Those interested in the history of the Middle East realize that Iranian policy throughout historical times has always insisted on expanding westward in the eastern Mediterranean and the Arabian Gulf. This expansionist policy is reinforced by a racist ideology which is the hegemony of the Aryan race over the region and the hatred of the Semitic race, whose majority is Arabs.

In a study entitled “Iran’s historical tendency to reach the eastern Mediterranean”, the Lebanese researcher Jamal Wakim reviews the firm foundations of this policy from ancient history to the contemporary period, explaining the beginnings of this policy, saying: “By the middle of the sixth century BC, Cyrus the Great had imposed his hegemony on the entire Iranian plateau, allowing Cambyses to impose his control over Mesopotamia, then Anatolia, the Levant, and Egypt”. Therefore, the Persian rulers resorted to the policy of direct occupation and sometimes to the policy of imposing nominal influence on the Arab regions, especially the interior regions of the Arabian Peninsula, where the Persian army had no real experience in desert wars.

During the reign of the Sassanid king, Ardashir Babak (226-241), the Persians resorted to a strategy of confronting the Arab tribes in order to secure their borders. The Persians adopted the establishment of the Protecting Emirate and its idea was that the best way to secure the Persian borders from the Arabs was the Arabs themselves. Accordingly, the Arab Emirate of Al-Hira was the protecting Emirate of the Persians from the attacks of the Arab tribes, and it was used to subjugate the tribes to the Persian influence. On the other hand, the Emirate of Al-Hira was a barricade for Persia in the face of the Romans. Al-Hira, which is located in southern Iraq, has achieved the strategy that the Persians sought, provided that it always remains under their influence and control.

As for the Iraqi Khaled Al-Douri, he believes that the Emirate of Al-Hira began to rebel against the reality and policy that the Persians planned for them, and that was during the time of Al-Nu’man Ibn Al-Mundhir. Al-Nu’man was alerted to the policy of uniting the Arab tribes and establishing a strong Arab alliance in order to confront the direct interference of the Persians in the affairs of the Kingdom of Al-Hira. Thus, Al-Nu’man became one of the important Arab figures against the Persians, who seek to unite the Arab tribes, and thus a clash between the Arabs and the Persians was inevitable. What confirms this is the Arab poets’ support for Al-Nu’man ibn Al-Mundhir. Al-Nabigha Al-Dhubyani said in praise of Al-Nu’man:

This confirms the constant Persian policy towards the Arabs to this day, which is the policy of “divide and rule”, that is, use the Arabs against each other and you will have sovereignty over them. Al-Douri narrates what Khosrau said when he offered the rule of Al-Hira to an Arab man. He said: “Can you confront the Arabs on my behalf?”.