Egyptian Political Science Professor Moataz Bellah Abdel-Fattah: Iran Is Irrational, Our Greatest Enemy; In Contrast, Israel Is A Rational Enemy, With Whom We Can Reach Understandings

Egyptian political science professor Moataz Bellah Abdel-Fattah said in a July 16, 2022 show on ON TV (Egypt) that Iran is Egypt's greatest enemy because it is completely irrational. He said that in in contrast, Israel is a "rational" enemy with which understandings can be reached, and he argued that if the Palestinians acted rationally, they could reach an agreement with Israel like Egypt did after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Abdel-Fattah also said that pro-Iranian militias in the region are destroying the Arab countries, adding: "If I find myself surrounded by militias [then] I will be forced to ally with Iran's greatest enemy." For more about Moataz Bellah Abdel-Fattah, see MEMRI TV Clip No. 8976.

Moataz Bellah Abdel-Fattah: "We have three big problems with Iran. First, everything that has to do with the nuclear issue. All the leaders have agreed to turn the Middle East into a region free not just of nuclear weapons, but of all types of WMDs. I wish we could do that with Iran in cooperation with the IAEA.

"The second issue is the Iranian missile program. Iran has missiles that can reach Greece. What is it going to do with them? The third issue – and it is also an illusion or a dream – is that Iran is going to destroy Israel with its propaganda or missiles or whatever... That's not going to happen.

"The third issue is that of the [pro-Iran] militias that destroy the Arab countries. Sectarian rule is going to harm Arab countries. But as an Arab, I say loud and clear: I am not going down alone. If I find myself surrounded by [pro-Iranian] militias from every direction, and these militias are destroying the Arab countries, I will be forced to ally with Iran's greatest enemy, and bring it to Iran's border.

"We must speak clearly about this. Iran is our greatest enemy because it is completely irrational, and it is very active. Some people will ask: 'But what about Israel?' As far as I am concerned, Israel is an enemy, but it is a rational enemy, I can reach understandings with it, and I can determine the points of agreement and points of contention with it. If the Palestinians – and I assign them some of the blame – were rational enough, they would have used the post-1973 war [negotiations] to regain their [land]. What I mean is that we signed a peace agreement with Israel, and it is abiding by it, in contradiction to what had been said about it historically."