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Hell hath no fury like the
Iranian clerics at helm
A.H.
Jaffor Ullah
2005/05/18
The two nations that have
drawn attention lately by threatening to pull plutonium fuel rods from
nuclear reactor are North Korea and Iran.
The news of this ominous development is creating consternation
among other civilized nations. While
North Korea is doing this to receive economic aid package from Washington,
Iran is not looking forward to receive even one penny from the developed
nations in the West. Iran has
lots and lots of petroleum reserve and as such not in need of foreign aid
to carry out its developmental projects.
If Iran wants to develop its nuclear bomb, it will be purely for
prestige.
Iran has stunned the world in
the second week of May by announcing that it would re-start its uranium
enrichment program. On May 12,
2005, Iran warned that it would no longer respect the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if it was denied the right to pursue what
it considers its right to develop a full civilian nuclear energy program.
One of the clerics, Hassan
Rohani, chief nuclear negotiator, said, “If Iran cannot use its
legitimate rights in the framework of the NPT, it will no longer have
respect for the treaty,” the semi-official ISNA students news agency
quoted the cleric as telling visiting Russian deputy foreign minister
Sergei Kislyak. It is worth
mentioning here that Iran, a signatory of the NPT, was designed to limit
the spread of nuclear weapons, is now engaged in a high-stakes standoff
with the West over its nuclear program.
Tehran reiterates that its
atomic ambitions are entirely peaceful.
The nation that is being controlled by a bunch of clerics has
threatened to resume processing nuclear fuel, which perhaps could be used
to make nuclear weapons. Washington
and the European Union say such a move by Teheran would lead to referral
of Iran’s case to the U.N. Security Council for punitive measures.
The chief negotiator for Iran,
Hassan Rohani, is least perturbed by the reaction from EU Union.
He retorted back, “Using the fuel cycle in the framework of the
NPT and international regulations is Iran’s final and national
decision.” In a veiled
threat, Mr. Rohani said, “The
Iranian nation will not yield to pressures to be deprived of its legal
rights and is ready to pay any cost.”
This is not the first time
that Iran gave warning to the West delineating its desire to purify
plutonium. Iran’s recent
announcement did not come as a shock to EU nations.
However, the timing of the announcement coincides with political
upheaval in neighboring Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan.
Only days after Iran’s announcement violent clash broke out in
another Central Asian nation, Uzbekistan, in which reportedly 500-600
civilians died in the hands of Uzbek government soldiers.
Before the world could second-guess it, the entire Central Asia
became mired in political trouble. Under
this dire backdrop, Iran’s ominous proclamation to get on with its
plutonium enrichment program is going to destabilize the entire Central
Asia.
A flurry of activity ensued in
Europe immediately after the word reached the EU Headquarters.
For example, France, Britain, and Germany have warned Iran they
will break off talks and join Washington in seeking U.N. Security Council
action if Tehran makes good on its threats to resume atomic work.
The foreign ministers of the EU’s three biggest powers sent a
strongly worded letter to Hassan Rohani, Iran’s chief nuclear
negotiator, warning that resuming potentially arms-related nuclear work
“would bring the negotiating process to an end.
The consequences could only be negative for Iran.”
Even British Prime Minister
Tony Blair joined the protestation against Iran’s decision to resume its
plutonium enrichment program. Mr.
Blair spelled out the potential consequences; he told reporters: We
certainly will support referral to the United Nations Security Council if
Iran breaches its obligations and undertakings.”
Iran may have sympathetic ear
in Europe but Washington believes Iran’s nuclear energy program is a
front to develop nukes and has been pressing Iran’s case to be sent to
the 15-member U.N. council for possible economic sanctions and other
actions. The EU does not
wholeheartedly supports the American position vis-à-vis Iran’s desire
to blast a few nukes further down the road, but has offered incentives to
try to get Tehran to give up its atomic fuel program, which Iran insists
is only for nuclear power plants and not for arms.
There is a political dimension
to Iran’s chutzpah vis-à-vis its nuclear ambition. The
presidential election in Iran is almost knocking at the door.
Political analysts say leading presidential candidate Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani, whose allies are leading the nuclear negotiations with the EU,
stands to benefit from an escalation in international tensions.
The voters in Iran may think that Rafsanjani is standing tall
against the West. They may
therefore cast their votes in his favor.
Ali Banuazizi, an expert on Iranian politics, says that of the
various candidates for the next presidential election in Iran on June 17,
only former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has a chance of ending
the standoff with Washington over Iran’s nuclear program.
Rafsanjani is considered a pragmatic politician, who will face a
number of opponents for the office, including old-guard conservatives,
reformists critical of the Iranian government, and a new category of
younger conservatives from military backgrounds.
On May 16, 2005, news broke
out in USA Today concerning the UN Secretary General, Kofi
Annan’s forewarning that if Bush Administration wants to push the matter
in the Security Council to punish Iran over its nuclear program, then the
Security Council might be deadlocked.
China and Russia, which have strong economic ties to Iran, might
veto any push to sanction Iran.
In summary, as Iran prepares
for the presidential election, its rights to enrich plutonium has become a
prestige issue. Is it an empty
threat by the confederacy of Mullahs who run the nation?
Both U.K. and America want to take Iran to Security Council for its
breaches but the Secretary General, Kofi Annan, volleyed a warning shot by
saying that the Council maybe deadlocked.
Under this dire backdrop, the clergies in Iran are testing the
limits of patience shown by the West.
Are the clerics teasing the West?
It seems appropriate to say that hell hath no fury like the Iranian
clerics who are at the helm.
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A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a
researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA
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