Al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, November 30
Last week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave an interview to The New York Times in which he called the Iranian supreme leader “the new Hitler of the Middle East.” A backlash quickly ensued, with many commentators accusing the prince of making a flawed, if not abhorrent, comparison. However, allow me to take a less popular stance and defend the point bin Salman was trying to make. In referring to Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei in this manner, the future Saudi leader was suggesting that Iran maintains an expansionist ideology that squashes everything standing in its way. Much like Adolf Hitler wanted to increase the size of Germany at the expense of its neighbors, so too Tehran seeks to take over portions of the Middle East. This adventurism has resulted in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of deaths, yet Khamenei has not shed a single tear. Committed to his own radical ideology, the Iranian supreme leader has continued guiding Iran on this path. The Islamic Republic’s involvement in Syria, for example, is simply indefensible, as the two countries do not share a single border! The reason for Iran’s involvement in the war is born out of a desire to increase its own power while capturing more land and resources. Tehran has often cited “security concerns” for its actions, just like Hitler did when taking over Poland and France. The mullahs, just like the leaders of Germany in the 1930s, are fascist and totalitarian. As such, Iran will not stop with Syria and Iraq. It will continue to spread into the Gulf, destroying everything along the way. Just as Hitler’s appetite was never satisfied, Iran’s thirst to expand will never be quenched. Iran and Nazi Germany have much in common—both have little regard for human life and are driven by a desire to control the world. – Abd al-Rahman al-Rashed
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