Hassan Rouhani, President of Islamic Republic of Iran, in a recent address to the United Nations General Assembly stated that “Iran poses no threat to the world or the region” and assured that “WMDs and Nuclear weapons have no place in Iran’s security and defence doctrine”. So now, Iran is ready to have open talks with the western world about its current nuclear establishments as well as undergoing research and make it clear to the world that Iran has no intentions to develop or possess Nuclear weapons as it contradicts the fundamental religious and ethical convictions. He re-iterated that sanctions by the West against the nation are violent, it’s Iran’s sovereign right to enrich Uranium for power plants and non-military purposes so that its citizens can access peaceful nuclear energy. Iran is even ready to discuss details about its nuclear activities BUT its right to enrich Uranium is non – negotiable.
Okay, so this is History! Who would have thought that after all these years of tension, Iran will extend the hand, which as of now seems of friendship, towards the West! Iran witnessed a regime change this year in June, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a never back down type of confrontational leader and an amazing orator, was succeeded by a moderate leader - Hassan Rouhani, who vowed to develop relations with the west and try to lift off the sanctions. This has been his first important address and it is quite impressive.
So why on Earth is Iran not being allowed to enrich Uranium! It’s so bad for the people of Iran to not get access to clean energy right! Actually the concerns of other nations seem quite logical too. There is no proper system to ensure that enriched Uranium won’t be used for nuclear weapons or won’t fall in hands of the extremists. Proper safeguards are being spoken about repeatedly but no one is sure about its implementation. And firstly why all of a sudden, Iran wants to disclose its nuclear facilities to the west?
Look into the details and find out that Iran’s oil revenue isn’t going that smooth as it used to, and its currency is losing value. The government is trying every bit to get the sanctions lifted in order to appease the people. The big question still remains unanswered, Iran plans to use enriched Uranium for Nuclear arms or not? Rouhani has denied it a million times, but a lot of nations, unsurprisingly, haven’t bought that.
Iran hasn’t had pleasant relations with the west for more than 30 years now and have extremely hostile relations with the Jewish nation of Israel, with both nations threatening to attack each other consistently. Blame the leaders or the media or the West, but Iran has never been able to portray itself as a peaceful non-threatening country, unfortunately it has always been involved in heated discussions with the West. Netanyahu compared Iran to Nazi ruled Germany by using holocausts to explain the current situation and suggested that countries should not forget the lessons learnt in the 20th century. He warned that when radical regimes are allowed to acquire awesome power, their appetite for aggression knows no bounds. The Jews have seen a lot of destruction and loss of lives by the Nazi regime, and therefore are hesitant to give power to another regime which has been hostile towards the Jewish state.
What happens next? Will the United States go against their ally Israel and support to lift the sanctions against Iran? Will Iran be allowed to enrich Uranium? Does US believe what President Rouhani said? Will Iran adhere to the norms set by the IAEA and Security Council? Are points raised up by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu facts? Will this event be fruitful for Iran? Will Israel actually start a military attack against Iran? We might not know the answers as of now, but this sure has the potential to change the global political scenario. Its said “If you want to see the real nature of a person, give him immense power”, but should this risk be taken? All the queries will hopefully be resolved when the 5 permanent members of the Security Council - US, Russia, Great Britain, China, France along with Germany (termed as P5 + 1) negotiate with Iran in Geneva this Tuesday and Wednesday (15th and 16th Oct, 2013). Till then, adios.
Picture Reference 1 / Picture Reference 2