Jalili is not so scary

The European Union and Iran continued their nuclear dialogue

Yesterday's negotiations in Rome between Iran and the European Union took place in a new composition - instead of Ali Larijani, who has become familiar to the West , the Tehran delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Said Jalili . A close associate of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he formerly served in the administration of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. And although the Iranian side in every possible way denied rumors about a change in Tehran’s nuclear policy, most foreign experts started talking about an upcoming toughening of Iran’s course.

However, there were no obvious changes. The EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, and Said Djalili continued their leisurely dialogue. The previous time Solana met with an Iranian representative (then Larijani) was in June in Lisbon. Their talks paved the way for an agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in August. It includes a step-by-step plan to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue by gradually addressing IAEA concerns. Yesterday the parties confirmed their interest in resolving the crisis around the Iranian nuclear power through political means.

“Ali Larijani was a rather tough negotiator, and one can speak of his pro-Western preferences only in the sense that he in no way preferred Russia. Of two evils - the West and Russia - he would choose the West,” reminds Nina Mamedova, head of the Iranian sector at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In a conversation with Vremya Novostey, she noted that from the point of view of the development of Iran’s relations with the West and Russia, the candidacy of Said Jalili is quite acceptable, since he will pursue a “more pragmatic course.” According to the expert, it is no less important that “Jalili is Ayatollah Khamenei’s man, and he always softens the harsh statements of President Ahmadinejad and makes more tolerant statements.”

Yesterday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated that "the Iranian people are in favor of negotiations, but will in no way negotiate on their rights" and "will not retreat one iota" in the development of their nuclear program. Jalili's interlocutor yesterday, Javier Solana, and IAEA Director General Muhammad ElBaradei are the two figures on whom the future fate of the Iranian “nuclear dossier” directly depends. In November they will report on the behavior of the Iranians to members of the UN Security Council. Depending on their conclusions, the “great powers” ​​will discuss the issue of new sanctions against Tehran.

The United States is the most active in insisting on tightening anti-Iranian sanctions. On Monday, President George W. Bush called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss Iran. According to White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe, "President Bush reiterated the importance of continuing to put pressure on Iran through the UN Security Council to force it to verifiably suspend its uranium enrichment activities." The American president was also interested in the content of Putin's talks in Tehran last week. In the Iranian capital, the Russian president noted that “Russia is the only country that helps Iran implement its nuclear programs of a peaceful nature,” and recalled that the Iranian side confirms “belonging to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.” Commenting on the results of the telephone conversation between the two leaders, the White House admitted that “Putin did not say anything that would indicate a change in the Kremlin’s views on the prospects for Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.”

“All attempts by the American side to win over Russia with statements that Tehran poses a greater threat to Moscow than to Washington are nothing more than political rhetoric,” Nina Mamedova is sure. “Iran poses no threat to us at all. If earlier, in the 1980s-1990s, it was possible to talk about a mutual ideological threat, today Russia is neither ideologically nor economically an enemy, nor even a competitor for Iran. Iran has been supplying Europe with its oil and gas for a long time, and these flows do not intersect with Russian ones. Tehran also understands Russian concerns that Iran should actively work with the IAEA. This is exactly what Vladimir Putin came to Tehran with, and in the near future we can expect a more active dialogue between the Iranians and the International Atomic Agency,” believes the Vremya Novostei expert.

Petr ISKENDEROV