Sign in
  • Home
  • Perspectives
  • Articles
  • Columns
  • Platform
  • Poetry
    • Literature
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • My account
  • Give
    • Donation Confirmation
  • Contribute
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
45.5 F
Los Angeles
Monday, February 18, 2019
  • Sign in / Join
  • Contact MMN
  • en English
    af Afrikaanssq Albanianam Amharicar Arabichy Armenianaz Azerbaijanieu Basquebe Belarusianbn Bengalibs Bosnianbg Bulgarianca Catalanceb Cebuanony Chichewazh-CN Chinese (Simplified)zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)co Corsicanhr Croatiancs Czechda Danishnl Dutchen Englisheo Esperantoet Estoniantl Filipinofi Finnishfr Frenchfy Frisiangl Galicianka Georgiande Germanel Greekgu Gujaratiht Haitian Creoleha Hausahaw Hawaiianiw Hebrewhi Hindihmn Hmonghu Hungarianis Icelandicig Igboid Indonesianga Irishit Italianja Japanesejw Javanesekn Kannadakk Kazakhkm Khmerko Koreanku Kurdish (Kurmanji)ky Kyrgyzlo Laola Latinlv Latvianlt Lithuanianlb Luxembourgishmk Macedonianmg Malagasyms Malayml Malayalammt Maltesemi Maorimr Marathimn Mongolianmy Myanmar (Burmese)ne Nepalino Norwegianps Pashtofa Persianpl Polishpt Portuguesepa Punjabiro Romanianru Russiansm Samoangd Scottish Gaelicsr Serbianst Sesothosn Shonasd Sindhisi Sinhalask Slovaksl Slovenianso Somalies Spanishsu Sudanesesw Swahilisv Swedishtg Tajikta Tamilte Teluguth Thaitr Turkishuk Ukrainianur Urduuz Uzbekvi Vietnamesecy Welshxh Xhosayi Yiddishyo Yorubazu Zulu
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Media Monitors Network (MMN) Media Monitors Network (MMN)
Media Monitors Network (MMN) Media Monitors Network (MMN)
  • Home
  • Perspectives
    • Myanmar/Burma Little hope for Rohingya IDPs
      Perspectives

      The Myth of ‘Bengali Migration’ to Arakan

      Faisal Mosque - Pakistan
      Perspectives

      Pakistan: How to Change Political Culture of Corruption and Rebuild the…

      Disappearing Palestine
      Perspectives

      In Hebron, Israel removes the last restraint on its settlers’ reign…

      No to Sexism Racism Homophobia Xenophobia
      Perspectives

      Racism in our time: Can it be defeated?

      Jerusalem Israel Palestine Dome of The Rock Golden Dome
      Perspectives

      Clover Sellout to Apartheid Israel Faces Resistance

  • Articles
    • Man studying religious book
      Articles

      Ishmael and Isaac: An Essay on the Divergent Moral Economies of…

      Mahmoud Abbas
      Articles

      May Your Home Be Destroyed

      Netanyahu Lighting Hanukah Candles with His Wife and Sons
      Articles

      Bibi’s Son or: Three Men in a Car

      The Map of Greater Israel
      Articles

      The Man Who Jumped

      West Bank - Palestine
      Articles

      Cry, Beloved Country

  • Columns
    • United States Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.
      Columns

      Game Over!

      Bernie Sanders
      Columns

      Bernie 2020 Campaign Has Corporate Democrats Running Scared

      Pope Francis
      Columns

      Why the Events Surrounding Pope Francis’ UAE Visit Were So Important

      Democrats
      Columns

      As the 2020 Presidential Contest Begins, Democrats Need to Refocus

      Disappearing Palestine
      Columns

      Michelle Alexander Has Opened a Door, We Must Work to Keep…

  • Platform
    • Hanukkah Lights
      Platform

      Hanukkah is not hypocrisy

      The Washington Post
      Platform

      “Preemptive war could risk millions of casualties. But….”

      Platform

      When they shout: "We strongly condemn…"

      68
      Platform

      Why Iran won’t attack Israel

      Platform

      Is One Iraqi’s Self-Hatred Newsworthy?

  • Poetry
    • Literature
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • My account
  • Give
    • Donation Confirmation
  • Contribute
Home Perspectives US increasing Iraq-style pressure on Iran over its nuclear program
  • Perspectives

US increasing Iraq-style pressure on Iran over its nuclear program

By
Waseem Shehzad
-
September 30, 2005
Share
Facebook
Twitter
Google+
Pinterest
WhatsApp
Linkedin
ReddIt
Email
Print
Tumblr
Telegram
StumbleUpon
VK
Digg
LINE
Viber

    Nothing illustrates the West’s hypocrisy better than its attitude to the issue of nuclear technology and its use for the generation of energy. There are several layers of hypocritical behaviour: countries that do not possess nuclear know-how must be denied its use because it is alleged that this would lead to their making nuclear weapons. Those that have mastered the techniques must be prevented from advancing further if they are Muslims because they might challenge the West’s hegemony. Thus “Muslim” Pakistan is under pressure to abandon its nuclear programme but Hindu India is promised nuclear cooperation; zionist Israel has several hundred nuclear weapons but there is not even a hint of criticism, while Islamic Iran is threatened with military aggression for operating within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which it is a signatory.

    The nuclear issue also brings into focus the fact that there is no difference between the US and the European Union (EU) when dealing with Muslims. Take the case of Iran. The three EU countries–”Britain, France and Germany–”that have been involved in discussions with Tehran for more than a year seem to be engaged in a monologue; they do not hear what Iran is saying, but are adamant that their own demands, however ludicrous, be met, or else. On March 23 Iran presented a detailed set of proposals to meet the EU-3’s concerns, but they did not even look at it. On August 12, in an interview with an Israeli radio station, US president George Bush said that while he would give diplomacy a chance, all options, including the “use of force” against Iran, are on the table. These threats follow deliberately placed leaks in the US media to the effect that US vice president Dick Cheney has ordered senior air force generals to draw up contingency plans to strike Iran with tactical nuclear weapons.

    This rising crescendo of threats has occurred in parallel with the IAEA board of governors’ resolution, passed at the behest of the EU on August 11, demanding that its chairman, Mohamed El-Baradei, report by September 3 on whether Iran has complied with its request for “full suspension of all enrichment-related activities”. For the record, it must be stated that under article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has “an inalienable right … to develop, research, produce and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination”. Yet Iran’s treaty rights are buried under an avalanche of hostile propaganda.

    From the reports in the Western media, one could easily conclude that Iran is guilty of violating the terms of the NPT. Western media reports have been deliberately misleading, echoing statements by European and American officials without presenting the whole picture. The coverage of Iran’s breaking of seals on stored material at the Isfahan nuclear power plant on August 15 is typical of this attitude. The story was presented as if Tehran had acted unilaterally and in violation of its treaty obligations. In fact, Iran had announced at the IAEA board meeting in Vienna on August 10 that it would wait until IAEA inspectors arrived at the plant and installed monitoring cameras before it would open the seals, a perfectly legitimate course of action, well within its NPT rights; yet this fact has been deliberately omitted in almost all Western media reports. It was simply reported that Iran “broke the seals”, implying impropriety on its part. The material at Isfahan is only being converted into gas and does not complete the nuclear-fuel cycle by enriching uranium that could be used to make a bomb. Iran also announced that operations at its Natanz plant, where the fuel-cycle could be completed, would remain suspended.

    Iran has insisted all along that its nuclear activities are aimed at producing energy; to show its good faith, it signed an Additional Protocol with the EU-3, something it was under no obligation to do. Far from appreciating Iran’s good intentions, the EU-3 and the US have launched a vicious propaganda campaign projecting Iran as a “rogue” state that is bent on producing nuclear weapons. Considering Iraq’s experience, Iran would be well advised not to preclude the nuclear option; after all, the US refrained from attacking North Korea precisely because it feared severe retaliation, but destroyed Iraq even though it did not have any weapons, as had been established through the IAEA and UN. As US vice-president Dick Cheney famously put it in February 2003: “Iraq is do-able, North Korea is not.” Countries threatened with military strikes by Washington’s mad dogs should seek all means to defend themselves.

    The IAEA’s resolution, while recalling that all of Iran’s nuclear material is accounted for, still maintains that the agency is not yet in a position to declare that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities elsewhere. Echoing his role in the US war on Iraq and echoing similar sentiments, El-Baradei stated that his agency could not yet account for “the whole country”. Even Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, who has since declared the US war on Iraq illegal, has endorsed the IAEA’s resolution on Iran. In a telephone conversation with Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Iran’s president, on August 9, Annan insisted that Iran must be “pro-active”: the exact phrase he used for Iraq in 2002. It has also now been established by the IAEA that traces of enriched uranium found on material in Iran did not come from Iranian sites; the contamination had occurred when the equipment was purchased abroad.

    Western media reports continue to fuss about the “generous offer” made by the EU-3 that Iran rejected last month. When Iran signed the Paris agreement last year, it was on the clear understanding that this was a temporary measure, including the suspension of “all uranium-enrichment activities”, and that the EU-3 would produce long-term proposals to meet Iran’s legitimate need for an uninterrupted supply of fuel for its nuclear reactors. The EU-3 were also to include specific security guarantees that there would be no aggression against Iran, by either the EU or the US. Yet the EU-3’s “Framework for Cooperation” offered to Iran on August 7 was full of vague generalities that did not address any of the concerns that Iran had raised repeatedly in its discussions, instead insisting that Iran should permanently abandon its uranium-enrichment rights in return for vague promises. Not surprisingly, Tehran called the proposals “insulting”.

    Iran has, of course, considerable experience of dealing with the West, especially the US. In the case of the Algiers Accords, the US was to deliver to Iran billions of dollars of Iranian assets that had been frozen illegally by the US after the Islamic Revolution; it has never done so. The Hague Tribunal, established to adjudicate disputes between governments, has delivered a series of verdicts in Iran’s favour, but the US ignores its findings. Given the West’s record of hypocrisy and double standards, not only against Iran, Tehran’s suspicions are perfectly justified. Although Iran has made concrete proposals to confirm the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme–”greater access to IAEA inspectors, the installation of additional surveillance cameras, and so on –”the EU insists not only that Iran suspend all enrichment activities permanently but that it undertake long-term “confidence building” measures before the Europeans keep their vague promises. Only when they are convinced that Iran does not have any plans for making nuclear weapons will they recommend that their governments provide economic and security guarantees. And the basis for all these insulting demands is mere “suspicion”; there is no evidence at all that Iran intends to make nuclear weapons.

    While the US threatens Iran with tactical nuclear weapons and the EU-3 in their proposals do not preclude the possibility of using such weapons, as well as threatening to take the matter to the UN Security Council, they have the audacity to demand that Iran forego all such options. Tehran should make it clear that if the US, Israel or the EU dare launch an attack against its interests or territory, there will be swift and effective response. Iran should show no weakness on this point, even if it pursues the dialogue option to continue to test EU’s sincerity. Although its difficulties in Iraq mean that the US is in no position to attack Iran in the short-term, Tehran cannot afford to lower its guard: the people in control of US policy are not reasonable beings. They care neither for the lives of other peoples, nor their own. They have to be warned that the cost of their misadventures will be far greater than any benefit they might hope to gain from perpetrating further aggression.

    Did you like this article?

       

    Awesome, share it:

    Share Tweet Google Plus LinkedIn

    Thanks!

    Thanks for getting in touch with us.

    Click here (New window) to subscribe to our Newsletter

    • TAGS
    • about
    • abroad
    • accords
    • account
    • action
    • address
    • advancing
    • after
    • against
    • aggression
    • agreement
    • alleged
    • almost
    • along
    • American
    • annan
    • arrived
    • article
    • attack
    • attacking
    • attitude
    • audacity
    • basis
    • because
    • before
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Google+
    Pinterest
    WhatsApp
    Linkedin
    ReddIt
    Email
    Print
    Tumblr
    Telegram
    StumbleUpon
    VK
    Digg
    LINE
    Viber
      Previous articleRita: Path of Death
      Next articleTo God…
      Waseem Shehzad

      Waseem Shehzad, a free-lance writer, gets featured on Media Monitors Network (MMN) with the courtesy of Crescent International.

      RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

      Myanmar/Burma Little hope for Rohingya IDPs
      Perspectives

      The Myth of ‘Bengali Migration’ to Arakan

      Faisal Mosque - Pakistan
      Perspectives

      Pakistan: How to Change Political Culture of Corruption and Rebuild the Future?

      Disappearing Palestine
      Perspectives

      In Hebron, Israel removes the last restraint on its settlers’ reign of terror

      MMN @ Google Play Store MMN @ Amazon Appstore

      MMN @ TwitterMMN @ FacebookMMN Feed

      Newsletter

      LATEST

      United States Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.

      Game Over!

      James Zogby - February 16, 2019
      Myanmar/Burma Little hope for Rohingya IDPs

      The Myth of ‘Bengali Migration’ to Arakan

      February 16, 2019
      Faisal Mosque - Pakistan

      Pakistan: How to Change Political Culture of Corruption and Rebuild the Future?

      February 15, 2019

      MOST POPULAR

      Our craven, incurious media treats the show trial of Zacarias Moussaoui...

      April 20, 2006

      Zionist Dialectics: Past and Future :: Excerpted from: Israeli Exceptionalism ::

      September 23, 2010
      The Tragedy of Palestine from the Balfour Declaration to Today - by Anthony Nutting

      Balfour Declaration: Britain broke its feeble promise to the Palestinians

      November 2, 2017

      Financial Myths

      December 30, 2002
      Load more

      EDITOR PICKS

      United States Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.

      Game Over!

      February 16, 2019
      Myanmar/Burma Little hope for Rohingya IDPs

      The Myth of ‘Bengali Migration’ to Arakan

      February 16, 2019
      Faisal Mosque - Pakistan

      Pakistan: How to Change Political Culture of Corruption and Rebuild the...

      February 15, 2019

      POPULAR POSTS

      167

      The Origin of Freemasonry: The Crusaders & Templars

      April 23, 2003

      Sharon to Peres: We Control America

      November 20, 2001
      29

      Afghanistan, the Taliban and the United States

      May 2, 2001

      POPULAR CATEGORY

      • Perspectives13431
      • Columns1130
      • Articles859
      • Platform37
      • Poetry12
      • Literature6
      Media Monitors Network (MMN)
      ABOUT US
      Media Monitors Network (MMN) is a non-profit, non-partial and non-political platform for those serious Media Contributors and Observers who crave to know and like to help to prevail the whole truth about current affairs, any disputed issue or any controversial issue by their voluntarily contributions with logic, reason and rationality.
      Contact us: [email protected]
      FOLLOW US
      • About MMN
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms and Conditions
      • Contact
      © Copyright © 2000 - MMN International Inc. All rights reserved.
      Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
      ResponsiveVoice-NonCommercial licensed under 95x15
      MORE STORIES

      Why Terrorism? Why Islam? Why Now?

      July 27, 2005

      Major Pro-Israeli Jewish Organizations Welcome Sharon’s Election

      February 10, 2001
      Edit with Live CSS
      Save
      Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete.