SAEDNEWS: In an exclusive interview, a former Iranian ambassador warns that Israel’s military assault on Iran has not only failed to rally Arab states behind Tel Aviv—it has instead amplified Iran’s stature as a symbol of resistance, hardened regional opposition to normalization.
According to Saed News, the recent twelve-day confrontation between Iran and Israel has triggered a sweeping reconfiguration of Middle East diplomacy, undermining the future of the Abraham Accords and reinforcing Iran’s image as a global icon of resistance. In an in-depth interview, Dr. Seyed Jafar Ghannadbashi—former Iranian ambassador to Libya and a seasoned analyst of Arab and Middle Eastern affairs—outlined how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s miscalculated escalation has provoked strategic backlash across the Arab world.
Ghannadbashi attributes Israel’s aggression to a longstanding ideological fixation within Netanyahu’s administrations. “He has built a decades-long diplomatic campaign on demonizing Iran,” he said, pointing to archival broadcasts by Israeli media that date back 35 years warning of Iran’s supposed imminent nuclear capability—a narrative used repeatedly at the UN podium, including Netanyahu’s infamous cartoon bomb illustration.
According to Ghannadbashi, Netanyahu’s entire regional strategy hinges on an ancient political doctrine: never confront your enemy directly—have others do it. This explains Israel’s repeated attempts to draw the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and even Azerbaijan into conflict with Iran. While the U.S. fell into that trap in Iraq, it has since grown wary. Ghannadbashi argues that Washington has become increasingly cautious, realizing the Israeli playbook offers costly quagmires, not decisive victories.
He further contends that Netanyahu’s failed attempt to isolate Iran diplomatically has backfired spectacularly. “Instead of deterring Tehran, Israel has pushed six regional resistance groups to unite behind Iran—a development few foresaw.” Moreover, Israel’s reliance on targeted assassinations rather than direct confrontation reveals what Ghannadbashi calls “strategic cowardice.”
But perhaps most damaging for Israel’s aspirations is the erosion of support among Arab populations, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Ghannadbashi notes that public anger over the killing of nearly 70,000 Palestinians—many of them women and children—has made normalization politically untenable for Riyadh. Even hardline clerics in Mecca have spoken out against Israeli actions, despite state censorship. “Bin Salman knows the rage on Saudi streets. He cannot afford to align with Netanyahu, whose hands are stained with the blood of Palestinian children,” Ghannadbashi said.
He asserts that the symbolic weight of Iran’s military response—particularly its retaliatory missile strikes—has transformed the Islamic Republic into a model of defiance admired even beyond its traditional allies. “In the past, revolutionaries looked to Algeria and Vietnam. Today, they look to Iran.” This sentiment, he argues, is now shared by political prisoners and anti-imperialist activists throughout the Arab world, where anti-Zionism—not liberalism or nationalism—has become the dominant ideological current.
The attack on Iran, Ghannadbashi believes, was Netanyahu’s fatal misstep. After months of brutal bombardment in Gaza and mounting war crimes allegations at the International Criminal Court, Israel has lost global moral standing. “Netanyahu overreached,” he said. “His obsession with crushing Iran has weakened Israel’s strategic posture and inflamed anti-Israel sentiment among Western intellectuals and Arab youth alike.”
On the Abraham Accords, Ghannadbashi is unequivocal: “The attack on Iran was the final nail in the coffin.” The notion that peace with Saudi Arabia hinged solely on sidelining figures like Nasrallah, Haniyeh, or Assad is, in his view, a myth. “The real barrier is Arab public opinion,” he said. “And that barrier has only grown stronger.”
As Netanyahu finds himself increasingly isolated, the U.S. is now scrambling to salvage a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas—ironically, the very movement that has emerged as the most popular liberation force in the region.
In conclusion, Ghannadbashi argues that Israel’s gamble has yielded the opposite of its intended outcome: “By trying to erase Palestine, Netanyahu has ensured that it looms larger than ever.”
