‘Your Airport’s Bombed. But the Zionists!!!’

Today, October 26, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced that “Zionist expansionism” would be among the most important security issues discussed with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan at a meeting in Tehran. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, described the meeting’s purpose as regional de-escalation.

This comes as Iranian-backed Houthis continue to bombard Saudi airports.

As someone who is commonly dismissed as a Zio-bot, I have a few suggestions for more pressing matters. Now, I don’t make their agenda, but if I did, I wouldn’t prioritize the supposed expansionism of a state occupying approximately 0.015% of the world’s land area. Particularly when that state has repeatedly faced threats from the Axis, has given back land and only responded to threats.

This is a region that was also the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, with a rich history of other religious communities, many of which have since dwindled dramatically. “But the Zios!”

Here are a few alternative agenda items:

• Saudi Arabia’s airports are being bombed by the Iran-backed Houthis. An October 10 attack on Riyadh airport killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300.
• The Houthis are also threatening Saudi energy infrastructure. They claimed another attack on Saudi oil pumping stations today, although Saudi authorities had not confirmed the strike.
• Iran has helped turn the Strait of Hormuz into a maritime crisis, disrupting international shipping while facing a US naval blockade of its own ports.
• Iran’s economy is in serious trouble. The IMF projects a 5.4% contraction in 2026, with inflation approaching 69%. Perhaps the regime could consider expanding its economy rather than its regional influence.
• Iranian security forces killed thousands of protesters earlier this year, with the IRGC implicated in the massacres. The regime might consider addressing the demands of the people it governs before concerning itself with Israel’s borders.
• The IRGC was formally designated a terrorist organization by the European Union in February, adding to Iran’s considerable sanctions problems.
• Iran continues to face armed insurgencies in its Baluchi regions and unrest in Kurdish areas. Perhaps territorial integrity and Kurdish self-determination are worth discussing closer to home.
• Hamas remains entrenched in Gaza. According to Israeli security officials cited by Ynet, Hamas has imposed heavy taxes on merchants receiving aid shipments and is allegedly preparing another international hunger publicity campaign to resist disarmament.
• Iran’s partner Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, using Iranian-supplied military technology. Ukrainian intelligence also reports Russian assistance to Iran in identifying potential targets across the Middle East.
• Turkey is still grappling with the consequences of its four-decade Kurdish conflict, which has killed tens of thousands. A disarmament process is underway, but questions of Kurdish political and cultural rights remain unresolved.
• ISIS remains a security threat in Turkey. Three Turkish police officers were killed during a confrontation with ISIS militants in December 2025; another 324 suspected ISIS affiliates were detained in May 2026.
• Turkey’s historic Christian communities have dwindled to a tiny minority, while authorities continue to restrict minority religious institutions and have targeted foreign Christian clergy.
• Turkey is struggling with inflation approaching 30%, alongside an intensifying crackdown on opposition politicians, journalists, and elected mayors. That’s besides all the Israelis who now are not going there to get their hair transplants.
• Turkey is also a NATO member and a partner in the international coalition against ISIS. Its security interests and alliances are rather more complicated than Tehran’s favorite slogans suggest.
• Pakistan remains dependent on IMF financial assistance, while struggling with militant violence and instability along its borders.
• The wider regional economy is contracting. The IMF forecasts a 1.3% contraction across the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan in 2026, amid the economic devastation of the current war.

That’s quite a list for a region apparently preoccupied with the territorial ambitions of one of the world’s smallest countries.

Several of these problems are directly connected to the weapons, proxies, and policies of the government hosting the meeting. Others concern political repression, economic hardship, and unresolved conflicts within the participating countries themselves.

Perhaps conversations about things like Kurdish self-determination, the future of Gaza without Hamas, or how to prevent another generation of Iranians from being killed by their own government would be uncomfortable.

After all, “How do we get the militants we arm to stop bombing your airports?” is probably not an ideal opening question when welcoming the Saudis to Tehran.

Fortunately, there’s always the Zionist threat to discuss.

Next on Tehran’s diplomatic agenda: an emergency summit to determine whether Israel should be allowed to participate in Eurovision.