Iran steps up to the nuclear table
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi
NEW YORK - After Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki submitted Tehran's
new proposals to representatives of the "Iran Six" nations on Wednesday, he
told the press, "We have provided a new opportunity for dialogue and bilateral
cooperation and we hope we can arrange a new round of talks under the framework
of this new package of proposals."
While the content of the package remains confidential, various Iranian
officials, including Mottaki, have provided information that hints at a
comprehensive approach that combines nuclear issues with other issues on Iran's
foreign policy plate.
At the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) general meeting in Vienna on
Wednesday, Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh reiterated his government's
preparedness "to have a comprehensive dialogue". This was immediately praised
by the
IAEA's outgoing director general, Mohammad ElBaradei, who urged parties to
"talk to each other and not at each other", according to a diplomat who
attended the meeting.
"The package covers all the pertinent issues such as security and economic
cooperation, non-proliferation and disarmament, supply and demand of energy,
energy security as well as peaceful use of nuclear technology," said Soltanieh,
adding that Iran's nuclear program "would only be discussed at the IAEA".
There are four components of the nuclear standoff: the IAEA, the UN Security
Council, multilateral negotiations and bilateral negotiations, each of which
has its own advantages.
For instance, at the IAEA there is a strong support for Iran by the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM), which introduced a statement on Wednesday that praised Iran's
enhanced cooperation with the IAEA and strongly criticized the attempt by some
states to pressure the agency on the subject of so-called "alleged studies" by
Iran into nuclear weapons.
According to some diplomats, in his summary statement at the IAEA meeting on
September 9, ElBaradei also criticized what he called "unfair" criticisms of
his agency and vehemently rejected the allegation (floating in the Israeli
press as well as the Wall Street Journal) that the IAEA had withheld vital
information about Iran's nuclear program.
"Obviously, some people are trying to undermine the agency. All the information
we got came from people sitting in this room. If anybody has any information
that we have not shared, please step forward. Otherwise, as a preacher would
say, 'you should forever hold your peace'," ElBaradei said. He also shed new
light on the subject of Iran's alleged "weaponization studies" and the
purported documents provided by US and its allies:
Coming to the
alleged studies: they are alleged because the whole question is not really
about assessment or analysis. It's about the accuracy and authenticity of the
information about the alleged studies. That is the $64,000 question, frankly,
and that is where we are stuck. We have limited ability to authenticate the
allegations. It's one word against another.
Nonetheless,
ElBaradei urged Iran to clarify the truth or of the documents regarding the
"alleged studies" that touch on Iran's military procurement, missile technology
and military explosions. He also called on Tehran to adopt the Additional
Protocol of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In response, Soltanieh lodged a letter to the IAEA chief that questions the
agency's intrusion in the area of Iran's conventional military activities and
laments the absence of any "modality" to pursue this issue as there was in the
August 2007 workplan. Soltanieh's letter also questioned why the Iranian
nuclear dossier has not come under "routine" treatment as anticipated in the
final paragraph of the 2007 plan.
As global diplomacy surrounding Iran's nuclear program gets into full gear -
including plans to raise the issue at the upcoming UN summit in New York and
the Group of 20 gathering in Russia in late September - Iran seems poised to
benefit from a relatively positive gathering of board of governors at the IAEA
and strong backing from the 118 member states of the NAM.
Still, there is lingering concern among some NAM members that the organization
could suffer if Iran turned out to be engaged in clandestine proliferation. In
his speech at the IAEA, Soltanieh addressed this concern: "I assure the
non-aligned family that in light of the great importance that we attach to the
support by the Non-Aligned Movement, we will not disappoint them."
The important issue now is the reaction of the "Iran Six" nations (the United
Nations Security Council's permanent five - the United States, Britain, Russia,
France and China - plus Germany). Will the Barack Obama administration look
with favor at Iran's proposal? Or will Washington press for new sanctions and
dismiss Iran's proposal as a mere delaying tactic?
Iran considers the new package a "window of opportunity" for dialogue with the
US. Lending an important voice to Iran's new diplomatic overture, the chief of
Iran's armed forces, Seyed Hassan Firouzabadi, made a rare public statement
that praised the "realism" of Obama's approach toward Iran. Firouzabadi
maintained that Iran's nuclear program "is completely peaceful and its
objective is to produce energy".
Given the package's reported inclusion of regional security issues alongside
nuclear issues, Iran may be signaling it is ready to engage in all-inclusive
talks with Washington.
But not everyone in Iran is convinced that the US is ready for a serious
dialogue.
"The White House is afraid of being trapped in a legal discussion with Iran
over Iran's nuclear rights and as a result may be looking for excuses not to
engage in the dialogue," said a Tehran University political science professor
who declined to be named.
The professor added that, in his opinion, Iran has come forward with undeniable
signs of willingness for dialogue. Still, he said, it will be "very hard for
the other side to shift their line on dialogue".
Kaveh L Afrasiabi, PhD, is the author of After Khomeini: New
Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy (Westview Press) . For his Wikipedia entry,
click here. His
latest book,
Reading In Iran Foreign Policy After September 11 (BookSurge Publishing
, October 23, 2008) is now available.
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