“Unmistakable message”

The UN Security Council approved new and tougher sanctions against Iran last Wednesday. These measures against Tehran were caused by its refusal to stop enriching uranium. The Council members fear that the Islamic Republic may be secretly working on manufacturing nuclear weapons, although Tehran itself has always insisted that its nuclear program is of an exceptionally peaceful nature. Twelve Council members voted for a new round of sanctions, with Lebanon abstaining and Turkey and Brazil voting against.

The United States has welcomed the result of the Security Council vote and called on Iran “to choose a wiser course.”  US President Barack Obama said these are “the toughest and the most comprehensive sanctions ever faced by an Iranian government.” In his view, the resolution “sends an unmistakable message about the international community’s commitment to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.” Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, has noted that the latest UNSC sanctions against Iran are “a forced measure.” China has expressed a hope that the sanctions will bring Tehran back to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, Turkey said it was worried over the results of the Iran vote. According to Turkey’s foreign ministry, sanctions against Iran may foil the attempts to find a political solution of the Iran problem.

Iran said in response that the Security Council is pursuing the wrong course, which can only aggravate the situation. “For us, these new sanctions are the same as pesky flies or a used handkerchief that should be thrown in the waste bin. We want to build a new world based on justice, equality, and high ethical values,” Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said while visiting Tajikistan.

The White House almost immediately reacted to these words. In particular, the US president’s spokesman Robert Gibbs said: “We hear something of the sort from Ahmadinejad every day.” He also warned that businesses would have to pay a very high price for maintaining ties with Tehran.

The UNSC resolution extends the embargo on arms supplies to Iran and the “black list” of the Iranian companies that may be subject to restricting measures. Some sources claim that 40 Iranian organizations, including a bank, are being blacklisted. High on the list are, incidentally, some companies associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The UNSC sanctions provide for restrictions about the opening of financial institutions in Iran, the inspection of cargo vessels, and expansion of the existing list of weapons banned from being sold to Iran. An explanatory note, spread by the US Delegation to the UN, says that the new resolution forbids countries to sell or otherwise transfer to Iran six types of armaments: tanks, armored personnel carriers, large-caliber artillery systems, warplanes, attack helicopters, ships, as well as missiles and missile systems.

Western Europe has positively reacted to the imposition of sanctions against Iran. The foreign minister of Italy, Franco Frattini, called the UNSC decision “a very strong political signal.” In his view, “the international community cannot accept that Iran acquires nuclear weapons, embarking on a course of proliferation that would have serious effects on regional and global stability.”

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, now on a visit to Columbia, said that tougher sanctions against Iran are a major success of Barack Obama. In Ms. Clinton’s view, the UN Security Council’s decision made last Wednesday proves that the open-diplomacy policy the White House is pursuing towards Iran is justifying itself. “We are satisfied with the positive response to our year-long attempts to start a dialog,” the State Department chief said. “When we just got down to this, the world community did not consider it necessary to increase pressure on Iran by means of tougher sanctions.”

It became known last Thursday that Russia is folding up military cooperation with Iran. A top official told Interfax this was connected with the new sanctions the UN Security Council had imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran. In his words, the contract on supplying Tehran with S-300 air defense missile systems will also be frozen.

Will these sanctions force Iran to choose “a wiser course” and stop enriching uranium? What effect can this situation have on cooperation between Ukraine and Iran?

Ihor SEMYVOLOS, executive director, Center of Middle Eastern Studies, Kyiv:

“Frankly speaking, it is difficult to answer this question – if only because it is next to impossible to imagine what arguments the Iranian side will use and to what extent these arguments are acceptable for the international community. As for Iranian society, it endorses the idea of continuing uranium enrichment. Naturally, Iran still has a chance to continue secret talks and consultations. This does not mean the end of negotiations because consultations between the Iranian leadership and the international community, including the key countries that have been insisting on imposing sanctions, will go on – in all probability, via intermediaries or in some other way. But there are no grounds to claim that sanctions will force Iran to flatly abandon further uranium enrichment efforts.

“As for the attitude of Russia which backed the US during last Wednesday’s UNSC vote, I am afraid the Iran sanctions are part of the ‘reset’ price, which includes having Ukraine in the sphere of Russian influence. All I can say is that this is more important for Russia than playing with Iran.

“Now about the statement the Ukraine president made when receiving credentials from the new Iranian ambassador that he will attach paramount importance to developing relations with Iran, one of Asia’s largest countries. I do not think we will see any serious projects in the nearest future. I will tell you frankly that I can see no prospects for the current leadership to begin to develop, one way or another, any new projects with Iran.

“It is not because of a lack of will or due to sanctions, it is due to a lack of competence. One must have a fantasy of sorts, but the new leadership does not have one. In general, to work with partners, including ones in difficult regions (difficult for various reasons, for example, from the viewpoint of the ability to do business) you should have not only political will but also a clear picture of what you want to do in this region.”