According to Egyptian-born pro-Al-Qaeda cleric Tariq Abdelhaleem, America is losing its grip on the Middle East to Russia and China. He’s right. Of course, he didn’t miss the opportunity to slam those two infidel countries, calling them “unbelievers” and “wicked people.”
This is merely the tip of the iceberg. The red-green axis won’t be so tightly allied in the long run. A rift will start to grow as they compete for power, now that America has relinquished the top spot. America has historically supported Israel, but any reliance on America under Biden is now shaky at best. Russia, which controls Syrian airspace, is currently in the process of increasing its military power there, as Assad has requested a greater Russian military presence. And that’s the only buffer between Israel and Iran, which has had tremendous influence in Syria for years. Jihadists everywhere are emboldened as they celebrate America’s decline.
“Jihadi Outlets React To KSA-Iran Renewal Of Relations,” MEMRI, March 14, 2023:
In an unexpected move on March 10, 2023, Saudi Arabia and Iran declared that they had reached an agreement to renew relations after a seven-year hiatus.[1] Through Chinese mediation, the two countries agreed to reopen their respective embassies within two months, and to reactivate past Saudi-Iran agreements, among them a 2001 security cooperation agreement.[2]
Over the following days, various jihadi groups and clerics around the Middle East reacted to the development. Below is a review of their commentaries.
Houthi Spokesman: Positive Renewal For Security In The Region Following Foreign Invasions
Muhammad ‘Abd Al-Salam, the official spokesman of the Houthi Ansar Allah movement, said of the agreement that the region was in need of such a renewal, which will enable the Islamic nation to restore the security it lost due to the U.S.-led foreign intervention.[3]
Senior Iraqi Official In Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS): Gulf Countries Have Rescued Iran, Ignoring Its Threat
Senior Iraqi-born HTS religious official Maysarah Al-Jubouri (also known as Abu Mariyah Al-Qahtani) wrote on his Telegram channel that “the rulers of the Gulf hurry to rescue the Iranian regime every time it reaches the abyss,” adding that the renewal of diplomatic relations constitutes “running away from cancer with painkillers”, and that “Iraq had been a steadfast obstacle that had stopped the advance of the Safavids [a pejorative term for Iran] and their criminal project.” In his view, the Gulf states encouraged the U.S. invasion of Iraq on the basis of groundless claims, leading to the “crushing of the Arabs’ skulls, and [Iraq] became an Iranian village.”[4]
Hizbullah Leaders: Positive Development That Will Benefit The Region, Painful Blow Against The ‘American Israeli Plan’
In a speech delivered at a ceremony held on March 10, Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah touched on the agreement, hailing the renewal of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia as a positive development that would benefit the nations of the region.
Nasrallah further stated that the siege on Syria would be removed due to several “global and local developments,” without directly mentioning the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and rejected the possibility of Syria leaving the “resistance axis” and “returning to the Arab embrace.”….[5]…
