Daily Alert Archives

Why Israel Is Right to Doubt that New Negotiations with Iran Will Work

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Amb. Dore Gold - In August 2002, the Iranian opposition disclosed previously unknown Iranian nuclear facilities. The U.S. at the time was busy with the weapons of mass destruction programs of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, so it left the Europeans to do the heavy lifting on Iran. The EU-3 powers (Britain, France, and Germany) struck deals with Iran in 2003-4 that would allow Iran to build more centrifuges. The father of the Iranian diplomatic approach was Hassan Rouhani, today the president of Iran, who served as national security adviser and later as head nuclear negotiator with the EU-3. Rouhani said in 2003: "When we were negotiating with the Europeans in Tehran, we were installing equipment in parts of the facility in Isfahan." The negotiating process, in short, allowed Iran to steadily advance with its nuclear program. The Islamic term used by the Iranians for what they were doing was Taqiya, a theological idea used by Shiite Muslims to engage in deception for self-preservation. It became a diplomatic instrument that the Iranians employed in their arms control talks with the West. Currently, there is no evidence that Iran has really changed, nor is Iran about to alter its behavior. In the meantime, it continues to be a dangerous power with both an advanced nuclear program and expansionist policies across the Middle East. The writer, former Director-General of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Israeli Ambassador to the UN, is president of the Jerusalem Center.
2021-02-01 00:00:00
Full Article