Iran faults Arab states for yielding to Israel while overspending for arms

NICOSIA [MENL] -- An Iranian daily aligned with the conservative ruling clergy has criticized Arab defense expenditures, saying Arab states are steadily surrendering to Israel and agreeing to make peace with the Jewish state.

The Teheran-based Kayhan International said in an editorial on Saturday that the Arabs are wasting their money on weapons if they continue to make peace with Israel. "Last but not the least, where is the aggressor in the Middle East?" the English-language newspaper asked. "The real enemy is the Zionist regime of Israel and one by one the Arab states have capitulated to the Americans and are signing peace treaties with the Zionists."

"In light of this what is the need to continue the wasteful arms buying spree which is only benefitting the Western world and their governments and peoples," the editorial said.

The newspaper was referring to a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia [ESCWA] that identified Arab states as among the world's largest purchasers of weapons while failing to invest sufficiently in such essential services such as education and health.

"If one takes a look at the pattern of arms spending throughout the world during the past decade, it is clear that the figure remained high in the Arab countries of the Middle East, averaging 7.8 percent as against the world average of 2.4 percent,'' Kayhan said.

The newspaper said Western government and weapons producers have created an atmosphere of insecurity in the Middle East to spur sales. They said oil-rich Gulf countries and their gullible rulers are prepared to buy these weapons at any cost.

"It is said that there are 185,000 millionaires in the Persian Gulf Arab states who own $718 billion and many of them have high stakes in the arms industry," the daily said.

Kayhan has been the most critical of Iranian government-aligned dailies of the current optimism spawned by the resumption of Israeli-Syrian peace talks. The newspaper has harshly criticized Lebanon for wanting to join the talks but has spared Syria.