Three recent editorials in Iran's major conservative dailies Kayhan and Jomhouri-e Eslami gave a detailed account of Iran's position vis-Ã -vis the U.S. peace plan. It was claimed that the U.S. and Israel are trying to force on the Palestinians a plan that safeguards their own interests and perpetuates Palestinian inferiority, by activating the U.S.'s and Israel's proxies in the region - that is, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other Arabs from the "conciliation camp." Jomhouri-e Eslami called on the Palestinians to reinforce their resistance front and to reject anything less than Israel's annihilation, which it termed "a goal within reach." Kayhan purported that "the Arabs who are in favor of conciliation," whom it dubbed "hypocrites within the [Islamic] nation," "are collaborating in the implementation of the Zionist-American version of peace by giving a green light to the Americans." It added that "peace - whether according to the Arab or the American formula - is tantamount to recognizing the brutal and artificial Zionist regime," and said that "unless this regime is completely eradicated from the region's political map, no Middle East peace is
possible."(1)
In another editorial, Kayhan called on the Muslim countries not to participate in the talks with the U.S. and the Zionists, which the U.S. has set for September 2009, concomitantly with the U.N. General Assembly, in order to discuss the U.S. comprehensive peace initiative in the Middle East. The paper reiterated that "a solution [in the Middle East] can be achieved only by completely annihilating the Zionist regime, which is the source of all insecurity in the region," and that "the establishment of two states, Palestinian and Zionist, would be the same as totally crushing the rights of the Palestinian people, rather than securing these rights for them." It was also stated that "the conflict [between the U.S. and Israel] is not genuine, but merely a fraud aimed at deceiving the Arabs from the conciliation
[camp]."(2)
Following are excerpts from the Jomhouri-e Eslami editorial:
"Peace - Whether According to the Arab or the American Formula - Is Tantamount to Recognizing the Brutal and Artificial Zionist Regime"
"Official Palestinian recognition of the Zionist regime by the Palestinians is Israel's most cherished dream. It would deal a death blow to aspirations for a Palestinian state, grant everlasting legitimacy to the Zionist regime, and lay the ground for the attainment of its expansionist goals in the Middle East.
"The Zionists came close to fulfilling these aspirations when Yasser Arafat consented, by means of a disgraceful agreement [i.e. the Oslo accords], to eliminate [the article on] combating the Zionists from the Palestinian charter. But the Palestinian nation was not prepared to acquiesce in this disgrace; following the example of the Islamic Revolution, which has never stopped fighting the Zionist regime, it turned to Islam [for a solution].
"Yasser Arafat fell captive to the dirty games of the Zionists, the Americans, and the Europeans. He died having lost his hold over the Palestinian people and stripped of all his past triumphs as a fighter.
"As a mediator for the Zionists, [Egyptian President] Hosni Mubarak has found himself in the same predicament [as Arafat] - but there already is a file [with incriminating evidence against] him which grows heavier by the day. The obvious difference between the two is that, unlike Arafat, Mubarak has no past as an anti-Zionist fighter; moreover, he was trained by a U.S. intelligence apparatus.
"When, in a revolutionary [act], Khaled Al-Islambouli executed [Egyptian president Anwar] Sadat, America hoisted Mubarak onto the throne as one of its capable agents, to rule over Egypt. For 28 years, they have been using him to promote their anti-Islamic and anti-Arabs goals.(3)
"The latest example of [Mubarak's] serving America and the Zionists was his [position] during the 2009 Gaza war: He supported the Zionist regime, especially regarding the Rafah crossing and the Rafah tunnels.
"U.S. President [Barack] Obama's and Egyptian regime head Hosni Mubarak's joint effort to [persuade] the Palestinians to agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state. comes at a time when the Zionist regime is at its weakest, and when its leaders' morale needs boosting. The Palestinian jihad organizations, which have realized that [the Zionist regime] is in deplorable condition and that the American-Zionist plan is [essentially] imperialistic, have rejected the latter.
"The Palestinians Must Not Be Satisfied With Anything Less Than The Annihilation of the Zionist Regime - A Goal That [Today] Is Within Reach"
"This Palestinian position makes perfect sense, and will undoubtedly bear fruit. Judging by its two successive defeats in the 2006 Lebanon war and the 2009 Gaza war, the Zionist regime cannot withstand a war against it by the Palestinian people.
"It seems that the Palestinian people's warfare [against the Zionists] has found its mark, and [therefore] the Palestinians must not be satisfied with anything less than the annihilation of the Zionist regime - a goal that [today] is within reach."(4)
Endnotes:
(1) Kayhan (Iran), August 1, 2009.
(2) Kayhan (Iran), August 22, 2009. Majlis speaker Ali Larijani said, in a similar vein, that the peace plan being formulated by Obama did not address even one of the Palestinians' basic rights, and called on the Muslim nations to be mindful of this deception. ISNA (Iran), August 25, 2009.
(3) In the original, the term is misspelled "anti-West."
(4) Jomhouri-e Eslami (Iran), June 23, 2009.
