Transcript [00:00] Hey everyone, I want to show you [00:01] something today that I think is [00:03] genuinely important to properly [00:05] understand the Middle East. And the clip [00:08] I'm going to show you was important not [00:09] just because of what is said, but [00:11] because of who is saying it and where [00:13] they're saying it. This is an interview [00:16] that aired on ABC News. Jonathan Karl [00:18] interviews Reem Al Hashimi. She is the [00:21] United Arab Emirates Minister of State [00:25] for international cooperation. That's a [00:27] cabinet level position and she's [00:28] speaking on American mainstream [00:30] television. [00:32] That's American mainstream media, the [00:34] kind of outlet that usually would [00:37] would look at the Middle East through [00:38] the lens of Israeli aggression or [00:41] Palestinian suffering or something like [00:43] that. [00:45] Um but here you have a senior official [00:47] from a Muslim Arab Gulf state explaining [00:50] in plain English the problem with Iran, [00:53] not just for Israel, not just for the [00:56] United States, but for the entire region [00:58] with a clarity and confidence that I [01:00] find remarkable. So let's watch this. [01:02] It's about 6 minutes. Pay close [01:04] attention because after the clip I want [01:06] to break down several things that she [01:09] says that are enormously significant [01:12] including uh some [01:15] including a few things that she says [01:17] that that point to uh what Americans and [01:21] Westerners, I should say, miss about [01:24] their understanding of all of these [01:26] Muslim states. Okay, very important [01:28] stuff. [01:29] >> Now to our next guest. The United Arab [01:31] Emirates has taken more direct attacks [01:33] from Iran than any other country [01:35] including Israel in the last 70 weeks of [01:38] war. Joining us now is the UAE's [01:40] Minister of State for international [01:42] cooperation, Reem Al Hashimi. Thank you [01:44] so much uh Madam Secretary for being [01:46] here. [01:47] Um [01:48] So [01:49] I I want to get to that point. You have [01:51] been attacked by Iran more than any [01:54] other country. We put together the [01:56] numbers here. [01:58] Um this is from the uh uh the Gulf [02:01] Research Center and it shows Look at the [02:03] numbers. Uh I mean you know that well. [02:05] You have been attacked more than Israel. [02:07] More than Saudi Arabia. Why has Iran [02:10] aimed so much firepower at the UAE? [02:14] Thank you very much John for having me. [02:16] Well, in 40 days we were attacked a [02:19] little over 2,800 with 2,800 missiles [02:22] and drones. [02:23] And [clears throat] for us it's very [02:25] clear that they chose it to go down this [02:28] path because we are everything that [02:29] they're not. We're a model of economic [02:32] prosperity. We have 200 nationalities [02:34] that live there. We have religions and [02:37] cultures from all around the world. We [02:39] used our oil wealth to build an economic [02:42] powerhouse. They used their wealth for [02:45] nuclear programs that are nefarious for [02:48] missiles, drones, proxies, etc. So [02:51] whereas we tried to become and have [02:54] become an international global [02:56] responsible player, they are pariah [02:58] states and they wanted to break our [03:01] model, but they underestimated our [03:03] resolve. So how can we be certain that [03:06] at the end of this process, even if [03:08] there is a deal, that Iran will retain [03:11] the power to continue once again to [03:14] attack the UAE? So we're very hesitant [03:17] because we believe that it's really [03:19] important that as part of the [03:21] neighborhood that one is in, that you [03:24] have neighbors that don't just launch [03:27] these types of weapons against fellow [03:29] neighbors. I don't know if you're aware, [03:31] John, but over 90% of all of their [03:34] targets was actually civilian [03:36] infrastructure. So you're saying they're [03:37] after US bases or US facilities? [03:40] >> No, no, no. And not even the US bases [03:43] where nothing was actually targeted from [03:45] the US bases, right? So they really [03:46] wanted to break what it was that made [03:49] the UAE special, which is this [03:51] incredible model of prosperity and then [03:53] a tolerance. Now what we're looking at [03:56] moving forward is how do you live with [03:58] the reality of geography in a [04:00] neighborhood that still holds it upholds [04:04] not just international law, but also how [04:06] are we going to be able to deal with a [04:08] team uh in the IRGC that doesn't have [04:12] such hostile intentions towards us? So [04:14] what do you make of the process for [04:16] these talks with Iran about? Do you [04:17] think there's going to be a deal? Do you [04:19] think it's [04:19] >> Well, eventually there's going to have [04:21] to be one, but it has to be a good deal, [04:23] right? Because there's no point in [04:25] kicking the can down the road when we're [04:27] just going to end up where we started [04:29] maybe even with a more emboldened regime [04:32] that wants to continue to threaten its [04:33] neighborhood. So for our perspective, we [04:36] do want to have peace in our region, but [04:38] it can't be a bad peace. It can't be a [04:41] peace where it doesn't address the root [04:43] causes, which is Iran dealing with [04:45] proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas and [04:48] Houthis, having a nefarious missile and [04:51] drone program, a nuclear enrichment [04:53] program, being able to recognize the [04:56] straits. I mean that I think is a really [04:58] serious [04:59] um [05:00] tool that the Iranians have taken [05:02] forward, which is to hurt cities from [05:05] Des Moines to Delhi uh in spiking up [05:08] fuel prices, in spiking up food prices. [05:11] They don't have the right to do that. [05:13] And that's why what the president has [05:14] put forward, which is to not allow that [05:17] to take over the straits, is actually [05:20] really important moving forward. And you [05:22] I mean that they're your neighbors. Are [05:24] you a hawk in this war in the beginning? [05:26] You you wanted a negotiated agreement in [05:28] the beginning. [05:30] Do you think that the Iranians, as the [05:32] regime now says, can be trusted to keep [05:35] commitments even if they come to another [05:37] agreement? Look, trust is earned, right? [05:41] Uh what we've seen so far has been an [05:43] appeal demonstration of a law of [05:45] possibility. So the onus is really on [05:47] them to demonstrate that they are not [05:50] going to be going forward in a way that [05:52] the trajectory has been so far. But [05:54] trust is earned, John, and we are we are [05:57] not fools. We've seen them even even [06:00] before February 28th when this started, [06:02] a couple of weeks before it, one of our [06:04] senior ministers was in Tehran talking [06:06] through how are we going to be able to [06:08] deal with, as I said, the realities of [06:10] geography. [06:12] Uh right now we're going to have to [06:14] really step up in a significant way for [06:16] us to be able to believe what they say [06:17] again. President Trump has said that [06:19] there has been regime change in Iran. I [06:22] mean obviously it's the leaders still [06:25] lobby. Other leaders are still. [06:27] You don't think we can regime change [06:28] Iran? [06:29] >> I know personalities have changed, [06:31] right? You have different characters [06:32] that are currently in place. But how [06:34] does that change the character of the [06:36] revolutionary guard? That's yet to see. [06:38] Doesn't seem very hopeful though right [06:40] now. [06:41] And let me ask you also about this [06:44] threat that he's made to take out every [06:46] bridge, every power plant if there isn't [06:48] an agreement. [06:49] Are you concerned about that? [06:51] We believe that maximum pressure is what [06:54] actually takes you forward dealing with [06:56] the revolutionary guard. Whether it's [06:59] military, whether it's economic [07:01] pressure, which is why that piece is [07:02] going to be critical now that they [07:04] weaponized the straits, the tolling of [07:07] vessels, the fact that they are able to [07:10] have another avenue for [07:13] revenue source. Those are all things [07:14] that need to be tackled. Although I [07:16] think you don't want to hurt the Iranian [07:18] people. That's very important to [07:19] mention. But at the same time it's the [07:21] revolutionary guard that has taken [07:23] forward a military stance and a posture [07:26] not against the US and Israel alone, but [07:29] against the very neighborhood that they [07:30] operate in through the Gulf states. All [07:32] right, [07:33] uh Madam Minister, I thank you very much [07:35] for being here. [07:38] All right, there we go. [07:41] Let's take this down. [07:45] Okay. [07:47] So let's first talk about Let's talk [07:49] about what we just heard here. First, [07:51] her opening answer. [07:53] Iran attacked the UAE more than anyone [07:56] else. Did you see those numbers? More [07:58] than twice the number of drones and [08:01] missiles fired at Israel were fired at [08:03] the UAE. [08:05] I I don't think people have their heads [08:06] around this. They think of this so much [08:08] as Iran attacking Israel. And yeah, I I [08:10] spent a lot of time in bomb shelters. My [08:12] family did. [08:14] More than twice more than twice the [08:17] amount of missiles and drones were fired [08:19] at the UAE than Israel. [08:21] Because in her words, quote, we are [08:25] everything they're not. I want to think [08:27] about that for a moment because it's not [08:29] just a good line. [08:31] It's [08:32] it's actually kind of a a thesis for the [08:35] trajectory both politically and [08:37] culturally that the UAE is on currently. [08:40] She's saying that the UAE model with 200 [08:42] nationalities, with religious [08:44] coexistence, with oil wealth invested in [08:47] building rather than destroying is [08:49] itself a threat to the Iranian regime's [08:52] ideology. They attack us because we're [08:53] everything they are not. [08:55] Iran didn't attack the UAE primarily [08:57] because of military targets. Over 90% of [09:00] the targets, she said, were civilian [09:03] infrastructure. They were attacking [09:04] hotels. [09:05] They were trying to break the UAE. [09:08] They were trying to say to the world, [09:10] prosperity, tolerance, Western [09:13] alignment, moderating Islam, all of this [09:16] in a in a Muslim country cannot stand. [09:20] They despise the UAE. They see the UAE [09:22] as a major threat. [09:25] And here's why that matters for [09:26] understanding the the bigger picture. I [09:28] I've talked on this channel before about [09:31] how the UAE [09:32] is fundamentally different from [09:36] from the other from the other Sunni Arab [09:39] states in the area. [09:41] Okay, it's not Saudi Arabia, a smaller [09:44] Saudi Arabia. We we tend to think of the [09:46] UAE and Saudi Arabia as part of the same [09:48] group [09:50] of states, but it's not exactly right. [09:52] We'll get to that more in a bit. But the [09:54] UAE has made a genuine civilizational [09:57] choice. And Iran's attack [09:59] on the UAE, it's it's over 2,800 attacks [10:02] on the UAE were a direct response to [10:05] that choice. Iran wasn't firing [10:07] thousands and of missiles and drones at [10:09] the UAE because of a military [10:11] provocation. [10:13] They were firing at it because its [10:14] existence is a reputation of the Iranian [10:17] model. That's what she meant when she [10:19] said, "We're everything they're not." [10:21] Second, notice what she says about a [10:23] deal. This was huge. She says, quote, [10:26] "Eventually there's going to have to be [10:27] one, [10:28] but it has to be a good deal." And then [10:31] she lists what that means. It has to [10:33] address the proxies, and she mentions by [10:35] name Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis. It [10:38] has to address the missile and drone [10:40] program. It has to address nuclear [10:41] enrichment. And it has to address the [10:43] weaponization of the Strait of Hormuz. [10:46] What she just laid out is basically the [10:48] Israeli position, almost word for word. [10:51] And here you have a senior UAE cabinet [10:54] minister saying it on ABC News. This is [10:57] huge because for years the Western [10:59] framework for an Iran deal was always [11:01] focused on the nuclear. [11:03] People think that's what this war is [11:04] about. The Iranians wanted to keep it [11:06] nuclear only. And here's the UAE, a [11:09] country that was publicly calling for [11:11] de-escalation for before the conflict. [11:13] They didn't want there to be a war, now [11:15] saying, "No, [11:16] dealing with the nuclear alone is not [11:18] enough. Missiles are at center stage. [11:21] Proxies, [11:23] dealing with the proxy issue is at [11:24] center stage. It's all on the table." [11:28] That's a massive That was a massive [11:30] statement from her. Third, and this is [11:32] the thing I really want you to notice. [11:34] Her answer on the question of regime [11:36] change. When he asked her, you know, [11:38] Trump says there's been regime change [11:39] cuz it's different people, has there [11:41] been regime change? [11:45] Now, [11:46] her answer is precise, [11:50] but it's also very revealing. She says, [11:53] "Personalities have changed, but has the [11:56] character of the Revolutionary Guard [11:58] changed? That's yet to be seen." She's [12:01] drawing a distinction that almost no [12:04] Western analyst makes carefully enough. [12:06] The question isn't who's formally in [12:08] charge. Oh, these are different people. [12:10] These aren't the same people. That's not [12:13] regime change. The question is whether [12:15] the IRGC, the Revolutionary Guard, has [12:17] changed because the IRGC is the Iranian [12:21] regime. It controls the missiles. It [12:22] runs the proxies. It manages the nuclear [12:24] program. Swapping out the people at the [12:27] top [12:28] for another doesn't mean anything. [12:32] If the IRGC's character, mission, and [12:34] command structure, personnel are there, [12:37] and that's who you're dealing with, and [12:38] that's who is still there. This is [12:41] exactly the danger of a premature deal. [12:44] You get a new face. The West declares [12:46] victory. They say, you know, Trump says, [12:48] "This is regime change. We accomplished [12:49] regime change. It's a new regime." The [12:51] sanctions come off, [12:53] and 6 months later the IRGC is [12:55] rebuilding, rearming, or 6 months later, [12:57] or 6 years later, [12:58] and targeting the UAE again, suppressing [13:00] their people. [13:04] She knows this. [13:05] She's in the neighborhood. [13:07] And she's saying it as clearly as she [13:09] can without [13:12] burning too many bridges diplomatically [13:13] cuz she's really criticizing Trump here. [13:16] All right, for saying, "Oh, it's been [13:17] regime change." No, it has not. [13:22] Okay, fourth point. She brings up the [13:24] issue of maximum pressure. [13:27] All right, she explicitly endorses [13:29] maximum pressure. He asked about bombing [13:31] bridges and civilian infrastructure, and [13:33] she kind of agreed that it would be a [13:35] good thing without saying that [13:37] explicitly. She just said that she [13:38] endorses maximum pressure, both military [13:41] and economic. She mentions [13:43] the weapons the weaponization of the [13:45] Strait of Hormuz by Iran as a critical [13:48] piece that needs to be tackled. And she [13:49] says that we don't want to hurt the [13:50] Iranian people, [13:52] and she means it because the UAE has [13:54] consistently distinguished between the [13:56] Iranian regime and the Iranian people. [13:58] The UAE [13:59] has a significant Iranian diaspora [14:01] living there. [14:03] Iranian money has flowed through Dubai [14:05] for decades. The UAE knows the Iranian [14:08] people are victims of the regime. [14:10] But she makes it clear, [14:12] maximum pressure on the IRGC is the path [14:15] forward, not a rushed deal, not a [14:17] premature deal, [14:19] not a deal that in her words kicks the [14:21] can down the road. This is amazing to [14:24] hear from from a [14:26] from a minister from a cabinet minister [14:29] in [14:30] a Gulf state, in a Muslim state in the [14:33] Gulf. [14:36] Okay, now let's pull back the camera. I [14:37] want to give you some big picture. I [14:38] talked about the Saudis earlier. [14:41] Um and that's going to come up here. [14:45] This woman is a Muslim Arab government [14:48] minister. [14:49] She's sitting on American television, [14:51] and she's making more or less the case [14:53] that Israel and the United States have [14:54] been making about Iran for 20 years. [14:58] Okay, and there's no hedging in this [14:59] interview. You see that. [15:01] Usually we get this kind of like sort of [15:03] hedged talk out of these out of these [15:05] Arab states. [15:07] But this was not hedged at all. [15:11] And when you listen to her talk, you can [15:14] get a picture of what the Abraham [15:15] Accords were always pointing toward. [15:19] The Abraham Accords were not just a [15:20] piece of paper. They were a convergence [15:22] of interest and worldview [15:24] between the Israel, the United States, [15:26] and a few Arab states that have chosen [15:29] modernity and Western alignment over is [15:33] over Islamic ideology and Iranian-backed [15:36] chaos. [15:38] And here's the key. [15:40] This is why I made the video really, is [15:42] for this point. [15:43] The UAE and Saudi Arabia are not in the [15:47] same camp. [15:49] They align on many things, and [15:51] geopolitically they operate [15:53] uh in cooperation a fair amount. We see [15:56] that a lot, and we talk about them as a [15:58] unit or as a or as partners, [16:01] but the UAE and Saudi Arabia are very [16:03] different, and and we see this we see [16:05] this even in some very hot political [16:07] situations, like for example in Yemen, [16:10] the militias that they the factions that [16:12] they back in the Yemeni civil war are [16:15] different factions. They're on opposite [16:17] sides of this. [16:19] Because the Saudis are backing a Muslim [16:20] Brotherhood-aligned faction, [16:23] and the UAE is backing a secular [16:26] faction that wants Yemen to be a secular [16:29] democratic state. [16:32] So, this is a contrast that's worth [16:33] spelling out [16:35] because [16:36] because Western media lumps Saudi Arabia [16:39] and UAE together. So, I want to drill [16:41] down on it a bit more. [16:43] Saudi Arabia has been playing both [16:45] sides, [16:47] publicly condemning Iran while privately [16:49] maneuvering to protect the regime from [16:51] being toppled at times. [16:53] Um [16:55] They would We saw a report yesterday [16:57] that the Iranian foreign minister had a [17:00] talk with his counterpart in Saudi [17:01] Arabia. [17:02] The Saudis are throughout the years, not [17:06] only on the Iran issue, on many issues. [17:08] They're constantly switching sides, [17:10] playing both sides. [17:12] And they're particularly worried. I [17:14] believe they are particularly worried [17:16] about the Iranian regime falling. [17:19] Because a free and pro-Western Iran [17:22] would undermine Saudi Arabia's own [17:24] strategic position. The Saudis know that [17:26] if Iran becomes a pro-Western democracy [17:29] that has open trade relations and [17:31] cooperation with the West, with their [17:34] highly educated uh [17:38] more cosmopolitan population, which Iran [17:40] has, a more secular, more pro-Western, [17:43] more educated population, certainly than [17:45] Saudi Arabia, [17:47] and if that and and it's the only [17:49] country in the region that in terms of [17:51] geographical size rivals Saudi Arabia, [17:56] so their own strategic importance [17:58] to the West would diminish I mean, [18:02] diminish is an understatement. It would [18:03] collapse almost overnight. [18:06] So, [18:07] I believe that the Saudis want the [18:09] Iranian regime weakened, but they are [18:11] terrified of the Iranian regime going [18:13] away completely. [18:15] The UAE has no such conflict of [18:17] interest. The UAE wants this situation [18:19] resolved. They would love to see the [18:21] regime gone permanently. [18:23] They're willing to say so out loud on [18:25] ABC News. But the differences go deeper [18:28] than Iran policy. [18:30] I mentioned the Yemen situation before, [18:32] but there's more to it. Saudi Arabia [18:35] talks a moderate game. We So, we think [18:38] of them as one of the moderate Muslim [18:39] states. They talk about being [18:40] pro-Western. [18:42] But Saudi Arabia remains one of the [18:44] worst countries in the world when it [18:45] comes to persecution of Christians. [18:47] That's according to Open Doors [18:48] International, a Christian organization [18:50] that monitors persecution of Christians. [18:52] Saudi Arabia outlaws churches. [18:55] It outlawed It outlaws It outlaws any [18:59] public practice of any non-Muslim faith. [19:02] And and more and more. I mean, they [19:04] really persecute the Christian [19:05] population there. They're one of the [19:06] worst. [19:08] And that tells you something fundamental [19:10] about the character of Saudi Arabia and [19:12] where its real commitments lie. The UAE, [19:14] by contrast, is genuinely [19:16] multi-religious. [19:18] The minister just told you, 200 [19:19] nationalities, religions, and cultures [19:21] from around the world, and it's not just [19:22] a PR line. This is real. There are [19:24] functioning churches in Abu Dhabi. The [19:26] government built a an interfaith [19:30] uh campus with a with a synagogue, a [19:33] mosque, and a church. [19:35] There's a Hindu temple there. There's a [19:37] Right? You have Jews go there [19:39] comfortably and and and and worship. [19:42] That reality is inconceivable in Saudi [19:44] Arabia. And then there's the Muslim [19:46] Brotherhood issue. Right? Both the UAE [19:48] and Saudi Arabia have formally formally [19:51] banned the Muslim Brotherhood, but the [19:53] UAE's opposition is is is consistent and [19:57] it's deep. They're opposed to them. They [19:59] oppose all of their [20:00] all of their branches around the world. [20:03] They they work against them worldwide. I [20:06] just mentioned the Yemen situation. [20:09] The UAE nearly went to war with Qatar [20:11] over Qatar's support for the Muslim [20:13] Brotherhood. For the UAE, this isn't a [20:15] political calculation. Right? It it it [20:18] it goes beyond politics. It's a [20:20] long-term comprehensive strategic vision [20:23] for where they want to be as a society. [20:26] It's an existential rejection of the [20:28] ideology [20:30] of the Muslim Brotherhood, the ideology [20:32] that produced Hamas, Al-Qaeda, ISIS. [20:35] Saudi Arabia's relationship with that [20:37] same ideological tradition is far more [20:39] complicated. They don't want the Muslim [20:41] Brotherhood undermining their regime, [20:44] but [20:45] they're steeped in the Wahhabi [20:47] tradition, which is quite radical, and [20:49] they [20:50] and and they like I said, they persecute [20:54] uh other religions, and it's it's much [20:56] more of a of a of a pragmatic banning of [21:00] the Muslim Brotherhood than an [21:01] ideologically committed one. [21:03] So, when you watch this minister from [21:05] the UAE speak [21:07] in this interview, understand that she's [21:08] not just a diplomat delivering talking [21:11] points. She's She's sharing with us. [21:13] She's representing [21:15] a a state that has made genuine [21:18] civilizational choices and is actually a [21:21] price for it in the form of thousands of [21:24] missiles and drones. [21:27] Now, one more thing. She mentioned that [21:30] a senior UAE minister was in Tehran [21:33] shortly before the war broke out talking [21:36] through how to manage, quote, the [21:38] realities of geography. [21:41] The UAE tried diplomacy here. They tried [21:44] engagement with the regime. And then [21:46] Iran fired thousands of missiles and [21:49] drones at them anyway. [21:51] So, when she says, "Trust is earned. [21:53] We're not fools." [21:55] It's not diplomatic language only. It's [21:57] It's uh [21:59] it's reflective of [22:00] a of a government [22:02] a state that did everything right, [22:05] and they still got attacked. [22:07] And now they are apparently done [22:09] pretending that the IRGC is a manageable [22:12] neighbor. That's the message that she [22:14] shared, and it deserves to be heard. [22:17] Um I hope you found this this video [22:19] interesting and helpful. [22:20] Please make sure to like and subscribe [22:23] and do all that stuff. Please go into [22:24] the description of this video, and and [22:27] make sure that you're subscribed to the [22:29] Israel 365 News Channel that's linked [22:31] there, and also subscribe to our [22:33] newsletters. There's a link to subscribe [22:34] to the newsletters so you stay up to [22:36] date and informed [22:37] on everything that we are doing. [22:40] All right, thanks for watching. [22:41] God bless.
