The 42nd Gulf Summit Emphasis on unity and collective action in the face of threats

Despite being one of the shortest Gulf summit meetings, the 42nd session of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf concluded in Riyadh by emphasizing the unity of the GCC states and their joint efforts to confront all threats.

On Tuesday, the 42nd session of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf concluded in Riyadh, in the presence of leaders and leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

He announced the conclusion of the summit an hour after its launch, to be among the shortest meetings, while the final statement of the summit stressed the need for joint efforts by the Gulf countries to confront all threats, and said that "any attack on a member state is an attack on all members."

In the statement read out by the Secretary of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf, the leaders agreed to “emphasize the contents of Article 2 of the Mutual Defense Agreement that the member states of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf consider any attack on any of them as an attack on them all and any danger.” One threatens them all."

The summit also renewed the provisions of the agreement regarding the "commitment of member states to collective action to confront all threats and challenges."

The final statement stressed the "importance of concerted efforts to coordinate and integrate the foreign policies of member states in order to crystallize a unified and effective foreign policy that serves the aspirations and aspirations of the peoples of the Gulf states and preserves their interests."

The statement affirmed the Gulf countries' rejection of the Houthi group's attacks on Saudi Arabia.

The Gulf states denounced the holding of a press conference in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, which offended the Kingdom of Bahrain.

It also expressed its support for all endeavors that contribute to resolving the Renaissance Dam crisis and Egypt's right to the Nile waters.

The Secretary-General of the Council stated that the leaders of the countries agreed on the "importance of concerted efforts to coordinate and integrate the foreign policies of the member states in order to crystallize a unified and effective foreign policy that serves the aspirations and aspirations of the peoples of the Gulf states and preserves their interests."

He also referred to the agreement on developing the integration of road, rail and communications networks among the GCC states and coordinating efforts to combat climate change, epidemics and diseases.

The meeting of the leaders of the Gulf states in the Saudi capital comes after the city of Al-Ula in the Kingdom hosted in early January 2021 the 41st summit, during which Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt signed a statement that ended the crisis that erupted in 2017 between Doha on the one hand, and Riyadh, Cairo, Abu Dhabi and Manama on the other. other.

A map of Iranian targets is causing an uproar in Tel Aviv, Can Iran target all of Israel?

An Iranian newspaper published a map showing targets inside Israel, indicating that Iran is also ready to respond if Israel opens the door to war. At the same time, a number of experts in Tel Aviv questioned Israel's readiness for such a war.

On Wednesday morning, Israel woke up to what was described as a "clear and dangerous threat" from Iran, which sought to publish its "bank of targets", which it is preparing to target almost all of Israel, as it appears from the map that was widely covered by the Hebrew media and became impossible within minutes to The most prominent title is in Hebrew.

The Tehran Times newspaper , which is close to the regime, published a detailed map, which it says shows the targets set by Iran to target Israel. Haifa on the map and the Eilat area, as well as areas in the occupied West Bank that are believed to be Israeli settlements, while also showing Israeli cities adjacent to the borders of Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.

The emergence of all of these cities led to a wide coverage of the map in the Hebrew media. For example, the newspaper "Maariv" wrote a headline in the style of "the map of targets reveals the new Iranian threat to Israel," while the newspaper "Yediot Aharonot" said that Iran published the map in response to a report published by the newspaper on Tuesday.

He also republishes this map to the arena, Israeli statements that indicated that Iran was seeking to prepare the appropriate infrastructure for war against Israel, not only from Tehran, but Iran might seek the help of factions in Gaza and Syria, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon in such a war to ignite all fronts.

Indeed, the Iranian newspaper wrote some details, quoting the Hebrew Yediot report, which stated, quoting security and military sources, that "the recent strike by Israel in Syria was nothing but a message from Tel Aviv to Tehran."

A message from Tel Aviv to Tehran

The Hebrew newspaper, Yediot , had published a report on Tuesday, saying that "some of the Israeli strikes on Syria were targeting chemical weapons stores," noting that "the message carried by these strikes is that the Israeli army and Israel will not hesitate to observe the red line, which is Preventing the production of any chemical weapons in Syria.

The newspaper added in its report that "the Israeli strikes in Syria were very important, and their aim was to prevent the Assad regime from building a chemical weapon. It seems clear that the targeting was not only for Assad but for Iran as well, especially in light of the ongoing negotiations in Vienna to reach a new nuclear agreement." .

She explained, "Israel is still sticking to its position and decisions, which is that it will not allow the day to come when it can be bombed with unconventional weapons, whether chemical, biological or nuclear."

Returning to the "map of Iranian targets", the "Tehran Times" newspaper says in its editorial that "it seems that the Zionist entity has forgotten that Iran can strike it everywhere."

She pointed out that "experts in Israel are most concerned about the short period of time in which Iran can strike Tel Aviv, as they believe that within one hour Iran can bomb Israel."

The newspaper quoted Iranian Army Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri as saying, "Iran does not underestimate the enemy's threats. But we are confident in our capabilities and our ability to deter and are ready for the smallest threats."

"We are on maximum vigilance in proportion to the situation of the enemy. We do not intend to hit anyone, but at the operational and tactical level we are ready for a decisive response and a strategic attack, fast and intense," he added.

The destruction of Haifa and Tel Aviv

The Iranian newspaper, which appears to be seeking to convey a clear message from Iran to Israel, says, "The Tehran Times does not need to remind the illegitimate regime in Israel of Iran's defensive capabilities, yet it seems that they need to remember something."

And she added, "The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei touched on the Israeli threats more than once, and stressed that Israel knows everything it should know," and said, "They should know that if they make any mistake, Iran will destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa."

By the way, Tel Aviv and Haifa, according to the published map, appear to be at the top of the targets set by Iran to bomb it in the next war, and there are many targets in those particular areas, areas that Israel fears being bombed because of their economic, political and technological status, in addition to containing petrochemical factories. ".

Can Iran?

Meanwhile, the Israelis are not talking about anything as much as they are talking about the war with Iran, especially after Defense Minister Benny Gantz's statement in which he said that he instructed the Israeli army to prepare for a military option against Iran.

Gantz, who recently visited Washington, said he had told his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, that he had instructed the Israeli army to prepare for an attack on Iran.

Commenting on the statement, the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that "Israel still considers the military solution as the last option, in the event of the failure of diplomatic contacts."

In the midst of this, the statements of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak came recently, indicating that he expected that the number of dead in Israel during a battle with Iran would not exceed the 500 dead mark. However, these statements were not accepted by the military and security circles in Israel. The former head of the Mossad, Meir Dagan, said in a statement to the newspaper " Haaretz ", "Such a war will claim many lives and paralyze the daily life in Israel."

Dagan also said that "if Israel decides to bomb Iran, it will drag the region into a regional war. Iran will respond, not alone, but Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will stand in solidarity with it, and perhaps the Assad regime in Syria will participate in the war."

Dagan had also previously said that "the military option against Iran is far from being the best option for Israel. There are now other tools that can be used and that may be more effective."

These statements also did not find acceptance in Israel, after which Dagan was subjected to sharp criticism from ministers and political leaders. But he said, "We live in a democracy, no one prevents me from expressing my opinion."

Is Israel ready for war?

To the question "Is Israel ready for a war with Iran?" The military analyst and former officer in the occupation army Yitzhak Brik had answered in an article published by the Hebrew newspaper "Haaretz" under the headline "Israel is not ready for a regional war. Point."

In his article, Brik said, "In recent months, it has become clear that the air force cannot be relied upon to win a battle. This was demonstrated by the recent war on Gaza, as most of the Air Force's fighters participated in it, which targeted Hamas and Palestinian factions' sites by launching hundreds of missiles that targeted Hamas and Palestinian factions." Their cost exceeded billions, but despite all that, Israel was unable to stop the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israeli areas.

He added: "For many years, we have been talking about the Air Force as a strategic arm. During that period, the rest of the army battalions, especially the land forces, were neglected and their situation worsened. Under these conditions, it is not possible to win a battle, and we cannot prevent the deaths only through the use of the Air Force." We are now paying a heavy price."

He said that the air force had miserably failed to stop the Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets.

He explained, "In a regional war in which several fronts are opened, Israel will be bombarded with thousands of missiles of different dimensions, some of which will be launched from hundreds of kilometers away, and the size of the air force cannot deal with such an attack, and even if it can attack and harm the enemy, it will not be able to stop the firing of missiles unless It happened in the war on Gaza.

"In such a war, Israel will continue to be targeted from everywhere, from the south, north and east on a daily basis, and thousands of rockets and bombs will be launched at civilian areas and strategic targets, much more destructive than Hamas's," he added.

No power for Israel

"Imagine. Unmanned suicide planes, missiles carrying hundreds of kilograms of warheads falling on our heads. The demolition and damage will be great and we will pay the price of thousands of lives and wounded. The launch of precision missiles will disrupt the air force also by bombing airports and control towers. Electricity and water desalination plants and oil and gas pipelines are bombed."

"Our enemies "Hamas, Iran and Hezbollah" have the ability to continue the war for long weeks because of their stockpiles of weapons, the number of missiles may exceed 250,000, but Israel does not have enough missiles to confront these missiles, especially surface-to-surface missiles."

He said, "The air force was unable to stop the Hamas rockets. What about the rockets that rain down on us from different directions?"

The Israeli military analyst added: "Iran and Hezbollah were closely following what happened between us and Hamas, and they understood that Israel has no ability to respond to the rockets. For such a war, Israel is not ready and I think it is not working for it seriously."