Confidence-Building a Two-Way Road | ||
By SadrodinMusawi Three months after the interim Geneva deal, there are still genuine doubts in Iran about the sincerity of corridors of power in the United States in allowing the full implementation of the deal. No doubt, there are certain circles in both the countries whose interests lie in the deal’s failure. At the same time, there are wise people, groups and factions on both sides that give priority to their respective national interests instead of prioritizing factional or lobby interests. The onus is on the latter to make the deal a success. As far as the Iranian side is concerned, advocates of the deal have done their homework. They are accountable and as soon as there is any untoward development related to the deal in the United States, they work hard to convince the former group about the constructive intentions of President Barack Obama’s administration. Unfortunately, we recently witnessed several undesirable developments, some of which have been confirmed by the US administration or the president himself. One of these measures is the US visa denial to Iran’s pick for the position of ambassador to the United Nations, Hamid Aboutalebi. On April 10, the US House of Representatives unanimously approved a legislation that prevents Aboutalebi from entering the US. The UN regulations stipulate that each country is allowed to select its own representative for the international organization and the US, as the host country, must grant a visa to the appointed diplomat. Iran believes the US is setting a dangerous precedent by violating the right of sovereign states to designate representatives to the United Nations. Many Iranians believe President Obama is serious about implementing the deal. However, Obama signed legislation on Friday to block Iran’s ambassadorial nominee to the United Nations. Although Obama said he’s only treating the legislation as guidance, the fact that he is taking side with the opponents of the deal is discouraging and gives pretexts to opponents of the deal in Iran for pressuring President Rouhani and his negotiating team. In another development, US prosecutors unveiled plans Thursday to sell an Iran-owned Manhattan skyscraper and distribute proceeds to families affected by attacks allegedly linked to Tehran. The 36-story building is located in the heart of New York City. Prosecutors allege the building’s owners, the Alavi Foundation—a non-profit corporation promoting Islamic culture and Persian language—and Assa Corporation, transferred rental income and other funds to Iran’s state-owned Bank Melli. This is while Alavi Foundation is an independent charity institution in the US, which has no links with Iranian government. In addition to the Manhattan tower, US authorities will also sell Iran-linked properties in California, Maryland, Texas, Virginia and the Queens borough of New York, along with the contents of bank accounts formerly in the name of entities linked to Iran. According to the Geneva deal, no new sanctions would be imposed on Iran. The recent event is a clear violation of the deal. The third development is the US failure to release Iran’s blocked funds on time. As a result, opponents of the deal in Iran argue that economic dividends or advantages of the deal are meager and uncertain. Some parliament members expressed concerns about the government’s failure to receive the promised funds in the past three months. They are also concerned that despite the lifting of sanctions, no foreign company has agreed to insure Iranian oil tankers nor any Western country has sent spare parts of planes to Iran. Some of the Iranian government’s critics, particularly in the parliament, even claim that the deal has already collapsed. For instance, a hard-line lawmaker has said nuclear talks between Iran and P5+1 have collapsed and the US and European stances indicate the failure. “My analysis of comments made by Iranian and foreign officials is that the nuclear deal has reached a deadlock,” Mehdi Kouchakzadeh told Mehr News Agency last week. He alleged that it is difficult for the government, who proposed the deal, to accept this reality. Kouchakzadeh further said the West is humiliating the Iranian nation by making irrelevant demands in the course of negotiations. The Iranian nation expect the Obama administration and allies to implement the deal faithfully and disarm opponents both in the United States and Iran. Confidence-building is a two-way road. Iran has already taken all the necessary measures to assure the international community that its nuclear program is peaceful. If the US fails to win the confidence of the Iranian nation by taking affirmative measures within the framework of the deal, no one can be sure President Rouhani will be able to convince his opponents at home.
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