National Unity Needed to Tackle Foreign Threats

EghtesadOnline: It is necessary to maintain national unity in the face of foreign threats, as a lack of consensus and mixed messages would only worsen the already complicated situation facing Iran, a political observer says.

News ID: ۷۴۹۱۶۱

10 December 2019

In an article published by IRNA, Kourosh Ahmadi added that unresolved and heightened tensions between Tehran and the West over the 2015 nuclear deal are being exploited to raise new allegations against Tehran.

He was referring to the fact that French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian recently told a parliamentary hearing that Iranian authorities' response to domestic protests over a fuel price hike "seems to prove" the United States right in its logic of "maximum pressure".

The diplomat also contended that Iran's behavior regarding protests hampered efforts to persuade Washington to deescalate the standoff, Euronews reported.

Britain, France and Germany have sought to salvage the nuclear pact—under which Iran undertook to curtail its uranium enrichment program in return for relief from sanctions—since the US withdrew from the accord and reimposed sanctions last year, according to Financial Tribune.

But the three European powers have failed to make good on the trade and investment dividends promised to Iran under the deal and did nothing to shield Iran from renewed US sanctions that have strangled its vital oil trade.

That has prompted Iran to reduce its compliance with the accord—officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action—step by step.

Until now, the European powers have opted to hold back on triggering a dispute resolution mechanism, fearing it could further impede diplomatic efforts, notably by France, to defuse tensions.

Iran's Legal Rights

Ahmadi says comments by French officials as well as stepped-up international rhetoric against the Iranian government show that "the situation will only get worse if issues related to the JCPOA are not resolved".

He added that Iran's legal rights have been clearly violated under the agreement, after Washington abandoned the deal and the Europeans failed to fulfill their obligations.

That is why they cannot afford to trigger sanctions snapback and refer Iran's nuclear dossier to the United Nations Security Council despite their threats, the article read.

France's foreign minister has suggested that Paris is seriously considering triggering the mechanism within the Iran nuclear deal, which could lead to UN sanctions as a result of Iran's decision to scale back its nuclear commitments.

Ahmadi noted that Iran is "legally right" in its moves but the issue is that "relations between countries are influenced by political developments and tensions between them cannot often be resolved through legal channels".

"Under the circumstances where future prospects are unclear, a consensus among different political parties in Iran is desperately needed and efforts should be made to preserve national unity to effectively overcome impending challenges," the article added.