Trita Parsi: Iran and Israel: Peace is possible

Translator: Abdiwahab Osman Reviewer: Jamal Omar

"Iran is Israel's best friend,

Iran waa saxibka qaaliga ee Israil

and we do not intend to change our position

ma anan qorshenne inan badalno boskena

in relation to Tehran."

xariirka ee Tehran

Believe it or not, this is a quote

rumayso ama ha rumeysan, tani waa midlaga sooxigtay

from an Israeli prime minister,

Raiisul wasaare Israil ah

but it's not Ben-Gurion or Golda Meir

laakin mahan Ben-Gurion ama Golda Meir

from the era of the Shah.

kasoo bilaaw xili taariqeedki Shah.

It's actually from Yitzhak Rabin.

Xaqiiqdii waa Yitzhak Rabin kaimaday.

The year is 1987.

sanadii 1987.

Ayatollah Khomeini is still alive,

Ayatollah Khomeuni weli waa noolyahay,

and much like Ahmadinejad today,

iyo kuwo kale badan sida Ahmadnijad maanta,

he's using the worst rhetoric against Israel.

wuxuu isticmaalayay hadal karsanan kadhanimada Israil

Yet, Rabin referred to Iran

welina, Rabin waxoo tixraacaya Iran

as a geostrategic friend.

si saxib ula noqoyo.

Today, when we hear the threats of war

Manta, markaynu maqalnay hanjabaada dagalka

and the high rhetoric,

iyo codkarsananta baxada leh

we're oftentimes led to believe

waxaynka kentay mararka qaar in aaminno

that this is yet another one of those unsolvable

inay sanadkani tahay midka mid ah xasilooni darada

Middle Eastern conflicts

ka taagan qilaafka Bariga dhexe

with roots as old as the region itself.

xididka lafaca ah gobalka qudhiisa

Nothing could be further from the truth,

waxba dheerad makunoqon karaan runta

and I hope today to show you why that is.

waxaane rajayna manta in idintuso sababta ay sidautahy

The relations between the Iranian and the Jewish people

xariirka udhaxeeya Iraaniyinta iyo dadka Yahuuda ah

throughout history has actually been quite positive,

Taariqdoo idil waxay ahayd mid ilaa xad macqul ah leh

starting in 539 B.C.,

kasoobilaaw 539 B.C.,

when King Cyrus the Great of Persia

marki boqor kuuros ee kuwanagsana Persia

liberated the Jewish people from their Babylonian captivity.

kaxuroobidii yahuuda kasoobilaw xabsi kabaxsashadii babyloniam.

A third of the Jewish population

sadax umeelood meel dadka yahuuda

stayed in Babylonia.

ee daganay Babylonia

They're today's Iraqi Jews.

waxay yihin manta Ciraaq yahuudooda

A third migrated to Persia.

saxad umeelood waxay uguuren Persia

They're today's Iranian Jews,

waxaa jiro manta yahuud Iraani ah

still 25,000 of them living in Iran,

wili 25,000 oo kamid ah waxay kunool yihin Iran

making them the largest Jewish community

ayagoo sameenaya bulshada ugu badan ee yahuuda

in the Middle East outside of Israel itself.

wadamada bariga dhaxe bananka Israail

And a third returned to historic Palestine,

sadax umeelod waxay kusoo rabteen dhulka taariqiga ee Falastin

did the second rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem,

miyey dhismeenti labad ee guriga waxlagu caabudo ee Jerusalem,

financed, incidentally, by Persian tax money.

maalgalin kadis ah ka socoto lacagta canshurta Persian

But even in modern times,

xataa waqtiyadii casriga

relations have been close at times.

xariirada waxay ahaayen kuwo isku soodhawanaya xiliyo

Rabin's statement was a reflection

dhambalka Rabin waxoo ahay mid milicsi leh

of decades of security and intelligence collaboration

labaatanka sano ee amaanka iyo sirdoonka iska kaashanayeen

between the two, which in turn

inta udhaxeeso labadooda , taaso ayana

was born out of perception of common threats.

kudhalatay aragtida hanjabaada cadiga

Both states feared the Soviet Union

labada wadan waxay kacabsadeen midowgi suufiyed

and strong Arab states such as Egypt and Iraq.

wadamada xogan ee Carabta sida masar iyo ciraq

And, in addition, the Israeli doctrine of the periphery,

intaa waxaa siidheer caqiidada israail ee geeska

the idea that Israel's security was best achieved

fikrada amaanka ee israail waxoo ahay mid an lagu gaari

by creating alliances with the non-Arab states

sameenta xulufada an Carabta ahayn

in the periphery of the region

gobolada geeska

in order to balance the Arab states in its vicinity.

si ay umiisaaman wadamada carabta ee nawaaxiga

Now, from the Shah's perspective, though,

hada, kaso bilaw aragtidi Shaah inkastoo

he wanted to keep this as secret as possible,

ow rabay in sir ahan ow kukeediyo ilaa inta owoodyo

so when Yitzhak Rabin, for instance,

marka yitzhak , tusaale ahan

traveled to Iran in the '70s,

waxoo udhoofay Iran 70meeyadi

he usually wore a wig

sida caadada ah waxoo xiran jiray buruko

so that no one would recognize him.

si cidna maysan garan karin asiga

The Iranians built a special tarmac

Iiraniyiinta waxay laami qaas ah kadhiseen

at the airport in Tehran, far away from the central terminal,

gigada diyaaridaha ee ehran meel kafok bartanahisa

so that no one would notice the large number

tooso cida aysan haleeli karin tirada badan

of Israeli planes shuttling between Tel Aviv and Tehran.

iska gooshmadki diyaaridaha Israail inta udhaxeysa tel aviv iyo tehran

Now, did all of this end with the Islamic revolution

hada, waxaas dhamantot miyey kudhamaaday kacaanki islamka

in 1979?

ee 1979?

In spite of the very clear anti-Israeli ideology

caqaradii xumeed ee fikrada Israail looga soohorjeeday

of the new regime, the geopolitical logic

ee xukunka cusub ee macquulka galka ahay

for their collaboration lived on,

ee xariirkooda siisoconayay,

because they still had common threats.

maxaa yeelayay wili waxay is wiidarsanayen hajabadyo

And when Iraq invaded Iran in 1980,

markii ciraq ay soosartay Iran 1980ki

Israel feared an Iraqi victory

israail waxay kacabsatay gusha ciraq

and actively helped Iran by selling it arms

iyo firfircoonida ay ucawineyso iran kagaditaanka gacan

and providing it with spare parts

iyo kushartitaanta dayactirka

for Iran's American weaponry

iran ameerikan ka qubkooda

at a moment when Iran was very vulnerable

xiligaasne iran waxay ahayd mid si sahla looweerari karo

because of an American arms embargo

maxaa yeelay ameericanka aya cuno qabateyay

that Israel was more than happy to violate.

taaso israail ugu faraxsaneed in sharciga jabiso

In fact, back in the 1980s,

xaqiidi , hadii dibloogu noqdo 1980ki

it was Israel that lobbied Washington

israail ayey ahayd cida soogashay Washington

to talk to Iran, to sell arms to Iran,

si ula hadasho iran kana iibiso gacn iran

and not pay attention to Iran's anti-Israeli ideology.

mahan soojiido iran fikrada israail kaga soohorjeedo

And this, of course, climaxed

tanni dabcan waa xiiso leh

in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s.

kasoohorjeedki fadeexada iran 1980ki

But with the end of the Cold War

dhamadkii dagalki qabooba

came also the end of the Israeli-Iranian cold peace.

sidoo kale waxoo noqday nabdii qaboobed ee israail iyo iran

Suddenly, the two common threats

sikadis ah , labada hanjabaat ee caadiga

that had pushed them closer together throughout decades,

aya aad iskuugu soodhawaweysay ayga , sikastaba waxay kuansadeen

more or less evaporated.

uumi bixid yar ama badan

The Soviet Union collapsed,

midowgii suufiyeed waa dhacay

Iraq was defeated,

ciraq ne waalaga awoodbadshay

and a new environment was created in the region

dagaalka cusub waxaa lagu dhisay gobalka

in which both of them felt more secure,

kaaso labadooda ay kadareemin amaan

but they were also now left unchecked.

sidoo kale waxay ahaayen kuwo an hubesnen

Without Iraq balancing Iran,

ayadoon ciraaq kabaynin iran

Iran could now become a threat,

iran hada waxay noqon kartaa hada hanjabat

some in Israel argued.

meelaha israail ay kumurmeen

In fact, the current dynamic

xaqiiqdi, fiir fircoonida

that you see between Iran and Israel

kaaga muuqato iran iyo israail

has its roots more so

waxay leedahay xiddo dheer

in the geopolitical reconfiguration of the region

ee siyaasada farsameesan ee gobalka

after the Cold War

dagaalki qabobay kadib

than in the events of 1979,

kabadan dhacdooyinki 1979ki

because at this point, Iran and Israel

maxaayelay markan iran iyo israaila

emerge as two of the most powerful states in the region,

waxay kusoo baxayn labo wadan ugu aqooda badal gobalka

and rather than viewing each other

tasoo doorbidaysa in midba midka kale fiirsado

as potential security partners,

sida usuurto galiso amanka is iska kashadan

they increasingly came to view each other

waxay dardargaliyen muuqaalkooda

as rivals and competitors.

si utartamaan tartanno

So Israel, who in the 1980s

sida darteet israil ,taaso 1980

lobbied for and improved U.S.-Iran relations

gashay si ucadeyso qaranada midoob xariirkooda iran

now feared a U.S.-Iran rapprochement,

hada waxay kacabsi qabtaa xarrirka wanaagsana ee maraykanka-iran

thinking that it would come

ayagoo kafakiraaya taas in noqon donta

at Israel's security interests' expense,

amaanka israail xiisentisa qaaliga

and instead sought to put Iran

iyo badalka ay raadin lahaayen in iran

in increased isolation.

ay ku gordhiyaan go'doomin.

Ironically, this was happening at a time

waxaa xusid mudan, waxaani waxay dhacen waqti

when Iran was more interested

marka iraan ad uxiisayneesay

in peacemaking with Washington

nabad lasameenta Washington

than to see to Israel's destruction.

inkabada inta arki lahayd israail oo burbursan

Iran had put itself in isolation

iran waxay is galisay go'doon

because of its radicalism,

sababtoo ah waxay ahayd mid qiireysan

and after having helped the United States indirectly

kadib kaalmo kahelidii ameerikanka an tooska ahayn

in the war against Iraq in 1991,

inta lagu guda jiray dagalki kaga soohorjeday ciraq 1991

the Iranians were hoping

iraaniyinta waxay rajeynaayen

that they would be rewarded by being included

in laga amaal marindoono kusoodaritanka lagu soodaray

in the post-war security architecture of the region.

cidaanka nabad sugida ee gobolka

But Washington chose to ignore Iran's outreach,

laakin Washington waxay dooratay in iska dhaga tirto iran caawideda

as it would a decade later in Afghanistan,

si ay dib ugu go aansato in afgaanistan

and instead moved to intensify Iran's isolation,

iyo badalka raritanka si ay uxoojinso go'doominta iiran

and it is at this point, around 1993, '94,

xaligaan lajoogane, agagaarka 1993,'94.

that Iran begins to translate

in iiran bilawday badalitanka

its anti-Israeli ideology

fikradeedi israail kadhanta ahayd

into operational policy.

una badasho siyaasad howlgaleed

The Iranians believed that whatever they did,

iraaniyinta waxay aaminsanaayen waxkasto ay sameeyen

even if they moderated their policies,

xataa hadii ay dhaxdhaxaad kanoqdan siyaasadooda

the U.S. would continue to seek Iran's isolation,

umeerikan waxay siiwadi lahaayen kadalbashada go'doominta iran

and the only way Iran could compel Washington

wadada kaliyahna ufuran ay ku qasbi karaan Washington

to change its position was by imposing a cost

inay badalaan booskoda wayneenaya qiimaha

on the U.S. if it didn't.

ameerika . hadii aysan noqon

The easiest target was the peace process,

tan ugu fudud oo labartilmaamedsanayay waxay ahayd habka nabada

and now the Iranian ideological bark

hadane iiraniyiinta fikradooda qaylada

was to be accompanied by a nonconventional bite,

waxay ahayd in lasocoto qaniinyada an caadiga ahayn ,

and Iran began supporting extensively

iran waxay bilowday taageerida marwalbo

Palestinian Islamist groups that it previously

kooxaha islaamiyinta ee falastiin kuwasoo horay

had shunned.

neceb kala dhaxeeyay.

In some ways, this sounds paradoxical,

siyaaboyinka qar. waxay u egtahay kuwa is burinaya

but according to Martin Indyk

laakin marka loofiiriyo martin indyk

of the Clinton administration,

oo kamid ah maamulka clinton

the Iranians had not gotten it entirely wrong,

iraaniyintan dhamaantot maysan uqaadan qalad,

because the more peace there would be

maxaa yeelay nabada badan ee halkas kajirto ayaa waxay noqon lahayd

between Israel and Palestine,

mid udhaxeysa israail iyo falastin,

the U.S. believed, the more Iran would get isolated.

ameerika waxay aaminsanayen inta badan la go'doomiyo iran

The more Iran got isolated, the more peace there would be.

inta badan iran go'doonto, waa nabada badan ee kadhalan karto

So according to Indyk, and these are his words,

sidaa darteet marka loofiiriyo indyk, waxa waayay erayadiisa

the Iranians had an interest to do us in

iraaniyinta waxay daneynaayen inan usameeno

on the peace process

qaab nabadeedka

in order to defeat our policy of containment.

si ay ujabiyan siyaasadeena kooban

To defeat our policy of containment,

in lajabiyo siyaasadayna kooban

not about ideology.

maahan mid fikrad kusabsan

But throughout even the worst times of their entanglement,

laakin sikastaba ay ahaato xataa waqtiyadii ugu xumay ee murgidoona

all sides have reached out to each other.

labada dhinac way iskaagen

Netanyahu, when he got elected in 1996,

netanyahu, markii loocodeeyay sanadii 1996

reached out to the Iranians to see

waxoo garsiiyay iiraniyinta inoo tuso

if there were any ways that

hadii ay jirto wado un taas

the doctrine of the periphery could be resurrected.

oo caqiidada deeganka loosobixin karo

Tehran was not interested.

tehran maysan daneenen

A few years later, the Iranians sent

sanado kobadan kadib, iraaniyinta waxay direen

a comprehensive negotiation proposal to the Bush administration,

gorgortan dhamestiran jeeditanka in maamulka bush

a proposal that revealed that there was some potential

soo jiito shaac kaqaadita in jiraan waxyaalo dhici karan

of getting Iran and Israel back on terms again.

sida iran iyo israil in dib ugu raabtan sharuudo markale .

The Bush administration did not even respond.

maamulka bish kama owsan jawaabin xata

All sides have never missed an opportunity

labada dhinac waligood maysan dhaafin fursad

to miss an opportunity.

ay kudhaafan fursad

But this is not an ancient conflict.

laakin kan mahan khilaf gabobay.

This is not even an ideological conflict.

kan xata mahan khilaaf fikradeed

The ebbs and flows of hostility

dareemaha iyo caawada raacsan

have not shifted with ideological zeal,

maysan badalin fikradi xiisahabadned,

but rather with changes in the geopolitical landscape.

laakin dorbidida isbadalka leh ee siyaasada gobalka

When Iran and Israel's security imperatives

marka baahida amaanka ee israail iyo iran

dictated collaboration, they did so

Taasna ay iska wadakaashaqeen, waay samyen sidaa

in spite of lethal ideological opposition to each other.

inkastoo oo ay mucaaradka fikradooda halis midba bida kal kutahay

When Iran's ideological impulses collided

marka fikrada israil sidag dag ah iskuugu dhacn

with its strategic interests,

si ay kujirto dano istaraatiijiyadeed

the strategic interests always prevailed.

danaha istaraatiijiyadeed marwalba waa ka adkaa.

This is good news, because it means

kani waa akhbaar wanagsan , maxaa ylay waxay kadhigantahay

that neither war nor enmity

in midkoodna colaad kala dhaxen

is a foregone conclusion.

waa midhor oo gababsi ah

But some want war.

laakin qarkod waxay raban dagal

Some believe or say that it's 1938,

qaar aya aminsan ama dhaho 1939

Iran is Germany,

iran waa jarmal

and Ahmadinejad is Hitler.

axmad najadn waa hitler

If we accept this to be true,

hadii aynu aqbalno tan in run tahay

that indeed it is 1938, Iran is Germany,

taas xaqiiqda waxay tahay1938, iran in jarmal tahy

Ahmadinejad is Hitler,

axmad najadna in hitlr yahy

then the question we have to ask ourself is,

suaalaha mudan in iswaydiino waa

who wishes to play the role of Neville Chamberlain?

Yaa rajaynaayay in cayaaro doorka Nevilla chamberlain?

Who will risk peace?

Yaa Khatar ugalaa nabad?

This is an analogy that is deliberately aimed

Tani waa cilmi Taas oo si ulakacah loogu talagay

at eliminating diplomacy,

baabi'itanka dibloomaciyad

and when you eliminate diplomacy,

markaad suulisidna dibloomasiyada

you make war inevitable.

waxaad kusameysa dagaal an qarsamen

In an ideological conflict, there can be no truce,

fikrad is khilafsan, wax heshiis xabad joojin ah majirayan

no draw, no compromise,

majiran wax dhaxdhaxaad ah

only victory or defeat.

waxa kaliyah oojiro waa guul ama khasaro

But rather than making war inevitable

laakin waxay kadoor bideen sameenta dagaal an qarsoomen

by viewing this as ideological,

ufiiritanka midaan fikrad ahan

we would be wise to seek ways

waxaan kudhiiran lahayn in siyaabo kale usameyno

to make peace possible.

ay an nabada macquul ugu dhigno

Iran and Israel's conflict is a new phenomenon,

iran iyo israil khilafkooda waa layaab cusub

only a few decades old

waxyar ayaa goansaday dhalin

in a history of 2,500 years,

taarikhda 2,500 san0

and precisely because its roots are geopolitical,

sida saxda ah sababtoo ah salakeeda waa siyaasad

it means that solutions can be found,

waxayna kadhigan taas in xalkeda lahli karo

compromises can be struck,

dhaxdhaxaadiska waxay noqon kartaa shaqo kafadhiisasho

however difficult it yet may be.

sikasta ay u adagtahy wili way noqonosa

After all, it was Yitzhak Rabin himself who said,

waxaas oo dhan waxay ahaayen yitzhak rabin waxoo nasfad ahantiisa dhahay

"You don't make peace with your friends.

"saaxiibada nabad lama sameysid

You make it with your enemies."

waxaa lasameysaa nabad cadowgaaga."

Thank you.

Mahadsanid .

(Applause)

(sacbis)