Europe Is Not a Qualified Mediator between Iran and U.S.
Interview with Iran’s former ambassador to Switzerland.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says Italy is willing to be a go-between in international efforts to reach a deal with Iran over its nuclear program Reuters has reported. Iranian Diplomacy has interviewed Mohammad Hosein Malaek, former Iranian ambassador to Switzerland and China:
Can Italy be a qualified mediator between Iran and West on the nuclear program?
Europe, and Italy in particular, is not qualified to intermediate over Iran’s nuclear program. Berlusconi is just a showman who wants to give hot headlines to the media, just like some Iranian politicians. Italy is neither capable of establishing close ties with United States and Obama nor has extensive relations with major European countries such as France and Britain and even Russia. These constraints do not allow this country to have an active role. Italy had once made efforts to enter 5+1 but to no avail.
Was there a certain reason behind postponement of Italian FM’s travel to Iran? And when will the visit take place?
I do not know when the visit is going to take place but I know that no official visits will be made to Iran by senior foreign diplomats in one month. That is due to the chaos in Iran’s domestic affairs with the presidential elections approaching.
How qualified are three major European countries, France, Germany and Britain to play a role in Iran’s nuclear issue and Iran-U.S. talks?
I think that United States itself is ready to enter face-to-face talks with Iran on issues of mutual interest such as regional issues and even Iran’s nuclear program. The slogans of presidential candidates show that they all have a clear stance on negotiations with the United States. Plus, Ahmadinejad has made efforts to establish relations with America. Whether these efforts succeeded or not is another matter. So currently Iran-U.S. relations have reached an acceptably developed stage that allows both sides to start talks. There may be a need for a third party to host a preparatory session, but countries such as France and Britain which abide by the sanctions against Iran are not eligible for that. Germany may be an option.
Iran will be invited to G8’s meeting in Italy on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Can this be the starting point towards negotiations between Tehran and Washington?
It doesn’t seem so.
Some analysts believe that Europe is engrossed inter-member differences, so it is not capable of fulfilling a role vis-à-vis Iran. Do you support this claim?
Europe’s potential to intervene with Iran-related issues has nothing to do with its domestic problems such as expansion of the union or the constitution. However, if we look at the record of stances taken by three traditional powers of the continent, France, Germany and Britain, we see that they have had differences due to their interests. Of course in the recent years United States managed to gain their support in acting against Iran and their independence was somehow weakened. So we saw that despite Khatami’s efforts to give a more prominent role to these three countries, they followed United States’ goals without much flexibility.
It seems that just like the case of Israel, Europe can not play an independent role when it comes to Iran and its nuclear program even if it desired so, since these two issues –though extremely different in nature- highly influence the global security.
Some believe that Obama’s presidency means a considerable weight for Europe in global developments. What do you think?
They have been no evidence so far, but with sanctions imposed by United States proven fruitless, Obama is willing to use diplomatic tools, which may mean a bigger role for Europe.
Can Italy be a qualified mediator between Iran and West on the nuclear program?
Europe, and Italy in particular, is not qualified to intermediate over Iran’s nuclear program. Berlusconi is just a showman who wants to give hot headlines to the media, just like some Iranian politicians. Italy is neither capable of establishing close ties with United States and Obama nor has extensive relations with major European countries such as France and Britain and even Russia. These constraints do not allow this country to have an active role. Italy had once made efforts to enter 5+1 but to no avail.
Was there a certain reason behind postponement of Italian FM’s travel to Iran? And when will the visit take place?
I do not know when the visit is going to take place but I know that no official visits will be made to Iran by senior foreign diplomats in one month. That is due to the chaos in Iran’s domestic affairs with the presidential elections approaching.
How qualified are three major European countries, France, Germany and Britain to play a role in Iran’s nuclear issue and Iran-U.S. talks?
I think that United States itself is ready to enter face-to-face talks with Iran on issues of mutual interest such as regional issues and even Iran’s nuclear program. The slogans of presidential candidates show that they all have a clear stance on negotiations with the United States. Plus, Ahmadinejad has made efforts to establish relations with America. Whether these efforts succeeded or not is another matter. So currently Iran-U.S. relations have reached an acceptably developed stage that allows both sides to start talks. There may be a need for a third party to host a preparatory session, but countries such as France and Britain which abide by the sanctions against Iran are not eligible for that. Germany may be an option.
Iran will be invited to G8’s meeting in Italy on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Can this be the starting point towards negotiations between Tehran and Washington?
It doesn’t seem so.
Some analysts believe that Europe is engrossed inter-member differences, so it is not capable of fulfilling a role vis-à-vis Iran. Do you support this claim?
Europe’s potential to intervene with Iran-related issues has nothing to do with its domestic problems such as expansion of the union or the constitution. However, if we look at the record of stances taken by three traditional powers of the continent, France, Germany and Britain, we see that they have had differences due to their interests. Of course in the recent years United States managed to gain their support in acting against Iran and their independence was somehow weakened. So we saw that despite Khatami’s efforts to give a more prominent role to these three countries, they followed United States’ goals without much flexibility.
It seems that just like the case of Israel, Europe can not play an independent role when it comes to Iran and its nuclear program even if it desired so, since these two issues –though extremely different in nature- highly influence the global security.
Some believe that Obama’s presidency means a considerable weight for Europe in global developments. What do you think?
They have been no evidence so far, but with sanctions imposed by United States proven fruitless, Obama is willing to use diplomatic tools, which may mean a bigger role for Europe.