Opportunity shunned in Iran-UK crisis
By Kaveh Afrasiabi
NEW YORK - The British government that recently took the lead in imposing
financial sanctions on Iran based on flimsy expressions of concern by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeated itself, by closing its
embassy in Iran and ordering Iranian diplomats to leave the United Kingdom
within 48 hours.
As foreign ministers from European Union countries meet to consider similar
downgrades of their diplomatic presence in Iran, governments including Germany,
France, and Netherlands have already recalled their ambassadors for
"consultation".
At least some European countries will feel obliged to apply further pressure on
Tehran by appeasing British politicians who are outraged by the mob attacks on
their diplomatic sanctuary on Tuesday. Yet, a concerted EU effort to duplicate
the British
initiative represents a misguided overreaction that is unlikely to yield any
positive results.
For its part, the Iranian government has been trying to assure the world that
it is committed to living up to its obligations to protect the foreign
diplomats and their premises, in light of repeat statements by the foreign
ministry expressing regret over the "unacceptable behavior" of some
demonstrators and the pledge to conduct a serious inquiry into the matter.
Iran-British relations have been spiraling downward for a long time. The
boiling anger in Tehran's streets after the powerful Guardian Council approved
a parliamentary decision to curtail relations with the UK has been anything but
surprising, given the fact that many people in Iran consider the British
decision to end all financial relations with Iran as essentially an act of
economic warfare.
Feeling righteous about its drastic response of ending all diplomatic ties with
Iran over the attack on the British embassy in Tehran, the British government
led by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron is ill-prepared for reflection
on how its own actions may have precipitated the current crisis in relations,
and is instead trying to seize the moment and isolate Iran in the international
community.
This fits well with the undeclared "regime change" policy toward Iran that may
have been emboldened since recent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
success in toppling Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The problem with this
strategy is that it may stiffen Iran's collective resolve to stand up to
Western (neo-colonial) pressures no matter what the price.
As a diverse, yet interconnected economic crisis grips Europe, the new row with
Iran is both untimely and unfortunate, and can contribute to a growing
corrosion of unity. Forcing the situation to extract a united front against
Iran irrespective of reluctant voices, may backfire and escalate tensions
within the eurozone. Greece, for example, has solid trade and energy relations
with Iran that could be hurt if the European Union fails the test of prudent
diplomacy.
As a wake-up call to other members of the European Union, the storming of the
British embassy in Tehran contains the necessary ingredients for a new policy
evaluation that could conceivably lead to a distancing from - rather than
emulating - the draconian British policy toward Iran. There are unmistakable
signs of a policy rift that cannot be glued over by the mere exigencies of
solidarity with the outraged British government.
Rather, a sound and coherent approach that demonstrates neither Iran phobia nor
power reductionism is necessary. That however appears to be beyond the
capabilities of the economically besieged members of the EU, some with stronger
ties to Iran than others.
Indeed, the links of economic interdependence between Iran and the EU should
logically speaking provide sufficient incentive to refrain from emulating the
United States policy of isolation and containment, which is derived from the
absence of shared economic interests between Iran and the US.
Europe can now leverage its economic relations for better Iranian protection of
its diplomatic interests in Iran, instead of self-depriving themselves of this
incentive through the childish policy of sounding undue frustrations with
Tehran and seeking maximum advantages in the form of collective EU diplomatic
offensive.
According to some Iran experts, Tehran and London can rebuild relations, but
only if the present British campaign of unbounded hostility toward the Islamic
Republic is minimally curtailed. Unfortunately, it appears that current events
may give rise instead to a deeper, longer-lasting and more unsettling crisis.
Such a nasty prospect can perhaps fuel rational behavior and return to
diplomacy and dialogue, which is why an EU fact-finding group to Iran would be
a constructive initiative.
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