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Weekly Commentary
EU’s “Soft Power”
Charade with Tehran
It is time for the EU’s Big 3 to put an end to the diplomatic
charade over Tehran’s nuclear program.
In the tradition of European
diplomacy, the futility of the long-going nuclear talks with
Tehran is disguised in fancy, albeit, ambiguous phrases such as
“soft power”. While European diplomats are going out of their
way to put a hopeful spin on the stalemated exercise by
reserving their cheerleading only for the atmospherics of the
talks, Tehran has been very frank and, for that matter, brazen,
in its official positions.
With a great stake in securing lucrative commerce with Iran, the
EU is hard at work to come up with an excuse to prolong the
talks. In the meantime, the clerical regime has been emphatic
about its intention to resume the uranium enrichment process
currently said to be suspended.
Last Friday, a British Foreign Office spokesman told reporters,
"The informal talks have concluded. No conclusions were reached
and both sides, the EU Three and Iran, have agreed to go away
and reflect on what was discussed and to continue the
discussions in future."
The next day, Hassan Rowhani, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator,
told reporters that Iran might resume uranium enrichment-related
work this week.
One day of reflection on a meaningless talk did wonders.
Running out of excuses to prolong the talks, the EU now is
balloon testing the idea of waiting until after the June 17
presidential elections in Iran. "We don't want to break things
up now and have a row. We want to continue the negotiating
process after the Iranian election," a European diplomat told
the Associated Press last Friday.
Two days later, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
came back with a sharp and stinging response, totally rejecting
the notion that after June elections Iran would consider making
a deal with the European Union to abandon its nuclear program.
“The spokespersons of the arrogant power say they are waiting
for Iran’s elections to be carried out and then they will decide
on the issue of peaceful nuclear energy in Iran. But what have
Iran’s elections got to do with you?” Khamenei retorted.
Clearly, Tehran is after extracting maximum incentives from the
EU and Washington and prolonging the nuclear talks but not at
the expense of disrupting its secret nuclear program.
Let’s not forget that possessing nuclear weapons capability is a
strategic component of the mullahs’ calculus of survival. In
tandem with other components such as sponsorship of terrorism,
export of fundamentalism abroad, and continued crackdown on
political dissent at home, it serves to shield the regime from
increasing political vulnerability at home.
Furthermore, Iran seeks to gain strategic leverage in the region
and beyond. When the most active state sponsor of terrorism
joins the nuclear club, international terrorism wins. What is
more, a nuclear-armed Iran would plunge the EU even deeper in
the quagmire of appeasement.
The two years already wasted over fruitless negotiations with
Tehran have only brought the world closer to the specter of a
nuclear-armed terrorist regime in Iran.
Thank-you EU. Your “soft power” approach is working just fine.
Nearly two months have passed since the United States, under
intense pressure by the EU and the Europeanists of the American
foreign policy establishment, agreed to include two economic
incentives for Tehran. Not surprisingly, they only served to
embolden Tehran in its campaign of deception and denial.
With the mullahs remaining defiant, the EU must live up to the
pledge it made to Washington to join the U.S. in referring
Iran’s case to the U.N. Security Council.
Washington meanwhile must resist intense diplomatic lobbying by
the EU to push back the deadline for the talks from June to the
autumn. This charade has lasted far too long to have any
positive impact. (USADI)
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Financial Times
May 3, 2005
Iran nuclear
threat increases transatlantic friction
Iran's threat to resume nuclear enrichment-related activities
has led to more friction between the three European governments
negotiating with Tehran and the Bush administration, which
refuses to join the talks, diplomats said yesterday.
Nevertheless, the so-called EU3 of France, Germany and the UK
are in broad agreement with Washington that they would refer the
crisis to the United Nations Security Council if Iran renewed
production of uranium hexafluoride gas.
Negotiations between Iran and the EU3 stalled last Friday in
London. Last night, on the sidelines of a New York conference to
review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Joschka Fischer,
Germany's foreign minister, warned Kamal Kharrazi, his Iranian
counterpart, of the repercussions of a possible Iranian decision
to end its agreed freeze of enrichment-related activities.
But policy differences between the US and the EU3 emerged over
the weekend in Washington. Senior European diplomats expressed
their frustration to US officials over Washington's refusal to
take part in the negotiations with Iran, saying they could make
no headway.
One US official said the Bush administration was concerned that
the EU would not live up to its tough rhetoric and tackle Iran
at the UN.
It is not clear if the western powers will seek to refer Iran
immediately if the nuclear freeze is abandoned or wait several
months until a new Iranian president is in place.
At present the Europeans are reluctant to force the issue to a
crisis, just weeks before Iranian presidential elections
scheduled for June 17…
Frustrated with a lack of progress and what it sees as a
deliberate EU attempt to string out the talks, Iran has
threatened to resume nuclear activities this week…
The EU agreed in March that it would respond to such a move by
backing referral of the case to the Security Council. In
exchange the US, for the first time, extended limited incentives
to Iran, including the sale of aircraft parts and allowing
discussion of Iran's bid to start accession talks at the World
Trade Organisation…
But Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has
vehemently rejected any link between the country's elections and
the nuclear talks.
In a speech in Kerman on Sunday he denounced "spokesmen of the
Arrogance" for saying "they would like to talk to Iran about the
nuclear issue after the presidential election", and warned that
the election was "nothing to do with them".
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Daily Telegraph
April 29, 2005
Shias
'infiltrated by Iran' to control Iraqi police force
Control of Iraq's police force was handed to a Shia Arab party
with historic links to Iran yesterday despite warnings by
American intelligence that Iranian agents have infiltrated the
group's paramilitary wing.
The announcement that Baqir Soulagh, a member of the Supreme
Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), is to be
interior minister risks alienating Iraq's Sunni Arab community
whose support is needed if the insurgency is to be defeated.
SCIRI is one of the principal partners in the coalition of Shia
groups that won the majority of seats in January's election.
But it is loathed by many ordinary Iraqis as its leaders spent
two decades in exile in Iran and its 10,000-member paramilitary
wing, the Badr Brigade, fought against Iraq in the Iran-Iraq
war.
The appointment was confirmed when the national assembly voted
to approve the 37-member cabinet submitted by Ibrahim al-Jaafari,
Iraq's new prime minister.
The prominent role for SCIRI is likely to fuel widespread
concern that Teheran's influence is expanding in Iraq.
US government figures have recently alleged that intelligence
reports document an Iranian espionage campaign.
The reports, it is claimed, reveal that many Iranian agents are
in SCIRI's Badr Brigade and its operatives have been instructed
to infiltrate Iraqi security agencies…
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Iran Focus
May 1, 2005
Rafsanjani
prevented from speaking on May Day in Iran
Tehran, May 01 – A packed Azadi Stadium in Tehran was today the
scene of angry anti-government protests, forcing Iran’s powerful
ex-President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to call off his
scheduled speech at the May Day gathering.
Eye witnesses said that some 20,000 workers gathered in and
around the 12,000-seat stadium to mark May Day and chants of
“The Majlis (parliament) betrays us, the leaders support them”
could be heard throughout the crowd.
The event was originally organised by the government, however it
soon became the scene of hostilities towards the regime’s
clerical rulers.
Rafsanjani, who is also the head of Iran’s powerful State
Expediency Council, was scheduled to speak at the event but was
prevented by chants of “the servant’s government should leave us
alone” and “abolish slavery in Iran”. Rafsanjani occasionally
referred to his government as the servant’s government.
One eye witnesses said that the crowd grew particularly incensed
upon hearing the news that Rafsanjani was using the labourers’
event as part of an election stunt.
A number of times, when the announcer spoke about Rafsanjani,
the crowd started to boo. Many chanted “referendum, referendum,
referendum, this what our people want”.
Near the start of the event, Hossein Kamali, the former Minister
of Labour, gave a speech after which mini sports matches were
held aggravating many participants who said that they had come
from long distances to let their voices be heard regarding the
present situation of workers and were instead being offered
“amusements to divert their attention”.
Many workers registered their disapproval by parting the event.
One group of workers near the top of the stadium continuously
chanted slogans such as, “Don’t let our voices turn into angry
cries”.
The area around the stadium was swarming with State Security
Forces’ patrol cars, ambulances, and fire engines.
Security agents arrested many of the protestors and mobile phone
signals were jammed inside the stadium.
Similar protests occurred throughout the country, particularly
in the capital. In Tehran’s Jayhoon district May Day
demonstrators clashed with security forces.
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