[Mb-civic] FW: Iran Briefing at the Foreign Press Association - London

[Golsorkhi]

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From: Shahla Samii <shahla at thesamiis.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 10:26:32 -0500
Subject: Iran Briefing at the Foreign Press Association - London

> Subject: Iran Briefing at the Foreign Press Association - London
>
>
> Briefing
> by
> Dr. Mehrdad Khonsari
> Senior Research Consultant, The Centre for Arab & Iranian Studies in
> London
> entitled
> ŒA Distinct Abscence of Internal Public Debate over Iran¹s Nuclear
> Poilicy¹
> Held at The Foreign Press Association
> 11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AJ
> Tuesday, 30th  November 2004
>
>
> Fear of US pressures leading to regime change as well as its continued
> desire to be counted as a Œmajor player¹ in its geographic environment
> has been at the heart of Iranian foreign policy concerns, particularly
> since the removal of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Taleban in
> Afghanistan.
>
> In the sphere of external affairs, having pursued a policy of
> Œmilitant anti-Americanism¹ for the past 25 years, the Islamic
> regime¹s desire to ³counterbalance the US² through a variety of means
> - including the attempt to develop close relations with Russia and
> China (for the procurement of its defense needs), and with the EU and
> Japan (for trade and investment) have been at the heart of the
> regime¹s foreign policy agenda.
>
>  The international concern over Iran¹s potential covert attempts at
> acquiring nuclear weapons along with the periodical display of its
> achievements in the field of long range missile production, are
> considered by many experts to be part and parcel of the same general
> concerns. In this regard, there is no question that  the regime also
> considers the pursuance of  this option as a much cheaper deterrence
> which at the same time affords the ruling establishment with much
> needed prestige and clout at a time when popular support for the
> revolution and the theocracy which it propelled to power in 1979 is
> nothing but a faint memory.
>
>  For the past few years, the IAEA has been engaged in an arduous and
> at times frustrating battle to hold the Islamic Republic of Iran
> accountable for its actions in the field of nuclear proliferation.
> Since October 2003, their efforts have been actively supported by the
> so-called ŒEU 3' who have tried through a variety of ways to induce
> Iran to cooperate more fully by once and for all abandoning any
> ambition for the development of nuclear weapons.
>
>  In the aftermath of the latest meeting of the IAEA Board of governors
> (November 2004),  Iran has succeeded to buy extra time by agreeing to
> Œtemporarily halt¹ all uranium enrichment activities for the next six
> months (as demanded by the IAEA as well as Britain, France, Germany
> and the US). But given Iran¹s ongoing domestic and foreign policy
> dilemmas, no near end solution to this controversy seems in sight, as
> the Iranian ruling establishment is unlikely to abandon this option,
> which many term as its ultimate Œinsurance policy¹ for survival.
> Hence, it is no wonder that the Iranian parliament has so far failed
> to officially ratify the so-called ŒProgram 93+2', otherwise known as
> the ŒAdditional Protocol¹ to the NPT Treaty (despite a firm commitment
> to the EU 3 Foreign Ministers in October 2003 that it would).
>
>  Also, while from an international perspective ³the Jury is still out²
> regarding Iran¹s overall intentions in this field, it is equally
> important not to lose sight of the fact that the Iranian people, whose
> destiny and future prospects are closely intertwined with the eventual
> outcome of this dispute, have been mere on-lookers who have never been
> informed nor consulted in any meaningful way concerning regarding
> their government¹s pursuit of this dangerous policy which could
> potentially subject certain particular locations in their homeland to
> military targeting. Apart from trying to appeal in the most simplest
> of terms to the Iranian people¹s sense of nationalism, the Islamic
> regime has failed to engage the Iranian people in any kind of
> meaningful public debate concerning the implications of their policies
> for the future of the Iranian nation in this field.
>
>  In the aftermath of the last two major elections in Iran (the
> Municipal Elections of 2003 and the Parliamentary elections of 2004)
> where the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people failed to turn
> up at the polls, thereby confirming the existence of both a Œpopular
> and a legitimacy crisis¹ confronting the ruling theocracy, it is only
> right that the Iranian people be fully informed of the full national
> security, foreign policy, economic and environmental aspects and
> consequences of their government¹s policies in this matter. In the
> final analysis, it is imperative that the Iranian people be given a
> role to have the final say over the future direction of policy in this
> field.


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