| |
Iranian game is not over
yet
By Safa Haeri
PARIS - The
agreement concluded on October 21 between the Islamic
Republic of Iran with the foreign affairs ministers of
France, Germany and Britain not only saved Tehran from
possible international sanctions, but also paved the way
for closer cooperation between the European Union and
the United States on important international issues on
the one hand, and among the feuding Iranian clerical
rulers on the other.
According to the text of
the agreement that allows Iran to escape the October 31
deadline fixed on September 12 by the Vienna-based
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 35-member
board of directors, "the Iranian government has decided
to engage its total cooperation with the International
Atomic Energy Agency in order to answer, in full
transparency, to all the demands and major problems and
to clarify and correct all the failures and inadequacies
with the agency.
"The Iranian government has
[also] decided to sign the Additional Protocol [to the
Non-Proliferation Treaty - NPT] and in order to prove
its goodwill, the government would continue its
cooperation with the agency in conformity with the
protocol even before its ratification [by the majlis, or
Iranian parliament]. Furthermore, Iran has decided to
voluntarily suspend enriching uranium and its
retreating, as demanded by the IAEA," the text
stipulated.
For Dominique de Villepin, the
French foreign affairs minister as well as his German
and British counterparts, Joschka Fischer and Jack
Straw, October 21 was a "very important date for Iran,
for Europe and for nuclear non-proliferation" since Iran
decided to bow to international demands. And in fact,
the date is important, for it marks "the beginning of
better days for all the parties concerned, with each one
dutybound to play its own role", de Villepin explained.
The US, which accuses Iran of building a nuclear
arsenal and has labelled it as an "evil regime",
cautiously welcomed the agreement. "If Iran follows
through with its promises, it would be a positive step
in the right direction," White House press secretary
Scott McClellan said, adding that "full compliance by
Iran will now be essential".
Straw, de Villepin
and Fischer flew to Tehran early on Tuesday and
immediately met with Hojjatoleslam Hasan Rohani, the
influential secretary of the Supreme Council on national
security for more than four hours and President Mohammad
Khatami, warning them that if Iran fails to meet IAEA
demands, which are also backed by both the US and the
European Union, it could face harsh sanctions by the
United Nation's Security Council.
"This
important step reached today should answer concerns
expressed by Washington and Israel over Iranian atomic
activities," commented Dr Davood Hermidas-Bavand of
Tehran University, speaking to Radio Farda, the Persian
service of the Prague-based Radio Free Europe-Radio
Liberty.
In his opinion, the agreement also
proved that dialogue, even critical, was more productive
than the traditional arrogant and hardline adopted by
Washington towards Iran.
However, even though
Rohani assured that accepting the IAEA's demands did not
humiliate Iranians' national pride, nor did it harm the
nation's security and sovereignty, many Iranian
political analysts close to the conservative leadership
described it as an "unconditional surrender", as the
Additional Protocol allows international inspectors to
visit Iran at will and inspect all sites they wish to
without any restrictions.
"Do not sign the
protocol," headlined the hardline daily Jomhoori Eslami
(Islamic Republic) that belongs to Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, the leader of Iran, the morning after Tehran
agreed to sign the additional protocol to the NPT and
suspend enriching uranium. "We should not accept this
humiliation," the paper said in an editorial, echoing
concerns that reinforced inspections would be a
violation of the country's national sovereignty.
"The Iranian people have no doubts that the
signing of this protocol will be an eternal humiliation.
Iranian politicians have to know that if they do not
stand against the Europeans and the United States, these
people will not stop until they destroy Iran," it
warned.
Hoseyn Shari'atmadari, a high-ranking
officer of the secret services appointed by Khamenei as
the editor of the radical evening newspaper Kayhan,
repeated his earlier suggestions that "the best thing to
do is to leave the NPT".
On the surface, the
negative reaction by the press controlled by the
conservatives points to their displeasure over the
agreement, as also seen by a protest from some 100
hardliners gathered outside the meeting site, the
Hafezieh Conference Building, to chant and wave signs
denouncing any compliance with the agency's demands.
"Shame on your hypocrisy, imperialist ambassadors," read
one banner.
But Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, the
official government spokesman, was quick to observe,
"All the negotiations on signing the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty Additional Protocol were
conducted in line with the views and approval of the
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed
Ali Khamenei."
Speaking to Iranian and foreign
reporters after the signing ceremonies, he added that
the head of the negotiating team, namely Rohani, was
assigned by the Supreme Leader. He also swept aside the
possibility that the agreement could be vetoed by the
Council of Guardians, a conservatives bastion that looks
into the total conformity of laws passed by the majlis
with Islamic canons. Ramezanzadeh noted, "Given the fact
that what has been accomplished so far had been approved
by the highest authority of the land, it is not likely
to face any difficulty."
Responding to a
correspondent who asked whether political and military
zones would not undergo inspection, he said, "Our
commitments are in accordance with NPT and will remain
so after signing the Additional Protocol. We have even
gone beyond the terms of NPT in fulfilling our
commitments."
And in response to a question
whether the future resumption of uranium enrichment
process for any reason is likely to cause further
international pressure on Iran, he said that Iran`s
decision was taken in accordance with the requirements
of the present time.
According to many political
observers, the above two points raised by correspondents
with Ramezanzadeh are the focal points that would come
out after IAEA inspectors finish their present round of
inspections on Iranian nuclear sites.
Asked what
if, after the next meeting of the agency's board of
governors, slated for November 20, they found that Iran
had lied on its nuclear programs, Mohammad el-Bradei,
the Egyptian director of the Vienna-based IAEA, said,
"They [Iranians] say their declaration is complete and
exact. I hope this is the case. What is important for us
at the moment is to reach a total comprehension of
Iranian nuclear programs."
According to
el-Bradei, IAEA inspectors are already at work in Iran,
inspecting various atomic centers and projects. "We
should know where we are when we meet again on November
20. Meanwhile, we are also waiting to receive the
Iranians' official acceptance of the Additional
Protocol," he told the French influential daily Le Monde
dated October 31.
IAEA spokeswoman Melissa
Fleming, in a telephone interview with Radio Free Europe
from the organization's Vienna headquarters, reiterated,
"What is expected from Iran in the next several days is
a full disclosure of their past nuclear activities
related to their nuclear program, in all areas. As
you've probably seen, there have been a number of
questions raised from IAEA inspectors, through intense
investigation over the last several months. These
questions need to be answered to the satisfaction of the
international community," she added.
At the
center of "the wall of mistrust" between Tehran and the
IAEA lie the uranium enriching facilities that Iran had
kept secret from the agency. The existence of the sites,
situated in central Iran, were first reported by Iranian
opposition groups and confirmed by American satellite
pictures.
The Iranians say that they were not
under any obligation to declare these sites to UN
nuclear inspectors when they bought second-hand
centrifuges for enriching uranium, but so far they have
refused to say where and when they bought the
centrifuges necessary for the purpose, a central process
in the making of an atomic bomb.
But diplomats
in Vienna said that Iran has also promised to account
for the origin of traces of weapons-grade uranium that
IAEA inspectors discovered at two facilities, raising
alarm bells in Vienna and Washington.
"Iran
reiterated again that nuclear weapons have no room in
its defense strategy and all its nuclear programs are
for civilian and peaceful purposes," the joint agreement
said, adding that the three foreign affairs ministers
welcomed the Iranian stand and in return assured that
the Islamic Republic is entitled to benefit from nuclear
technology in the framework of the NPT clauses.
The Iranians insist that the nuclear powered
projects they have under way, like the electricity plant
at the Persian Gulf of Bushehr that is under
construction with the help of Russia, are strictly for
civilian use. But the US and Israel, now joined by some
major European nations, are not that sure and believe
that projects like Bushehr are "fronts" for concealing
the buildup of a nuclear arsenal.
So, the
question is whether the Iranians would fulfill their
engagement, mostly if they allow inspectors to visit
their military sites, as required by American
representatives of the IAEA.
In his Le Monde
interview, el-Bradei hoped that the Iranians would open
all their sites to inspections and while expression
"satisfaction" at the agreement, he also said expecting
from the Iranians a "'complete declaration' on their
nuclear activities both in the past and for the future".
But Iranian observers say that this would be
almost "out of question" since the leadership in Tehran
not only has a negative view on international
inspectors, but also the strategic military sites are
under the exclusive control of the Revolutionary Guards.
"Again, the whole process could start anew, with
the Americans menacing to take the issue to the United
Nations Security Council," one Iranian expert told Asia
Times Online. "As far as our leadership is concerned,
even the reformer camp, international nuclear experts
and inspectors are nothing more than American and
Israeli spies." he pointed out, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
The initiative for sending their
foreign affairs ministers to Iran was taken last June by
President Jacques Chirac of France, Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder of Germany and British Prime Minister Tony
Blair in a letter to their Iranian counterpart, Mohammad
Khatami, telling him openly that if the Islamic Republic
failed to satisfy the IAEA's demands, it could face
harsh international sanctions.
In the letter,
the three leaders also offered Iran a carrot, suggesting
that in return for its compliance it would get nuclear
technical assistance, and possibly supplies of nuclear
fuel for its atomic reactors. Threatened with
international sanctions like the ones imposed on the
former regime of Iraq and isolation, Iran had no other
choice but to accept the proposals, preferring at the
same time to settle with the Europeans rather than face
possible retaliation from Washington.
(Copyright
2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Please contact content@atimes.com for
information on our sales and syndication policies.)
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
