Riyadh And Washington Ready To Face Off Against Iran
10 March 2018
By Abdulrahman Al-Rashed
Before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Defense, meets the US president on Monday, Europe is rushing to
reach a plan that would seemingly contain Tehran but, in fact, seek to stop
the US from foiling the Iran nuclear deal.
The arrival of Prince Mohammed in Washington, preceded a week ago by the
departure of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, increases Europe's fear of
Washington's determination to impose sanctions on Iran, which could eventually
lead to canceling the deal.
The resolution signed in 2015 by the Iranian regime and the P5+1 (the five
permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) to
endorse the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has caused the chaos we are
witnessing today.
Iran agreed to freeze a portion of its nuclear enrichment activities in
exchange for reduced economic sanctions. As a result, Iran's military activity
in the region increased. It has also worked on advancing its ballistic missile
system, which is capable of carrying and launching a nuclear weapon.
Since that day, everyone has been noticing that the deal has caused more chaos
and wars and increased the Iranian regime's dominance inside and beyond its
borders. This is all contrary to the West's vision at the time that Tehran
would abandon its hostile policy and focus on development and peace.
With Donald Trump's arrival in office and Prince Mohammed's emergence on the
scene, and their announcement on Monday that they will unite against Iran, the
deal will lose its sanctity. The whole of Europe may bow to the supreme leader
in Tehran and continue to work with him, but the US will ultimately have the
final word.
The problem does not lie in the deal itself, but in the nature of the Iranian
regime. The US is fighting in Iraq and Syria because of Iran's infiltration
there. Saudi Arabia is fighting in Yemen to defend itself and save Yemen from
the Iran-backed coup. Europe, which wants to avert a confrontation at all
costs, finally discovered that Trump and his allies in the region are
determined to foil the nuclear deal. It is therefore trying to please both
parties by introducing a new plan that restricts Iran's advancement of its
ballistic missiles and puts an end to its activities in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Europe's new plan, which was leaked to Reuters, vows to impose sanctions on a
list of concerned individuals. The plan is weak, if not theatrical. All those
involved in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, army and intelligence do
not live in the West, and thus will not be affected by the sanctions.
The demands that have been consistently rejected by Europe include imposing
further economic sanctions on the Iranian regime and "Hezbollah" and
supporting the forces that fight them on the ground so that the cost of
intervention and occupation becomes very high.
The Iranian regime will not back off unless serious steps are taken to contain
it.
Let's recall the reason why that regime agreed to negotiate and reach a
nuclear agreement in the first place. Economic sanctions had stifled it until
it was on the verge of collapse. It was therefore forced to request
negotiations and proposed to stop its nuclear program, despite its previous
statements that such measures constitute a violation of Iran's sovereignty. In
the end, the Iranian regime agreed to sit and negotiate over its nuclear
program and it eventually signed the deal.
The western negotiators at the time however approved a rushed and flawed deal.
Trump and Prince Mohammed will be careful to reform the deal, not cancel it,
if it meas ending 40 years of chaos and the funding of armed groups in the
region. The new deal will therefore not be limited to controlling the rate of
nuclear enrichment, but also halting Iran's agenda of spreading violence and
chaos and ending the turmoil in the region.
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is the former general manager of Al-Arabiya
television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, and the
leading Arabic weekly magazine Al-Majalla. He is also a senior columnist in
the daily newspapers Al-Madina and Al-Bilad.
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EsinIslam.Com
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