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Tehran
unfazed
By Ron Synovitz
PRAGUE - Tough words from Tehran to the
United States and Israel follow criticism by US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice against what
she called Tehran's "loathed regime of unelected
mullahs".
The warnings, issued by Iran's
chief nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rohani, also
follow a suggestion last month by US Vice
President Dick Cheney that Israel could launch
preemptive strikes against Iran's
nuclear-enrichment facilities if it feels
threatened by them. Israel, thought to be the only
nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, has not
said it will attack.
Rohani told Reuters
that Tehran would "definitely have greater
motivation" to accelerate the enrichment of
nuclear material if Iran were attacked by the US
or Israel. "I do not think America itself will
take such a risk because America knows very well
that we will strongly answer such an attack,"
Rohani said. "The Americans are very well aware of
our capabilities. They know our capabilities for
retaliating against such attacks."
Cheney
said on the weekend that the US backed a
diplomatic effort by the "EU-3" (Britain, France
and Germany) aimed at persuading Iran to abandon
nuclear enrichment. But Cheney said Washington was
not ruling out a military option in the future or
other alternatives to diplomacy.
Rice, on
a week-long tour of Europe and the Middle East,
has been communicating the same message to leaders
in those regions. Speaking in a widely quoted
British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) interview, Rice
said the US remained focused on diplomatic efforts
with Iran. "We believe that this is a time for
diplomacy," Rice said. "This is a time to muster
our considerable influence - we the alliance - our
considerable influence, our considerable 'soft
power' if you will, to bring great changes in the
world."
Analysts say Washington still
appears to be far from making a decision on
military strikes. That's because the European
diplomatic initiative is still under way, with
negotiations scheduled to start in Geneva this
week. European diplomats in Vienna say they want
Iran to suspend all uranium-enrichment programs -
even those for peaceful use of nuclear energy - as
a guarantee that Tehran is not seeking nuclear
weapons.
"The diplomacy that is going on
at the moment from the European Union -
particularly from the United Kingdom, France,
Germany - is to persuade the Iranians that this is
not in their interest," said Alex Standish, editor
of the London-based Jane's Intelligence Digest.
"And that it makes them a potential target,
possibly, for an attack in the future, even if it
is not currently on the agenda, from either Israel
or the United States."
On the other hand,
Standish concluded that the US-led invasion of
Iraq and the diplomacy over North Korea's nuclear
programs have convinced many Iranian officials
that the only way to thwart military strikes by
Israel or the United States is to become a
nuclear-capable country as soon as possible.
US officials and independent experts say
that at the current rate, Iran probably would not
be able to produce a nuclear weapon for at least
another three years.
Remi Leveau, a
professor emeritus at the Institute of Political
Studies in Paris, noted that the US has so far
refused to be involved in direct negotiations with
authorities from Iran's conservative Islamist
regime.
"Obviously, Iran wants to discuss
[these issues] seriously [and] directly with the
United States," Leveau said. "If there is no
direct involvement of the United States in terms
of recognition [of Iran and the] prospects of a
common vision on the future of the Middle East -
and especially in relationship with Iraq or the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict - the Iranians will
just keep talking with the Europeans. But, I
think, without really wanting to come to a
significant agreement."
In his interview,
Rohani called for "equal negotiations" between
Iran and the US, saying that agreement could be
reached with Washington if talks are conducted "as
two equal countries with equal rights". Rohani
also suggested that any breakdown in the talks in
Geneva would be the result of US pressure on the
EU diplomats.
"Basically, America and
Europe, regarding Iran's nuclear issue, have some
common aims and some united views," Rohani said.
"In regard to some other goals, they have
different views and think differently. Since the
beginning, the Europeans have adopted a policy
based on talks and negotiations with Iran. The
basis for America's dealing with Iran was threats.
But at the same time, we are in talks with the
Europeans. And we hope the Americans, by
pressuring the Europeans, are not going to destroy
the talks and cause their failure."
In
Tehran on Monday, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy
Organization, Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh,
told Iranian state television that the
negotiations with British, French and German
diplomats would enter a crucial phase when they
begin this week. Aghazadeh said the conclusion of
three months of nuclear negotiations was close.
But he said European negotiators needed to be more
clear about their plans.
Copyright (c)
2005 RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted with the permission
of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20036. |
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