Petraeus: Israeli-Arab Peace Talks Could Undercut Iran Threat
Iran’s threatening posture in the Middle East could be undercut by a credible Israeli-Arab peace process, the U.S. military’s central commander said.
“The Iranian regime is the primary state-level threat to stability in the region,” Gen. David Petraeus said Tuesday in remarks prepared for testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The regime entrusts the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)-Qods Force to execute covert aspects of its foreign policy using political influence, covert businesses, lethal and non-lethal aid, and training to militants supportive of the regime’s agenda.”
This is especially true in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Gaza – the latter three neighboring Israel.
Moreover, the general said, “Iran’s nuclear program is a serious, destabilizing factor in the region and is widely believed to be a part of the regime’s broader effort to expand its influence.”
Iran’s influence could be limited by “a credible U.S. effort on Arab-Israeli issues that provides regional governments and populations a way to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the disputes,” Petraeus said. This “would undercut Iran’s policy of militant ‘resistance,’ which the Iranian regime and insurgent groups have been free to exploit. Additionally, progress on the Israel-Syria peace track could disrupt Iran’s lines of support to Hamas and Hezbollah.”
Elsewhere in his testimony, describing challenges to regional security and stability, Petraeus said, “The conflict foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of U.S. favoritism for Israel.
“Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of U.S. partnerships with governments and peoples,” he said, “and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world.”
The Central Command includes U.S. deployment in the Middle East.
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
