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How Tehran outmaneuvered Washington
By Erich Marquardt
From the beginning, Iranâs decision to comply with the IAEA latest stipulations on its nuclear research program was an attempt to politically outmaneuver Washington.
| Anybody here have an illusions they were intending to cooperated?... Didn't think so. |
Even more disturbing to Washington policymakers was how three EU countries also promised Tehran that if it complied with IAEA demands, the EU would be willing to assist Iranâs nuclear research program by giving it greater access to modern technology and supplies.
| In many cases the conflict between money and principle is an illusion. In others, it's real, and the lack of conflict becomes the illusion... |
Nikolai Shingaryov, spokesman of the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry, made a similar offer, telling Itar-Tass that the IAEA resolution on Iran "gives an opportunity to step up Russian-Iranian cooperation in nuclear power engineering".
| I think we need some cliche here about the last infidel selling the Faithful™ the technology they use to destroy the second-to-last infidel... |
Other regionally significant countries, such as Russia, are also unwilling to support a hardline US policy towards Iran. In contrast to US strategy, Russia is currently building a nuclear reactor in the city of Bushehr in southern Iran. Moscow also has provided massive supplies of military equipment to Tehran, such as MiG-29 fighter aircraft, Su-24 fighter bombers, T-72 tanks and Kilo class attack submarines.
| I can't really wax indignant about that stuff. The Russers need the money, and the Medes and the Persians are dumb enough to buy that stuff after watching it perform against American equipment next door. And it does look good in parades... |
Moscow is pursuing the prospect of building more nuclear reactors and facilities in Iran, a development that would help Russia earn much-needed financial capital.
| The nukes are a potential problem, not the conventional junk... |
Washingtonâs fear over Iran developing nuclear weapons is not contrived. Washington is attempting to preserve the current power balance in the Middle East and Central Asia. If Iran were to become a nuclear-armed state, it would greatly increase the Persian countryâs foreign policy leverage. A nuclear-armed Iran, coupled with its already sizeable military, would greatly increase the countryâs defensive capabilities and limit the ability of rival states to threaten Iranâs territorial and governmental integrity; moreover, it would also prove more difficult to check Iranâs regional ambitions.
| The regional ambitions are more relevant than external threats. Except for us, there aren't any. Nobody's even mentioned the possibility of Pakland gobbling up Iranian Balochistan... |
Indeed, this is why the leadership in Tehran has been so keen on furthering its nuclear research program. With an agreement designed by the EU now, the only legal way to prevent Iran from enriching uranium is for international observers to prove that the country is using the uranium for nuclear weapons. Finding proof to make a case against a country that may be secretly developing nuclear weapons has always proved difficult.
A nuclear-armed Iran would threaten Washingtonâs ability to alter the power balance in the Middle East since it would limit Washingtonâs political and military leverage in the region. A nuclear-armed Iran would also subdue Israelâs power projection capabilities; presently Israel has a nuclear monopoly in the Middle East. Tehran has watched as Washington increased US influence in the entire region; first by establishing military bases in Afghanistan, and second by establishing them in Iraq. This explains why Tehran has been unwilling to compromise on the future of its nuclear research program. Shortly after agreeing to the EUâs provisions, Rowhani was quick to assert that Iran would remain sovereign over all aspects of its nuclear research program. Rowhani stated: "We believe that stopping enriching uranium is totally unacceptable and we think nobody agrees with [doing] that in Iran." Therefore, as long as the EU and other significant states that have influence in Tehran - such as Russia - are unwilling to unite with Washingtonâs desired hardline policy towards Iran, the leadership in Tehran may be able to outmaneuver Bush administration policymakers and come closer to their goal of acquiring nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Lucky 2003-12-07 |
