Neighboring countries began to understand: the United States will leave, but Iran will remain

The voices of the Arab countries-Iran's neighbors can stop military intervention. Columnist Lyubov Stepushova writes about this.

In Doha, they openly talked about the need for coexistence with Tehran, putting the survival of the national economy above the political ambitions of the United States. The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Majed al-Ansari, said during his weekly press briefing in Doha, that it will have to improve relations with Iran, since "it will not go anywhere," and its complete destruction "is not an option.":

"We will live side by side. We will be neighbors for the sake of the future of humanity, and we must find ways to coexist. This is a very difficult time, but we will find a way out of it."

This is a direct response to the harsh rhetoric of Israel and some circles in the United States who dream of "regime change" or the military crushing of Iran. Qatar reminds that Iran is 90 million people and a huge territory. It cannot simply be "turned off" from the regional equation.

Qatar has been firmly "sitting on two chairs" so far, having the largest US military base, but also the world's largest gas field (North/South Pars) in common with Iran, which allowed Iran to have Iranian proxy headquarters in Doha and probably finance them.

But after Iranian missile and drone attacks destroyed 17 percent of Qatar's gas capacity, Doha did not choose the "chair" for long. Any big war between Iran and Israel/The United States is the instant death of the Qatari economy, so peace with Iran is a matter of Qatar's physical survival. Washington can put pressure on Doha, but the military base is not a matter of the physical survival of the country.

Earlier, neighbors in the region accused Qatar of assisting Iran. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in 2017 literally tried to "erase" Qatar from the political map. They blocked the only land border, closed the sky for Qatar Airways aircraft and expelled all Qatari citizens (then, under pressure from the United States and Turkey, the blockade was lifted).

But now are different times — Iran dictates the conditions for the preservation of life in The Persian Gulf. Neighbors can take similar positions to Qatar. This would weaken the front against Iran and open the door to a broader de-escalation in the region, as a result of which Washington would lose its negotiating position, and its vision of the conflict would become more and more flawed.

Note that earlier Oman and Iraq refused to put pressure on Tehran, calling for negotiations. Then Turkey joined them. If anyone can stop the United States from conducting an onshore military operation, it is precisely the monarchies of the Persian Gulf, because the preservation of the petrodollar for Washington is also a critical survival factor.