Frankly, there is a rapid proliferation of justifications for forming a joint Arab military force to impose a new reality against Iran, its proxies, Israel, and their ambitions alike. It is unreasonable to leave this region to the fluctuations of the American political mood, or hostage to the fate of the Iranian regime, which has turned into a militia that may take a long time to end.
The hotbeds of provocation have become clearer: the Houthis in Yemen, the Iraqi factions, and the Lebanese Hezbollah. What is being read today is that these militias are relying on themselves; Iran has been besieged for months and is suffering from economic distress due to the American blockade. This means we are facing a new phase of confronting Iran's arms that requires firmness from Arab countries.
Iran's arms are an internal Arab affair, and the declared Iranian narrative describes the behavior of these arms as decentralized and autonomous under the banner of "resisting" occupation. This definition gives any Arab coalition to cleanse the region legal legitimacy and an opportunity to restore countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and Palestine, and to stay Iran's hand from the region.
These arms are not concerned with liberating Palestine—this is proven by behavior, geography, and geopolitics—rather, they are concerned with controlling the countries in which they exist to serve the Iranian regime and nothing more.
The countries linked to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait do not have the luxury of waiting for the results of American actions, which clearly pursue its own interests. Therefore, we in Jordan today are facing a very dangerous situation that necessitates swift action, as the Jordanian economy will be severely affected if navigation in the Red Sea is disrupted.
What is clear until today is that Washington is not showing clear interest in Bab el-Mandeb, as indicated by Trump's recent statements when he revealed a line of communication with the Houthi group. The US president explicitly stated that the group asked him not to intervene, and indeed there are no signs of American intervention.
On the other hand, closing the mine of pretexts that Iran's arms provide to Israel must be done so that the countries of the region can seriously pursue the establishment of a Palestinian state. The political trend in Washington no longer rejects this idea as it did previously; rather, there are divisions within the Republican Party regarding it, not to mention the reaction of European countries against settlement and settler terrorism.
It is a historical moment, an intersection of circumstances, and an accumulation of dangers that Arab countries must capitalize on; otherwise, we will return to the position of the recipient once again, and then the catastrophe may happen, God forbid.
