Syria moves to stop the expansion of the war and proposes a six-month truce and to stop bombing tankers
Episode four covers Saudi Arabia’s anger over Iran’s bombing of its tankers and its threat to retaliate, as well as Damascus’s proposal for a six-month ceasefire to prevent the war from escalating. What did King Fahd bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia say? And what did President Assad convey to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei? How did the latter respond?
On April 7, 1986, Rafik Hariri arrived again in Damascus and met with Syrian Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam. He said, “King Fahd asked me to come to Damascus and meet with you to discuss the issue of the Saudi ship that was hit by Iranian aircraft days ago. His Majesty the King wonders: What do the Iranians want? Do they want war against Saudi Arabia? Do they want to bring Americans and have an American presence and intervention? Saudi Arabia does not want a war with Iran, nor does it want American or non-American intervention. Why are they doing this? This contradicts what they told Syria, that they are against expanding the Gulf war, and as we are improving relations with their countries, especially Saudi Arabia, knowing that the ship is owned by Saudis and flies the Saudi flag.”
After Khaddam heard the message, he presented it to President Hafez al-Assad, who conveyed the following message to his deputy: “Regarding the issue of the Saudi ship being hit, the incident has disturbed and concerned us, and we share Saudi Arabia’s concern. This does not align with what the Iranians told us. We will send a message to Tehran expressing our point of view and asking about the reasons behind such an operation, which contradicts our commitment to not expand the war and our desire to develop and improve relations with the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia.”
A tank and Iraqi army soldiers near the Iranian border on October 22, 1980
On May 4, 1986, another message from Saudi Arabia to Assad expressed “great concern about Iran’s continued targeting of Saudi ships despite Iran’s announcement of its unwillingness to expand the Gulf war and despite its commitment to Syria.” Riyadh said it did not want “a collision with Iran or the expansion of the war, but it also cannot tolerate continued attacks on Saudi ships, so it is compelled to order the Saudi air force to bomb Tehran if a new attack occurs.”
The message included an explicit threat to strike Tehran, asking Assad to make a decisive decision and declare that he would stand with Saudi Arabia. It stated: “Help find a solution to this issue, and if Iran continues its attacks on Saudi ships, Syria hopes that it will take a clear stance on this matter, (to stand with Saudi Arabia against Iran) especially since President Assad has repeatedly informed the King that Syria is against expanding the war and against any aggression against Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries.”
Khaddam reiterated Syria’s previous positions that Syria is against expanding the war and against any aggression against any Gulf country. He also informed him that “we have previously sent a message to the Iranian leadership, and this issue was one of the topics discussed by the Syrian Foreign Minister in Tehran during his visit to Delhi to attend the Non-Aligned Movement conference.”
After the matter was presented to Assad, “he expressed great concern about the Iranian position” and requested the Foreign Minister to send a message to the Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Velayati. The message read: “King Fahd sent a message to President [of Iran] regarding the recent bombing of the Saudi ship, stating: King Fahd feels great concern about the Islamic Republic of Iran’s continued bombing of Saudi ships despite Iran’s declaration of its unwillingness to expand the Gulf war and its commitment to Syria. The King does not want a collision with Iran, nor does he want to expand the war, but he cannot tolerate continued attacks on Saudi ships, so he is compelled to order the Saudi air force to respond if a new attack occurs. The King requests the President to help find a solution to this issue, and if the attacks on Saudi ships continue, he requests that Syria take a clear stance on this matter, especially since Syria has repeatedly informed Saudi Arabia that it is against expanding the war and against aggression against Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries.”
The "Norman Atlantic" ship flying the Singapore flag caught fire on December 6, 1987, after it was attacked by an Iranian warship in Omani territorial waters.
Also, last month, one of the Saudi ships was hit, and King Fahd had sent a message to the President, and (Asharq) conveyed the content of the message when I was in Tehran to Dr. Velayati. Now, this action is being repeated, and we hope that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will find a solution to this issue, especially since the non-resolution of this issue will add new problems that neither you nor we need. Moreover, Saddam Hussein will benefit from this by escalating tensions in the Gulf region to expand the scope of the war and involve Arab countries in this war. We in Syria believe that it is not in our interest as friendly countries to create a conducive climate for the Iraqi regime. Therefore, we hope that this issue will be addressed, and we are informed of the opinion of the Iranian leadership and its precise position so that we can convey the correct position to King Fahd. Please convey my regards to Dr. Velayati. We hope to receive a clear answer because we are also keen to know the position of the Iranian leadership. If there is an interest in hitting Saudi ships, you must inform us, and if there is no interest, hitting Saudi ships should stop."
Following the increasing tensions between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran and the possibility of the war expanding and foreign intervention, President Hafez al-Assad decided to dispatch Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa to Tehran to deliver a message to President Ali Khamenei.
On May 12, 1986, the Iranian President Khamenei received the Syrian minister and accepted a letter from President Hafez al-Assad “regarding the tensions with Saudi Arabia and Syria’s concern about the continuation of these tensions and the possibility of their escalation and the intervention of foreign elements in this crisis, which increases the pressure on Iran. The escalation of tensions may lead to the expansion of the war, which is what Saddam Hussein seeks. After a long discussion in which the Syrian Foreign Minister presented Syria’s viewpoint and reasons for its concern, the Iranian President gave a position understood by the Syrian minister as Iran’s agreement to stop targeting Saudi and Kuwaiti oil tankers.”
Al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia after meeting with Khamenei
After the meeting with Khamenei, Sharaa visited Saudi Arabia on May 14, 1986, to inform them of the results of his visit to Tehran. Riyadh’s position was: “We do not want to escalate the issue, nor protest to the Security Council or the Arab League, and we do not want to bother anyone with our problems other than Syria because our destiny and yours are the same. We remained silent because we can protect our ships, but we said we would try to resolve it peacefully until the last moment, so we turned to our brothers in Syria to inform them, hoping that our brothers in Iran would understand that this action would not benefit us but would lead us into a major problem, and no one guarantees that the major powers will not intervene in it. Therefore, we showed patience, remained silent, and relied on Syria’s efforts.”
The Saudi side expressed “gratitude for Assad’s efforts and his great concern, realizing that Saudi Arabia tends not to provoke problems because history has taught us that a problem starts small and then grows until it becomes difficult to solve. We have many examples in Africa and Latin America, so we chose the path of those who love us, foremost among them Syria… We said what happened, happened, and the harm that occurred has occurred, and we do not want to add a new problem to the many problems of the Arabs.”
Sharaa, on his part, stated that Assad’s message to Tehran “included a reminder to the Iranian leadership of what they always assured us, that Iran desires to establish good neighborly relations and friendship with the Gulf states, especially with the Kingdom, and that it is committed to not expanding the war.”
On May 14, 1986, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa visited Saudi Arabia to inform them of the results of his visit to Tehran. Riyadh’s stance was: “We do not want to escalate the issue, nor protest to the Security Council or the Arab League, and we do not want to bother anyone with our problems other than Syria because our destiny and yours are the same. We remained silent because we can protect our ships, but we said we would try to resolve it peacefully until the last moment, so we turned to our brothers in Syria to inform them, hoping that our brothers in Iran would understand that this action would not benefit us but would lead us into a major problem, and no one guarantees that the major powers will not intervene in it. Therefore, we showed patience, remained silent, and relied on Syria’s efforts.”
The Saudi side expressed “gratitude for Assad’s efforts and his great concern, realizing that Saudi Arabia tends not to provoke problems because history has taught us that a problem starts small and then grows until it becomes difficult to solve. We have many examples in Africa and Latin America, so we chose the path of those who love us, foremost among them Syria… We said what happened, happened, and the harm that occurred has occurred, and we do not want to add a new problem to the many problems of the Arabs.”
Sharaa, on his part, stated that Assad’s message to Tehran “included a reminder to the Iranian leadership of what they always assured us, that Iran desires to establish good neighborly relations and friendship with the Gulf states, especially with the Kingdom, and that it is committed to not expanding the war.”
Assad requested in a message from the Iranian leadership to stop the targeting of Saudi ships, as this would result in significant damage threatening the security and stability of the region. The President also emphasized the necessity for Iran to respond to resolve any disputes that exist between Iran and the Kingdom through political means and constructive brotherly dialogue rather than military actions.
Al-Sharaa stated: “I conducted lengthy and difficult discussions in Tehran on this issue with the Iranian President, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, with the aim of convincing them of the dangers of targeting Saudi ships. These discussions were tense at some stages due to our insistence on the immediate cessation of the shelling of Saudi ships and our affirmation that any attack on the Arab Gulf countries is an attack on Syria. Any disputes between Iran and the Kingdom, regardless of their nature, should not be resolved through military means but through understanding and dialogue.”
Al-Sharaa added that the Iranian President “reiterated Iran’s keenness not to expand the scope of the war and its interest in establishing good neighborly relations and understanding with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular and the Gulf countries in general. However, he stated that the Kingdom has not reciprocated this eagerness, noting that the Kingdom has recently shown hostile positions towards Iran and considered the visit of the US Vice President to the region and his statements as aimed at intimidating Iran. He added that Iran does not care about such threats and is not afraid.”
President Hafez al-Assad and Iranian "Guide" Ali Khamenei in Tehran in 1990
According to an official Syrian record of the meeting between al-Sharaa and Khamenei, “the Iranian President discussed the Saudi-Iranian relations and the recent shift in them, and the disappointment of the Saudi Foreign Minister and Iran in any practical improvement, and that the words were not translated into actions. He claimed that when the Iranian leadership took the advice of President Assad to improve relations with Saudi Arabia, it faced significant public criticism within Iran. The Iranian President said: ‘Nevertheless, Iran remains ready to improve relations with Saudi Arabia provided that the reasons that harm the relationship are removed.'”
The Iranian President explained the reasons hindering the improvement of relations between Iran and the Kingdom, focusing particularly on Saudi Arabia providing vital assistance to support Iraq’s war effort, both directly and indirectly. He mentioned Saudi Arabia, along with Kuwait, selling 300,000 barrels of oil daily to Iraq. The Iranian President wondered, “How can Iran remain silent about the passage of Saudi ships safely in the Gulf while knowing that some of these ships transport oil and sell it to Iraq?” He also mentioned Saudi Arabia’s assistance to Iraq in the pipeline extending to Yanbu on the Red Sea, which would enable Iraq to export around 600,000 barrels per day. He asked, “Has the pipeline been operational?”
The Saudi side spoke about the desire to improve relations but without conditions imposed on it, stating, “As for our assistance to Iraq, this may be true, but it was years ago, not now, and what we told Iran is that this assistance was due to what they previously stated about interfering in Gulf affairs.” The Saudi side said, “It is unreasonable for Iran to threaten the Gulf, and we stand idly by without helping Iraq.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal had visited Tehran, while Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati visited Riyadh.
The atmosphere was positive. “But the problem arises when distorted news reaches Tehran that is not in Iran’s favor. If Iran must confront Gulf countries, this means embarrassing Syria,” according to an interpretation of these meetings. One senior official, according to Khaddam’s documents, added: “The problem with Iran is deeper; everything the Iranians say to you is not the main thing… The problem is with petroleum; Iran wants to sell oil without limits and to gain access to Saudi markets.” The Saudi side discussed the details of this issue and the dispute within OPEC.
Iranian pledge to stop attacks
According to a document, al-Sharaa said, “Khamenei stated that Iran is ready to stop all military actions in the Gulf region if Iraq stops hitting ships carrying Iranian oil. Khamenei added: If this happens, security and stability will prevail in the Gulf. He said: Gulf security cannot be divided into two zones, a safe zone and an unsafe zone, where Iraqis hit Iranian ships while Iran refrains from hitting ships aiding Iraq. He added: We cannot remain silent about this, so we are forced to continue hitting ships carrying oil on behalf of Saddam. He said if the hitting of ships carrying Iranian oil stops, then the Gulf region will enjoy stability and security for everyone.”
Al-Sharaa wondered: “What is the Kingdom’s relation to hitting Iranian ships?” Khamenei replied: “The Kingdom, if it wishes, can exert pressure on Iraq to stop the shelling of ships carrying Iranian oil.” The Saudi side responded, saying: “We told them beforehand there is a red line in the Gulf between us and Iraq, and it is clear to everyone the ships that come to us carrying our oil and the ships that go to Iraq to carry its oil. Who will prevent Iran from shelling ships heading to Iraq? Why don’t they shell those ships and come to us to shell our ships? Do you think Iraq, in its current situation, listens to Saudi Arabia or Kuwait?”
The Syrian minister resumed speaking, saying: “In reality, I entered into a sharp debate with them, and the atmosphere became tense, and we did not reach a satisfactory result with this Iranian insistence. So, I took the initiative and proposed to the Iranian President: Is there a possibility to halt the hitting of Saudi ships for a period of six months, during which President Hafez al-Assad will endeavor to resolve the disputes between you and the Kingdom in a comfortable atmosphere, as long as you seem keen on maintaining relations with the Kingdom?”
The Saudi side responded: “May God bless you, what you have proposed is logical and reasonable. Let’s calm down now and see if refraining from stirring things up might solve the problems. As for monitoring the state of war and coming to choke a certain country, what do you expect that country to do? Instead of hitting Saudi ships, we hope to leave room for what you have suggested. The wise one is the one who starts solving problems. We must search for peaceful ways and methods. In the case of the fighting between Iraq and Iran, no one knows when it will end.”
The Saudi side thanked Al-Sharaa for his efforts, indicating that “they do not rush into evil. They know that when six or seven Iranian planes landed at our airports, some of them carrying passengers, the first action taken by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs was to summon the Iranian chargé d’affaires and inform him that the Kingdom allows Iranian pilots (coming from Iran) to take the planes with their passengers without any fuss. We do not want to create a problem and we do our best to avoid any clash with anyone. However, if we suffer, it means that Syria suffers.”
Al-Sharaa quoted Khamenei as saying: “Please convey to President Hafez al-Assad that everything is solvable either through this proposal or other ideas. Iran will not close the door to resolving these issues as long as it is the desire of President… Your brother, President, assures Your Majesty that the concerns of Saudi Arabia are our concerns.”
Iraqi difficulties and Iranian expectations
The Iranians expected that Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states could exert pressure on Iraq, but this expectation was misplaced. Iraq was facing difficulties on the battlefields and economic bottlenecks that it had not accounted for before getting involved in the war. Therefore, it resorted to striking Iranian oil centers and oil-carrying ships in the belief that Iran would stop, thus forcing it to surrender and end the war. In such a war, it was expected that both sides would resort to destroying each other’s military, economic, and infrastructural capabilities, and this is exactly what happened. Iran deliberately targeted Gulf oil tankers to increase pressure on Saddam Hussein, but it was mistaken, according to Syrian estimates. This led to a gap between Iran and the Gulf states. While there was Gulf support for Iraq, this support did not mean the Gulf had the ability to pressure Saddam Hussein to stop hitting Iranian ships. Additionally, Iran remains steadfast in its positions.
Less than two weeks after Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa’s visit to Tehran, the Iranian leadership, represented by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, sent a message to Damascus via the Iranian ambassador in Syria on May 31, 1986. The message stated: “Regarding oil tankers, as you mentioned in Tehran based on the letter from the President about the tanker bombings in the Gulf, it appears that Iraq continues to bomb Iranian tankers.”
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on the border with his soldiers during the Iran-Iraq war between 1980 and 1988.
The message directed from Dr. Velayati to al-Sharaa included: “During your recent trip to Tehran to explore ways to prevent the attack on oil tankers and commercial ships in the Gulf, and through the initial approval of the responsible officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran for balanced dealing with the issue, as well as the readiness of the Islamic Republic of Iran to find a way to eliminate tension in the region, and also by declaring that Iraq is the cause and the instigator of all tensions in the region, seeking aggressive goals by targeting Iranian oil tankers, the response of King Fahd, which was conveyed to President Khamenei within the message addressed to his Excellency from the Excellency President Hafez al-Assad, created a positive ground. This positive ground was supported by a few days of calm prevailing in the region. However, a few days ago, it was learned that the tanker carrying oil to the Arab Republic of Syria was attacked twice, and it seems that this occurred with prior knowledge, and the enemy’s missiles hit this tanker.”
Velayati continued in his message delivered to al-Sharaa: “Since we wanted to give the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia more opportunity to exert the necessary pressure to prevent the attack on ships, and also to clarify the extent of Saudi Arabia’s ability to cooperate, and since it has been proven that Saddam’s regime does not want peace to prevail in the region, and with our belief that tension in the region is in Saddam’s favor, our actions are in self-defense and in defense of our country’s interests, and our silence continues to the extent that we do not become victims of enemy conspiracies.”
The Syrian minister reaffirmed to the Iranian ambassador “the need for patience and restraint because expanding tension and war in the Gulf are Saddam Hussein’s goals, and this opportunity must be missed.”
