US Attempting to Pressure Iran by Keeping It in Int’l Spotlight

EghtesadOnline: The United States is well aware that it cannot rally the world to blame Iran for the tensions surrounding the 2015 nuclear deal, so it is using every means at its disposal to maintain pressure on the country by keeping it in the headlines, a senior political analyst said.

News ID: ۷۴۷۸۸۶

16 July 2019

"America knows that it is not possible to build an international consensus to increase pressure on Iran, but it wants to pave the way for creating further commotion against Iran's nuclear activities in the world by calling for meetings and repeating accusations," Diako Hosseini, director of the World Studies Program at the Center for Strategic Studies, told IRNA in a recent interview.

An emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors was held on July 10 at the request of the US after Iran announced that it will gradually suspend some of its obligations under the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The US reportedly demanded at the closed-door meeting in Vienna, Austria, that the world take action against Iran for reducing its compliance, Financial Tribune quoted the Independent as saying.

No Traction

According to statements by Iranian and Russian officials, US officials failed to gain traction at the IAEA as much of the world remains committed to upholding the accord despite Iran's recent decisions to scale back its nuclear commitments, which it has described as a response for Washington's exit last year from the nuclear deal and Europe's failure to remove impediments to trade with the Islamic Republic.

"Since the United States abandoned the nuclear deal without any logical political or legal reason and could organize a meeting of the IAEA only because of its influence at the agency, it could be predicted that it would not be able to persuade others to condemn Iran," Hosseini said.

The expert on international affairs said the Trump administration is making allegations against Iran while the US itself is the source of growing tensions in the region.

"At the recent session, the United States was seeking to create an atmosphere to maintain pressure on Iran. In fact, the Americans requested the meeting to see how long they can keep issues related to Iran's nuclear activities in the headlines through such a move," he said.

“The Americans have managed to make the media focus on their allegations against Iran, but have failed to make a strong case against Tehran's nuclear program in international organizations.”

Self-Made Crisis

Gary Sick, a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Middle East Institute who served on the US National Security Council, says the current situation is "entirely a crisis of our own making".

"Iran, after a full year, decided that there was no advantage in continuing to remain in compliance with an agreement when they were getting nothing out of it," Sick, a retired US Navy captain who served in the Persian Gulf, told CBS News.

"Iran is now taking advantage of a clause in the JCPOA that says they are entitled to exceed the limits of the agreement if any other country, i.e. the US, does not fulfill its own commitments," he said.

"The object, admittedly risky, is to raise the potential costs of a breakdown for the other members, especially the Europeans."