The following is research published today from MEMRI’s Special Dispatch Series and the MEMRI TV Project. Special Dispatch No. 3747—Inter-Arab Relations/Hamas Despite the fact that Hamas, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, is a Sunni movement, it maintains close ties with Shi'ite Iran, which serves Hamas as a central supplier of arms and financial support. As a result, questions have been raised regarding Hamas's loyalty and sense of belonging to the Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, including during a January 2010 visit to Saudi Arabia by Hamas Political Bureau Head Khaled Mash'al, during which he met with Saudi Foreign Minister Sa'ud Al-Faisal in Riyadh. Mash'al's visit focused on the issue of Hamas's loyalty to the Sunni world. As Al-Faisal reported: "I asked Mash'al to explain to us [his] movement's stance on the Palestinian issue, which is to say, whether it regarded it as an Arab issue or as an issue having to do with another side [i.e., Iran]... Mash'al openly declared the Arabness of Hamas." Over the course of his visit, Mash'al continue to emphasize Hamas's loyalty to the Sunni world: "We have good relations with Iran... but we support Arab security in all its details, and we will not accept any harm to [this security] from any side... Hamas belongs to the Arab ummah and, as such, is fervent about the interests of its ummah." On April 4, 2011, Mash'al was reported to have claimed that the Sunni Arab leaders had sold out the Palestinian cause, and that Syria had defended the Palestinians who had been expelled from Sunni countries by these leaders. Hamas, it should be noted, denied these reports. Against the backdrop of mounting tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran due to the unrest in Bahrain and other Gulf countries, Muhammad Bin 'Abd Al-Latif Aal Al-Sheikh wrote a column in the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah criticizing Hamas for its alliance with Iran. He claimed that Iran and Israel are similar in that they occupy Arab lands, are hostile to Arabs, and incite riots in Arab countries. To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5184.htm. Special Dispatch No. 3746— Iran/Inter-Arab Relations In an April 5, 2011 op-ed in the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, titled "Iran Is the Biggest Danger," the paper's editor-in-chief, Tariq Al-Homayed, wrote that "Tehran insists on possessing nuclear energy – which it is fundamentally not equipped to deal with." He recalled how the Stuxnet virus had paralyzed Iran's nuclear program, and stated that "the Iranian threat lies in the weakness of its potential combined with the size of its delusion." The following is the op-ed, in the original English: "The Danger of Iran In Our Region Is Not In Any Way Difficult To Prove" "The danger of Iran in our region is not in any way difficult to prove. In order to see evidence of hostility, and the danger, we only need to look at what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday with regards to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, specifically Saudi Arabia and Bahrain." To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5183.htm. Special Dispatch No. 3745—Iran/U.S. and the Arab & Muslim World Following are excerpts from speeches delivered by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at Bushehr and at Khoram Abad, which aired on IRINN, the Iranian news channel, on February 15 and March 2, 2011. To view this clip on the MEMRI TV website, visithttp://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2885.htm. February 15, 2011 Bushehr: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "Those masters sitting there [in the West] should know that the nation has found its path to success, and will not listen to their propaganda. We will not rest until we conquer all the mountaintops and all the palaces of the cruel people in the world." […] To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5182.htm Special Dispatch No. 3744—Kuwait/Iran/Inter-Arab Relations/Proliferation of WMD Following are excerpts from a TV show featuring Kuwaiti journalist Sami Al-Nisf, which aired onAbu Dhabi TV on December 5, 2010. To view this clip on the MEMRI TV website, visithttp://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2771.htm. Sami Al-Nisf: "Some people in the Arab region promote the idea that they have the same enemies as us in the Gulf, and we accept that. The Palestinian brothers – Yasser Arafat and others – said: 'Part of our land is occupied by Israel, and therefore, Israel is our enemy, and it should be your enemy as well.' We have no problem with that." To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5181.htm. Special Dispatch No. 3743—Iran/U.S. and the Arab & Muslim World/Conspiracy Theories Following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Iranian Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, which aired on IRINN, the Iranian news channel, on February 15, 2011. To view this clip on the MEMRI TV website, visithttp://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2811.htm. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami: "The Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qom, which exists only on the Internet, appears only in order to publish communiqués denouncing [the regime]. They caused this battle by initiating this fitna." [...] To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5180.htm.Prominent Arab Journalists Express Concerns Over Iran;
Ahmadinejad To US: Don't Intervene In Region;
Iranian Ayatollah:
US, Zionists 'Real Instigators' Of Rioting
Saudi Columnist: The Alliance Between Hamas and Iran is Hurting Arabs
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Editor: 'The Iranian Threat Lies In the Weakness of Its Potential Combined With the Size of Its Delusion'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Warns the U.S. and Its Allies Not to Intervene Militarily in the Region: 'Iran and the Other Countries Will Strike You with an Iron Fist' and 'Will Dig Graves for Your Soldiers'
Kuwaiti Journalist Sami Al-Nisf Expresses Gulf Concerns about Iranian Nuclear Bomb and Criticizes Syria for Its Support of Iran
Iranian Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami Accuses America and the Zionists of Being the 'Real Instigators' of the Riots and Calls to Deal with Oppositionists 'Harshly and in a Legal Manner'
Friday, 8 April 2011
Posts
