|
|
|
|
Change of Iran's
nuclear guard
By Safa Haeri
PARIS - The European Three (EU3 - Germany,
Britain and France) who have been engaged for more
than two years in hard negotiations with Iran over
its nuclear program, should be prepared for a
possible change in attitude in Tehran once the
president-elect, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, officially
takes over early next month, Iranian analysts have
said.
They note the presence of Ali
Larijani at a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister
Ibrahim Jaafari and Ahmadinejad on Monday.
"Mr Ahmadinejad asked me to be present at
the meeting as an adviser," Larijani told the
independent Sharq (East) newspaper, adding that
"in the past I've served him in matters of foreign
affairs".
Larijani was one of only a
handful of candidates allowed to stand in Iran's
recent presidential elections. The
conservatives-backed candidate, a former head of
the state-controlled Radio and Television, fared
poorly behind the top two winners in the first
round, who then went into a runoff before
Ahmadinejad emerged as the winner.
Now
Larijani is being tipped as a possible foreign
affairs minister, as well as secretary to the
Supreme Council on National Security (SCNS),
replacing Hasan Rohani, or even first vice
president.
"Either way, he would serve as
one of the closest aides to Ahmadinejad in matters
of foreign relations," Sharq speculated, observing
that Larijani was standing "shoulder-to-shoulder"
with the president-elect.
The only
candidate to urge his supporters to vote for
Ahmadinejad in the second round of the
presidential elections, Larijani has been a tough
critic of the way in which Iran has been
conducting talks with the EU3, and has suggested,
without further explanation, "new paths and
approaches".
"We gave the Europeans pure
jewels and got bonbons instead," he famously once
said, also saying that in the matter of foreign
relations, Iran must talk from a position of
strength.
If, as expected - and his
presence at the Jaafari-Ahmadinejad meeting is
seen as confirmation - Larijani is named as the
head of Iran's diplomacy, or as secretary of the
SCNS, he will be involved with the EU3. The
Europeans can then expect some hard bargaining
over suspicions that Iran is trying to develop
nuclear weapons, and its temporary suspension of
uranium-enriching activities, Iranian analysts
pointed out.
"Though Mr Rohani and other
senior officials have repeated that the change of
government and even presidents does not concern
the nuclear issue, the nomination of Mr Larijani
as foreign affairs minister or secretary of the
SCNS indicates serious changes," Sharq commented,
adding that Rohani had suggested that the nuclear
file be transferred to the Foreign Affairs
Ministry.
Mohammad Hussein Moussavian, a
senior Iranian negotiator with the EU3, has
advised the incoming government to continue talks
with the EU3 "even if they ask for further
suspension of uranium-enriching activities". He
also said that the Europeans should take "an
active part" in Iran's project to build 20 nuclear
reactors for energy.
"We plan to build 20
nuclear reactors. In case the Europeans, in their
proposals, agree to support this project and
guarantee the sustained supply of fuel for the
reactors, we should welcome it. But in case they
insist on a permanent suspension of enriching
uranium, we must strongly reject this, but not
interrupt the negotiations, since we are very
close to reaching an agreement," said Moussavian,
the head of the foreign policy department of the
SCNS.
Originally, Tehran intended to build
six atomic electricity power stations, one of
which, situated in the Persian Gulf port of
Bushehr, is near completion with the help of
Russia at a cost of US$800 million.
But in
a defiant move against American and Israeli
pressure on its nuclear ambitions, the present
conservative-controlled majlis, or parliament,
urged the outgoing government of President
Mohammad Khatami to consider the construction of
20 power plants, a proposal that has been
reiterated to the president-elect.
In
negotiations over the past few years with both the
EU3 and the United Nations watchdog, the
International Atomic Energy Agency, Rohani and his
team have agreed to temporarily stop enriching
uranium, an important step in producing nuclear
energy and also in making atomic weapons. Iran
also agreed to sign the Additional Protocols to
the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, allowing
inspectors to visit any nuclear sites and projects
without restriction and on short notice. In
return, Iran has been offered various economic
sweeteners, including "assistance" in joining the
World Trade Organization.
"The Europeans
may ask for a continuation of the suspension of
uranium activities ... but they could be waiting
for the next Iranian government," Moussavian said,
hinting that the present negotiating team could be
changed as Rohani's mission ends with that of
Khatami.
Contacted by Asia Times Online, a
source close to the EU3 delegation confirmed that
it was indeed waiting for the new government to be
installed.
Although the president-elect
has repeated that mega-projects like the nuclear
one or the main aspects of foreign policy are
decided "not by presidents but by the leader"
(Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has
the last word on every major domestic or foreign
issue), Ahmadinejad has also stated that he would
"under no conditions" yield to international
pressure to stop permanently the uranium-enriching
process.
In an interview with the Iranian
Student News Agency, Ali Aqa Mohammadi, the
spokesman for the SCNS, said, "All Iran has to do
in the Wednesday [July 20] meeting in London is to
remove the wrong interpretation the European side
has about the next government and its policy
concerning the nuclear issue. The macro policies
of the Islamic republic are decided in a collegial
form supervised by the leader and do not change
with government," he stated.
On Tuesday,
though, Khatami warned that there would be no
bargaining over Iran's peaceful nuclear programs,
state-television network IRIB reported. "There
will be no bargain and no incentive whatsoever can
make us give up pursuing our peaceful nuclear
programs," Khatami said.
The EU3 are
expected to offer Iran a package by the end of
August that will include European conditions for
reaching an agreement or taking the issue to the
United Nations Security Council, as demanded by
Washington.
Eager to enter the lucrative
nuclear market in Iran worth billions of dollars,
Europe is afraid that because of American pressure
the West might loose ground to Russia. In
interviews with The Asia Times Online, some
Iranian negotiators have indicated their
preference for Western nuclear technology over
that of Russia, and said that Tehran had no
objection to American constructors bidding for
future Iranian nuclear reactors alongside Europe.
Safa Haeri is a Paris-based
Iranian journalist covering the Middle East and
Central Asia.
(Copyright 2005 Asia
Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact us for information on sales, syndication and republishing.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
All material on this
website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written
permission.
© Copyright 1999 - 2005 Asia Times
Online Ltd.
|
|
Head
Office: Rm 202, Hau Fook Mansion, No. 8 Hau Fook St., Kowloon, Hong
Kong
Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
|
|
|
|
