Saudis should know that “Iran is not Yemen”

By Vahid Jafarian, Editorial Board Member

Saudi media have published a short 3D-animated film depicting the Saudi military invading Iran and conquering its regional arch-rival.

Al-Riyadh newspaper on Friday hailed the video called “Saudi Deterrent Force” - which was created by a Twitter user - for its “realistic depiction” of a war between Riyadh and Tehran.

“The scenes depict reality and the prestige of the Saudi Armed Forces, with its ability to deter foreign ambitions especially Iranian threats,” the pro-government newspaper wrote.

“It also lays out the operational reality of how the Saudi army manages its military system,” it added.

Pro-government online newspaper Sabq also reported on the video.

The film has been mocked on social media as propaganda and a naive depiction of war. It shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman orchestrating a land invasion of Iran after a devastating aerial campaign.

The Saudi army then takes control of Tehran, where Iranian crowds wave Saudi flags and welcome the invading forces as heroes.

The short film has been widely mocked on Twitter.

“In the delusional world of Saudi Arabia, Saudis invade Iran, take over the country and are greeted as liberators by Iranians who hold MbS posters,” said one user.

Warning to Saudis: “Iran is not Yemen”

Riyadh has led a military intervention in Yemen since 2015 and more than 10,000 people have been killed since the intervention, according to the United Nations.

However, the Saudis themselves are well aware that Iran is not comparable to Yemen in terms of military power.

In February, a senior commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said:  “If the enemy does not walk the line, our missiles come down on them.”

Although the Iranian commander did not name explicitly any particular country, evidences suggested that his speech was being aimed at such countries as U.S. and its ally in the region Saudi Arabia.

His comment came several days after a Saudi official warned that ‘all options are on the table for Iran’!

In an interview with BBC Arabic, Major General Ahmad Asiri, adviser in the office of Saudi Arabia’s minister of defense and spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, told that it was time to change Iran’s behavior in the region.

Speaking in the Saudi capital Riyadh, he claimed that Tehran’s allegedly involvement in neighboring countries such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen must be stopped.

Earlier in Oct. 2016, Iran’s chief Armed Forces spokesman had announced that Saudi Arabia and its allies are too weak to engage in a military confrontation with the Islamic Republic.

“Saudi Arabia has by no means the capability to confront Iran and [in fact] not only Saudi Arabia, but its allies are also incapable of confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Press TV quoted Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri as saying, in response to reporters.

He added that Saudi Arabia “counts for nothing [against Iran] and is no match for the Islamic Republic of Iran in the region to aspire entering military scenes.”

“The Americans also lack such a capability and will,” the Iranian commander pointed out.

He added that Riyadh made efforts to “hype up its military and technical dimensions” through media propaganda.

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