Germany will be Israel's diplomatic proxy in Muslim countries

There are reasons why most Muslim countries do not want relations with Israel. Germany, it seems, doesn't understand this.

German newspaper Der Spiegel reports that under an agreement the Germans will represent Israeli diplomatic and consular relations in countries where Israel has no embassy.

Notably, Germany will be at Israel's service in Indonesia and Malaysia.

It's no secret that Israel has created significant direct presence in some Southeast Asian countries, but in Muslim countries public opinion doesn't allow this.

In Arab states, Israel has infiltrated power structures by using European and US entities.

Arab despots anyway don't have to worry about public opinion as long as the Pentagon is their patron and they are able to subdue their populations using bribery and brutality.

Now Germany wants to become Israel's formal proxy in Muslim countries. One must ask why.

In the 20th century, Nazi Germany massacred Jews, forcing them to flee Europe. The Jewish migration to Palestine later created Israel and forced Arabs off their lands.

In the 21st century, Germany is an ally of the apartheid Zionist state to the extent that it wants to help Israel in Muslim countries. What are you trying to do, Angela Merkel?

If governments in Muslim countries are interested in having links with Israel, the process will have to be an internal one, without any chicanery from Israel's western collaborators.

The German gesture to Israel comes amid growing international boycott of the repressive militaristic state.

Israel not only practices apartheid against Palestinians, it is a source of destabilization in western Asia, Africa and other regions. Inside Israel this happens: I Traveled to Palestine-Israel And Discovered There is no ‘Palestinian-Israeli Conflict’

The US-subsidized Israeli project has become a tool for advancing European and US colonization and resource grab across the world.

Germany will lose respect and influence if it allies with Israel in a dubious manner.

For UAE, now everything in the Iranian garden is lovely

The United Arab Emirates would have liked to feed me to its camels because of my views on Iran.

They thought I was an ayatollah cheerleader for not applauding their vehement opposition to Iran. The fact is I didn't feel comfortable borrowing the US nonsense of Iran being evil or terrorist. Talking to other people I didn't sense anyone was looking forward to a war with Iran. Even the UAE officials were well aware of the catastrophic consequences if the Pentagon started a military adventure against Iran. But it's Washington that dictates the wider security policy of the region and Arab "allies" just have to follow the Pentagon script.

It's no secret that the Pentagon views the control of energy-rich western and central Asia as absolutely vital to its global domination. Manipulating small Arab states with docile populations is  key to US wars in the region.

Mind you, I didn't express those views very openly but only occasionally talked about UAE policies in private conversations when I used to work in that country. In any case, they heavily monitor phones of journalists and keep a wide network of informers to find out what people (especially those in media, government, finance etc) say in private.

The business hub of Dubai and the big brother capital Abu Dhabi do not seem to have a unified approach towards Iran. Goods and money flow between Dubai and Iran with ease. On the other hand, Abu Dhabi being a major exporter of oil doesn't care much about the relative small amounts of money Dubai earns through its re-export trade with Iran.

Prodded by Uncle Sam, Baba Saudi and European Union aunties, the UAE pursued a belligerent policy towards Iran for many years.

It became such a regional centre of propaganda against Iran that even normal trade and tourism activities seemed like serious criminal offenses.

If a country is so big a threat to your security why not just cut off all relations. No, you could not expect such forthrightness from the UAE, which wasn't prepared to lose money yet wanted to please the United States and Europeans.

Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the US Department of Treasury, visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi to warn local companies against trading with Iran.

The level of rhetoric from the US official was so alarming that a UAE cabinet minister contacted reporters to get details of  his statements at a 2007 press conference.

I mention these incidents to show how viciously Iran was being targeted not long ago. Iraq was already under Western control and they were salivating at the thought of grabbing another energy fruit in Iran.

An Iranian-born author connected with a Zionist network wrote fiery columns against the Iranian government and his word was considered sacred in Gulf Arab establishments.

In 2008, UAE-based banks had mostly stopped issuing letters of credit for Iran trade amid escalating Washington-Tehran tensions.

This was happening despite:

- the UAE's $12 billion annual trade with Iran;

- Iranians being among top buyers of Dubai property;

- UAE companies craving for access to a market of 70 million in the neighborhood;

- 250 weekly flights catering to a heavy flow of people between the two countries;

- almost half a million Iranians living in the UAE.

(These figures are from five years ago)

Taking all this into account, it was deceptive on the part of UAE officials to indulge in regular anti-Iranian rhetoric.

Now compare the sudden changes in the UAE's policy since the US and Iran agreed on a nuclear deal in November 2013. What official hocus-pocus will be delivered to justify this change of tack?

The UAE has started pursuing Iran like a besotted lover at the highest level.

An Abu Dhabi-based hotel company may become the first foreign hotelier to enter Iran since Ayatollah Khomeini's revolution toppled the US puppet Pahlavi in 1979.

At UAE airports, staff greet Iranian visitors with "khosh amadid". Possibly immigration guys are also putting their name cards in the passports of Iranian girls.

The UAE is known to frequently use its dispute over three islands in the Persian Gulf (historically accurate name) in piling pressure on Tehran at regional conferences.

What a ruckus the UAE caused when Iranian president Ahmadinejad visited one of the contested islands in 2012:

- the UAE government summoned the Iranian ambassador and called back its own from Tehran;

- foreign minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan held meetings in Abu Dhabi with ambassadors representing UN Security Council members to condemn the 'provocative visit';

- foreign ministers of the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council called a special meeting to discuss the row.

One can now expect a different tune as Abu Dhabi tries to build bridges with Tehran. However, the UAE is yet to show it has a cohesive and long-term Iran policy.

Iran has a lot to offer its neighbors if they can develop reliable partnerships. Greater regional engagement will make it a more reasonable country. Iran on its part has to prove that it can remain responsible even in serious situations. We all acknowledge Iran's rich cultural heritage, but its officials are better off not acting proud as a peacock when interacting with their Arab counterparts.

If the outsider US has pursued disastrous policies in the region, playing one country against another, Iran also cannot escape its part in the violence and conflicts that have destabilized some places. Its ongoing support for the genocidal Assad war against Syrians cannot be justified under any pretext.

If I were in the UAE today (hypothetically speaking because I'll never live in an Arab authoritarian state again), I would not be saying nice things about Iran's role in Syria's bloodshed and constant interference in Iraq.

But then the UAE would throw me in front of its camels for not being in tune with its fickleness, its new love for Iran.