ID :
286316
Tue, 05/21/2013 - 14:46
Auther :

Arduous journey of Iran’s nuclear program will continue

TEHRAN, May 21(MNA)--The recent meeting between Iran’s main nuclear negotiator, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili, and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Istanbul did not bring about any major progress in the nuclear talks between Iran and the six major powers. However, the Westerners showed some signs of flexibility on the issue, since Ashton emphasized that the path of negotiations with the Iranian side has not reached an impasse yet and the two sides will continue talks to find a reasonable solution. Iran’s presidential election, which will be held on June 14, 2013, seems to be playing a role in the Westerners’ calculations. Despite Iran’s numerous constructive moves to build more confidence in the process of talks, the other side has yet to provide Iran with a satisfactory response. In other words, the Western members of the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany) are stalling in order to see what happens after the election and whether there will be a change in Iran’s position on the nuclear issue. As a result, the talks between the two sides are in a state of freeze. Meanwhile, over the past few years, Ashton has proven that she has almost no independence in her talks with Iran. In fact, she has only conveyed what the United States and its European allies are dictating to her, and she is actually not permitted to make decisions on her own, despite her insistence that she keeps her distance from Washington. As one of the active members of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran expects the IAEA to examine the case within the organization’s legal and technical framework. The previous Iranian administrations are also to blame for the current situation because they adopted a soft stance in the face of the West’s illegal demands for talks outside the IAEA. This gave the members of the 5+1 group the opportunity to take advantage of the situation to increase the pressure on Iran in order to realize their political objectives. However, Iran’s position on the talks will definitely not change after the presidential election. The country has made an arduous journey to achieve its scientific and peaceful objectives. Some of the gifted scientists who contributed to Iran’s nuclear program were assassinated by the enemies. Thus, the next president, regardless of his political persuasion, will be tasked with pursuing the case of the assassinations in international courts because the Iranian nation is waiting for the trials of the perpetrators of such heinous crimes. This will also increase Iran’s bargaining power, and the West will sooner or later accept Iran’s right to have access to civilian nuclear technology. Hassan Hanizadeh is a political analyst and an expert on the Middle East based in Tehran. (By Hassan Hanizadeh)

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