not direct confrontation, but the clever bypass around it. What we fear is that Arabs will be pushed into an open conflict with Iran, turning the compass of tension from a conflict with the occupation into an Arab-Iranian conflict that exhausts everyone. Then, Arabs would inadvertently fight in a battle that serves their enemies more than themselves, leading to prolonged bleeding, inherited enmity, and mutual destruction.

In this scenario, the primary adversary exits the arena of direct engagement, leaving others to erode each other in a war of attrition with no victor. Capitals become preoccupied with one another, and resources are drained in side conflicts, while the original cause remains suspended in the air, without solution or horizon.

Furthermore, if the flame of awareness is extinguished and the region turns into squares of internal conflict, the winds will not stop at any limit. Fears extend from the banks of the Nile to the edges of the Euphrates, from Amman to Cairo, and from Baghdad to Damascus and Beirut, reaching vast areas of the Arabian Peninsula. At that point, Ankara will not be immune to the calculations of shifting maps if the bond of balances is severed.

This vision may contain a measure of exaggeration, or it may contain a measure of legitimate warning; but in both cases, it reveals a deep anxiety dwelling in my conscience—anxiety for the land, identity, and the future.

Yet, the ethical question remains deeper than the geopolitical one. What distinguishes a nation that carries a message and values? Is it blind alignment behind immediate interests, or bias toward justice wherever it may be?

A person of upright methodology in the Islamic conception is not measured by the scale of race, nationalism, or historical revenge, but by a clearer scale: to be with the oppressed, even if there is a difference or previous enmity. Justice is not a slogan raised during agreement, but a value tested during disagreement.

Here the paradox manifests: when political disagreement turns into civil or regional infighting, the compass is lost, and the criterion of justice is replaced by the criterion of whim. Blood becomes fuel for battles where no one knows who lit the fuse first, nor who will extinguish it last.

The most dangerous thing that can happen is not for states to disagree, but for the definitions of enemy and friend to be redefined according to transient calculations that ignore the big picture. History teaches that nations lured into side conflicts lose their ability to determine their destiny and inadvertently turn into tools in a larger game of nations.

The question remains hanging in the space of the nation: How do we think? Do we possess the courage to review assumptions before they turn into paths of no return? And how do we build a future where differences are managed with wisdom, not infighting, and where dignity is preserved without exhausting existence?

Maps are not an inevitable fate, nor are conflicts an eternal law. What is drawn today can be erased tomorrow, and what is fueled by fire can be extinguished by reason. Between fear and certainty lies a space called awareness; if it exists, the path changes, and if it is absent, maps multiply at the expense of humanity

This article is in the path of Allah.

And our final prayer is: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds..