 By condemning the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, widely regarded as the father of Iran's modern nuclear program, the European Union has found itself on the side of terror groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Pictured: Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif meets with Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in Tehran on February 3, 2020. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) |
While the European Union has condemned the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, widely regarded as the father of Iran's modern nuclear program, many Arabs and Muslims expressed relief over the assassination.
By condemning the killing of Fakhrizadeh, the EU has found itself on the side of Palestinian terror groups such as the Iran-backed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. These factions, together with Lebanon's Hezbollah terror group, another Iran proxy, and the Muslim Brotherhood, have also voiced outrage over the killing of the scientist.
Iran's proxies are upset , apparently, because they view the killing of the scientist as an obstacle to achieving Tehran's goal of eliminating the "Zionist entity."
The Iranians must be very satisfied with the EU for expressing its condolences to the family of Fakhrizadeh and others who may have been killed in the attack on his convoy.
Iran-backed terror groups and their leaders also offered their condolences over the killing of the scientist. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, in a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, offered his condolences "on behalf of the Palestinian leadership and Hamas."
Other Arabs and Muslims, however, said this week that they cannot understand those who are mourning the death of a dangerous man whose main job was to manufacture nuclear weapons.
The words of these Arabs and Muslims, of course, are also directed to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, whose spokesperson issued a statement on November 28, 2020, denouncing the assassination of Fakhrizadeh as a "criminal act," and saying it "runs counter to the principle of respect for human rights the EU stands for." The statement read:
"The High Representative expresses his condolences to the family members of the individuals who were killed, while wishing a prompt recovery to any other individuals who may have been injured."
Saudi writer Tareq Al-Hameed reminded the EU and Iran's proxies that Fakhrizadeh was not just some an innocent, well-meaning scientist.
"There is no gloating about death, but the Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a commander in the [Iranian] Revolutionary Guard, was not the scientist who discovered the anti-coronavirus vaccine, but the scientist called the father of the Iranian nuclear bomb," Al-Hameed wrote.
"Rather, this Iranian scientist's project is an evil project and an evil scheme for the region as a whole. It is important to shed light on those who hastened to express condolences to the Iranians. The first mourners, of course, who considered the killing of the Iranian scientist a terrorist act were Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Turkey, Qatar and the Assad regime in Syria. The condemnation of the killing of the Iranian scientist by these terrorist parties, or states that support terrorism, such as Turkey and Qatar, is an indication of the identification between these countries and Iran."
Hameed went on to say that those who condemned the killing of the scientist are "symbols of hypocrisy in our region." Otherwise, he added, "how can they condemn the killing of a man who devoted his life to making a sinister bomb for an evil regime, but they do not condemn Iran's killing of innocent people in the region. Iran kills Syrians, Iraqis, and Lebanese, and destroys Yemen, and sponsors all terrorist groups in our region."
Hameed called for "denouncing and shaming" those who are mourning Fakhrizadeh and condemning his assassination.
Saudi political analyst Mohammed Al-Saaed wrote that "disrupting the Iranian regime's access to nuclear weapons is a long-term service to humanity." He said that it was "not reasonable for a backward, repressive terrorist regime to obtain a nuclear weapon." Iran, Al-Saeed pointed out, sees nuclear weapons as a tool "that enables it to occupy the rest of the world."
Al-Saeed said that the mullahs of Tehran "do not possess the minimum of Islamic morals that prevent them from committing atrocities, and their record is rife with crimes. Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon are examples."
Referring to the rulers of Iran, Al-Saeed remarked:
"We are talking about a gang that hijacked Iran, and its defeated people became its captive. It seeks to hijack the entire region, fueled by intense hatred for the Arab. Is it acceptable to allow it to produce nuclear weapons and use them to kill millions of people?"
Emirati writer Muhammad Nafe pointed out that those who are shedding tears over the killing of the Iranian scientist "forgot that he is responsible for the most dangerous program for Iran's manufacture of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles which threaten the security and safety of the entire region."
Nafe wondered why those who were mourning the killing of Fakhrizadeh have been silent about the chaos and instability the Iranian regime has instigated in several Arab countries, including Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as well as the persecution of thousands of Iranians at home.
He said that the "dangerous alliance" between the Islamists and the Iranian regime has wreaked havoc on the Arab world. The Arabs, he added, "have now become more aware of the seriousness of this alliance."
Unlike the EU, Saudi political analyst Abdullah Otaibi is also not mourning the killing of the Iranian scientist. In fact, Otaibi reminded the Europeans and the rest of the world that the Iranian regime "did not hesitate to use the weapon of assassinations" in the past four decades against its political opponents.
"The Iranian regime has chosen assassinations too as one of its weapons... All branches of the Iranian regime in the region use the same method in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, where Hezbollah carried out assassinations over a long period of time. These crimes are one of the Iranian regime's favorite weapons."
Otaibi, expressing support for the killing of Fakhrizadeh, issued a warning. He cautioned that the Iranian regime was now hoping that Joe Biden would restore Barack Obama's "record of submission to and fear of Iran," paving the way for a return to the "flawed" nuclear deal between the superpowers and Iran.
Judging from the reactions of these and other Arabs and Muslims, it seems they understand that the Iranian regime is always on the lookout to subvert security and stability in the Middle East. They are frankly disgusted by the EU and other hypocrites who have condemned the killing of Fakhrizadeh. Moreover, these Arabs and Muslims are sending an emphatic message to Biden: The Iranian regime remains a mortal threat, and a return to the nuclear deal reached under the Obama administration would be seen by many Arabs and Muslims as a calamitous betrayal and a deadly threat to their countries, as well as to Israel.
Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
Bruce Raich