IRAN: A Saga of Diplomacy, Deception, and Reprimandrization Act
In January of 2002, Intelligence Newsletter exposed three military nuclear facilities in Iran. Since the discovery of this suspect nuclear weapons program, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the European Union, and the United States have engaged in prolonged inspections of Iranian nuclear sites and protracted rounds of diplomacy with Iranian officials to make certain that the sole purpose for Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful domestic energy production.
Throughout this two-year period, Iran has made an effort to cooperate with the IAEA as the agency investigates and inspects its nuclear program. In October 2003, Iran submitted an extensive dossier to the IAEA in response to inspectors’ questionsregarding its nuclear program. At the same time, the Islamic Republic also agreed to halt uranium enrichment activity at its nuclear facilities and to allow tougher inspections of its facilities in exchange for improved trade and aid relations with Britain, France, and Germany. However, after probing Iran’s extensive dossier and experiencing delays in the investigations process due to a lack of cooperation from Iranian authorities, the IAEA publicly expressed its concern that Iran was not providing full disclosure of its nuclear activities. Recent exchanges between Iran and the IAEA remain contentious and the agency continues to voice its concern. As a result, the previous deal between Iran and Europe is in jeopardy; Iran may once again resume sensitive weapons related activity within its nuclear program.
The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran has dire consequences for the regional security of the Middle East. Halting weapons development related activities such as uranium enrichment processing is important to international security and should be of highest priority for the IAEA, the European Union, and the Bush Administration.
June 2004 IAEA Board of Directors’ Meeting and its Aftermath
On June 18th, the IAEA Board of Governors, which included representatives from the European Union and the United States, adopted a resolution that “deplored” Iran’s failure to provide the IAEA with a full and detailed account of its nuclear program.
Iranian government officials responded to the IAEA’s rebuke by denying that it had withheld any information from the agency and by declaring that it would resume the production of centrifuges, a critical component to the uranium enrichment process in its nuclear program. These remarks from the Iranian government prompted the response of the United States and the European Union in a joint statement made at the U.S.-EU Summit during the week of June 26th and July 1st. Both the United States and Europe expressed their disapproval of Iran’s announcement and restated their strong desire to see Iran offer its full cooperation with the IAEA.
While the IAEA, the European Union, and the United States share a common interest in seeing an end to all weapons development related activity in the Iranian nuclear program, differences exist in their prescriptions to diffuse the Iranian nuclear crisis. Recent statements made by these three parties in the press reveal their varying positions. Both Iran and the United States hold firmly to opposing stances on the intentions behind the Iranian nuclear program. Although Iran continues to assert that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, the United States accuses Iran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons. The IAEA and the European Union, on the other hand, take a more diplomatic approach toward dealing with the Iran and only resort to stern rebuke when Iran fails to fully cooperate with IAEA inspections and investigations.
International Rhetoric: IAEA
For a long time Iran did not give accurate information, but since last year it has been cooperating better and we hope that we are on the right track.
ElBaradei as quoted by The Associated Press, April 13, 2004
…Clearly, this pattern of engagement on the part of Iran is less than satisfactory if it wishes to build confidence in the international community that Iran has indeed revealed the full extent of its nuclear programme. After a year of difficulties encountered by the inspectors, Iran needs to be proactive and fully transparent.
Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors, IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, 14 June 2004, Vienna, Austria, http://www.iaea.org
…we still have no concrete proof that this has a military dimension but we are still are not in a position to say that this is exclusively for peaceful purposes.
Andrea Dudikova, Associate Press Worldstream, 17 June 2004
…(The IAEA Board of Governors) Deplores, at the same time, the fact that, overall, as indicated by the Director General’s written and oral reports, Iran’s cooperation has not been as full, timely and proactive as it should have been, and, in particular, that Iran postponed until mid-April visits originally scheduled for mid-March - including visits of Agency centrifuge experts to a number of locations involved in Iran’s P-2 centrifuge enrichment programme - resulting in some cases in a delay in the taking of environmental samples and their analysis.
Excerpt from the June 2004 Board of Directors Resolution, June 18, 2004
I don’t think these issues are going to be resolved through confrontation. I think these issues are going to be resolved through steady engagement and robust [inspections].
Mohammed El-Baradei quoted by the New York Times, June 28, 2004
International Rhetoric: Iran
Iran is a member of the [Nuclear] Nonproliferation Treaty. We have safeguard agreements with the IAEA. Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass
destruction do not have a place in our defense doctrine. We have stated that
clearly. And we have shown it.
Iranian Ambassador to the U.N. Javad Zarif, CNN news, 12 December 2002
There is no nuclear facility existing in Iran that we have hidden from the IAEA inspectors.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, The Associated Press, April 5, 2004
The (International Atomic Energy Agency’s) decision will have an influence on our cooperation with the agency. We suspended (uranium) enrichment voluntarily, we implemented the Additional Protocol (on snap inspections) voluntarily, so we can stop that at any time.
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, Reuters, May 26, 2004
If we did not disclose certain information in the past, we had clear reasons for doing so, reasons we have repeatedly explained to the IAEA. We did not want to be unfairly belittled by the industrialized nations.
Senior Iranian Official Hassan Rohani in an interview with Der Spiegel, New York Times, June 22, 2004
We do not want to carry out enrichment for the time being and no decision has yet been taken to resume it, but we will reconsider the suspension of other activities.
Hassan Rohani as quoted by The Australian, June 21, 2004
[Iran] intends to resume, under IAEA supervision, manufacturing of centrifuge components and the assembly and testing of centrifuges as of 29 June.
The New York Times, June 28, 2004
International Rhetoric: The European Union
We are seeing a pattern of Iran making promises and then trying to find ways around them…The Iranians are fighting us trench by trench. They are very clever cheaters.
A senior French official as quoted by Elaine Sciolino in the International Herald Tribune, April 23, 2004
We are disturbed by Iran’s recent announcement of its intention to resume manufacturing and assembly of centrifuges and urge Iran to rethink its decision. We reiterate that Iran must be in full compliance with its NPT obligations and its safeguards agreements. To this end, we reaffirm the IAEA Board of Governors’ Iran resolutions, which deplore Iran’s insufficient cooperation and call on Iran, inter alia, to cooperate, fully and in a timely and proactive manner, with IAEA investigation of its nuclear programme and suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.
U.S.-EU Joint Statement, http://www.eu2004.ie, June 26, 2004
International Rhetoric: The United States
Iran should make no mistake about our resolve that under such circumstances, an immediate report to the UNSC [United Nations Security Council] would be necessary.
U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Brill as quoted by David Shelby in the Washington File, November 28, 2003
Our view is that the I.A.E.A. has documented already 18 years of clandestine nuclear activities in Iran. Tehran has repeatedly failed to declare significant troubling aspects of its nuclear program. It’s interfered with and suspended inspections, and it’s failed to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency in resolving outstanding issues related to its program.
Richard A. Boucher, State Department spokesman, New York Times, June 15, 2004
The U.S. continues to believe that Iran’s documented non-compliance should be reported to the U.N. Security Council and that its nuclear program presents a threat to international peace and security.
U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Brill, quoted by Reuters in the New York Times, June 18, 2004
Our view is that Iran is still pursuing a strategic decision to have a nuclear weapons capability. This is not something that is accidental. It goes to a core of the strategy.
Undersecretary John Bolton in hearing before House International Relations Committee as quoted by David Sanger in the New York Times, June 25, 2004
Iran’s continued failure to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency and continued failure to stop all enrichment-related reprocessing activities only reinforce the concern we have expressed.
White House Spokesman Scott McClellan as quoted in the New York Times, June 28, 2004
Conclusion
These statements portray the cycle of diplomacy, deception, and reprimand that characterize international handling of the Iranian nuclear crisis. It is of paramount importance that the IAEA, the European Union, and the United States maintain a consistent and united position on how to resolve the crisis, preserve the lines of communication and diplomacy, and continue to press Iran to provide full cooperation in inspections and investigations processes. The world cannot afford to let another nation follow in the path of North Korea. No effort can be spared to prevent a nuclear armed Iran.