by Ruth Wasserman Lande
As Israel fights Iran's proxies in Gaza and Lebanon, Iran's efforts to destabilize the region could open another dangerous front in the east.
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As Israel’s military campaign against the proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran succeeds, and the scope of potential attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel in the South and the North becomes narrower, there is a growing probability that the latter will activate additional fronts that have not yet been exhausted.
I have written previously about the threat that looms from the east, yet now it no longer “looms.” It is here. We are, almost unwittingly, already in the midst of yet another campaign, only one which is not yet making headlines in the media.
From a broad observation of the interests of the Islamic Republic, the intention to expand over as wide an area as possible is evident. First, it intends to take over the Middle East, then the Gulf countries, and then the entire world. Despite the fact that it sounds more than a little like science fiction, this is indeed the aspiration of the Shi’ite extremist Islamic rule in Iran.
Iran’s modus operandi is to overthrow regimes and countries from within and to then take control of them, amid the chaos and lack of stability. This is what was done in Iraq, following the withdrawal of the Americans from the country and also the international coalition led by the US against the Sunni terrorist organization ISIS. Today, Iraq is no longer an independent country but an extension of Iran, which has significantly expanded its own territory.
This is how the Islamic Republic of Iran also behaved in Lebanon, through the designated terrorist organization Hezbollah, and in Syria, via its Shi’ite militias. This is how it operated and continues to do so in Yemen, via the Houthis, and this is how it operates through sleeper cells throughout Europe and the entire West.
Jordan and Israel interrupt Iranian expansion
What prevents the territorial continuity of the Iranian regime in the region is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the State of Israel. The relatively weak Jordanian regime, whose national security is being upheld by the US and in more ways than one also by Israel, has had difficulty in recent years preventing the Ayatollah regime from trying to erode its strength from within. This is a point that is not at the center of attention of the world and/or the public in Israel.
The current Iranian regime has begun to justify its infiltration into Jordan several years ago, by having to send emissaries to maintain the graves of righteous Shi’ites in the kingdom, some of which, quite coincidentally of course, are close to the Israel-Jordan border. At the same time, the Iranian regime works day and night to strengthen Hamas among the Palestinian majority in the kingdom.
The Islamic Republic also made and continues to make cynical use of the territory of Jordan as a transit country for smuggling weapons to the Judea and Samaria region to arm Hamas, as well as for smuggling weapons and drugs to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Another unexpected country in Latin America joins this profitable industry – Venezuela – which supports the drug industry and sees it as an important source of income.
All this has been going on for years, while between Israel and Jordan there is a significant border of over 300 km., without any substantial obstacle between the two countries for most of those kilometers, and with a laughable obstacle along a very small part of the border.
The meager military presence along the border is that of the Jordanian army, which is financed and equipped for the most part by the Americans, and relies on the US for its very existence, but is largely fed by an educational system that is no different from the one used in Judea and Samaria – that is, full of incitement against Israel, the US, and the West.
Indeed, until now, once every few years, a Jordanian soldier carried out an attack against Israelis, before things were swept under the carpet in order not to disrupt the delicate nature of the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement signed in 1994.
It is perhaps also important to highlight what has been happening in the past several years in Jerusalem during the month of Ramadan. Hamas, an extremist Sunni movement, which is known to be funded and supported by the Ayatollah regime in Iran, cried out against the “cruel Zionist regime that is attacking the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.”
This outcry was cleverly engineered by the Islamic Republic, as an attempt to “steal” the ownership of guarding al-Aqsa Mosque from its traditional guardians – the Hashemite dynasty in Jordan.
This is owing to the fact that al-Aqsa and the symbolism thereof is sufficient to instigate a mass outrage among Muslims throughout the world.
What did the Jordanians do in response? Did they try to signal to the Iranian regime that they were overstepping their boundaries? Did they try to reshape public opinion inside Jordan by changing the educational system to be less inciteful and jealous and more pragmatic so that the public would be less susceptible to Iranian attempts to encourage extremism or support for movements like Hamas?
No. The Jordanian regime cried out louder and with harsher insults against Israel than Hamas, hoping to please the enraged masses at home and demonstrate that they are the authentic guardians of the mosque.
Only in the last year, following the events of October 7, when the Iranian regime made use of Jordanian airspace for the benefit of the first missile attack against Israel, the king of Jordan put his foot down and cried out publicly against Iran for the first time.
Herein, a message was also conveyed to the Iranians regarding their attempt to bring about a coup in Jordan, through the agitation of the Palestinians and the encouragement of Hamas in the kingdom, in their pursuit against the monarchy and the existing regime.
In the meantime, the border remains long and easily passable. The world’s attention is directed to the Gaza Strip and to Lebanon, while the eastern arena is left largely unattended.
The writer is a fellow of the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy, a former member of Knesset, and a past deputy ambassador to Egypt.
Ruth Wasserman Lande
Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-825543
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