By Federico Pieraccini*
In his most recent speech, Ayatollah Khamenei has given indications that Iran should be looking east rather than west for parenting nations, in what seems to be wise indications for Iranian policy makers. In recent years, Iran has come under enormous pressure from the U.S. and the Zionist regime in defending its national interests at home and in the region. The Same aggressive posture was shown against Russia and China. The toxic environment, emerging in the past years all over Eurasia and the broader regions of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, are due to U.S. destabilization and efforts to foment chaos.
One of the United States objectives is to prevent any integration of these geographical regions in a way that could exclude and limit Washington’s power projection or influence. Precisely for these reasons, Ayatollah Khamenei has indicated that looking towards the east must be a priority for Iran. Securing relations with bordering neighbours and building up a friendly relationship is usually mutually beneficial, granting peace and prosperity for both partners.
Iran has used this approach more than once in recent times; we have had evidence of its effectiveness in the Qatar-[Persian]gulf crisis. Even though there are fundamental differences in the relationship between Qatar and Iran, both nations have used their economic ties to pragmatically curb differences and prosper with gas extraction and commerce. This relationship has shown important fruits during the Persian Gulf Crisis in which Qatar had to rely on Turkey and Iran to sustain the economy, overcoming the Saudi-led blockade.
Iran is in no desire to reach the status of regional hegemon even though its adversaries continuously repeat this lie in the western news cycle. Iran is more interested in developing ties with its neighbours and alleviating tensions with regional enemies such as Saudi Arabia. War is no desire for Tehran since the focus is on development and improving the lifestyle of its citizens and the infrastructure of the state. With economic sanctions and wars waged against the republic since 1979, Iran is fully aware of the potential economic boom deriving from a steady development of the country and its resources.
Opening relations to the east will also make Iran an important hub in the region for commerce in terms of imports and exports. As Ayatollah Khamenei has indicated clearly, this hypothesis needs to be developed in a correct way to maintain Iranian interests central. In this process, lessons from history come useful. As seen in Iran before the revolution of 1979 or in Russia after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when predatory finance meets imperialist western policy makers, we usually witness a recipe for disaster. National interests are ignored and exploited to favour foreign companies and their shareholders. This is precisely why Ayatollah Khamenei said that foreign capital and investments must be carefully evaluated.
The single most important factor to consider, when securing a country's economy, is having less debt in foreign currency possible, especially if named in dollars. Ayatollah Khamenei clearly indicated that foreign investments are welcomed but only if Iran interests are always prioritized. To create this environment, Iran must nominate Iranian citizens in decision-making roles in the private and public industry, overseeing the influence of foreign capital. This is the only way to ensure that decisions on foreign investments, foreign currency borrowing and trade will always be adopted with Tehran’s interest put first.
The sum of all these factors, coupled with sanctions from the west, should develop an economic basket that will need less reliance on western factors of financing or importing of goods. This will enable partners and friend from the east to prosper thanks to Iranian cooperation, allowing Iran to gain more independence.
The more the U.S. and its allies push Iran closer to its partners, the more will the U.S. find itself isolated in the region. Tehran has no intention in spiking an arms race with Saudi Arabia or imposing its rule of law in the region, rather Ayatollah Khamenei has outlined a new economic and industrial way forward based on bordering nations and the centralization of Iranian interest. This proposed plan falls perfectly in line with what China and even India are looking to develop in the country thanks to cooperation in the energetic sphere and beyond.
Iran has a critical mission to accomplish in the next ten to twenty years: developing and creating the necessary infrastructures and industries to prosper and assume a guiding role in the export of high valued products, while at the same time limiting imports to what is strictly needed and cannot be produced at home.
If all these intentions can be developed without wars affecting directly the country, it is more than probable that the imminent Eurasian integration will be counting on the regions of the Persian Gulf and Middle East, with Iran playing a central role.
*Federico Pieraccini is an independent freelance writer based in Milan, Italy. He specializes in international affairs, conflicts, politics and strategies. He has covered conflicts in Ukraine, Libya, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq.
The views, opinions and positions expressed on Op-Ed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Khamenei.ir .
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