Iran makes its move

Iran has pursued a sophisticated policy in dealing with US non-proliferation pressures by providing details of its nuclear activities for th...

Iran has pursued a sophisticated policy in dealing with US non-proliferation pressures by providing details of its nuclear activities for the past three decades to the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA, after inviting three key EU foreign ministers and getting them involved. It had been accused by the US and Israel of pursuing a nuclear weapons8217; programme in contravention of its treaty obligations under the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state. However given the record of US intelligence and the claims at the highest levels in the US and UK regarding the possession and likely use of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq, independent observers are bound to take that with a very large pinch of salt.

This is not to say that Iran may not have ambitions to pursue a weapons programme. Reports even keep surfacing about a Saudi nuclear weapon programme. If Iran was to be believed on face value, it was willing to accept additional safeguards on its nuclear programme, but was seeking clarification on the course of events after that. This essentially relates to political arm-twisting by the US which designated it as part of the three-nation 8220;axis of evil8221;. But it also means that the Iranian concern may well be that their nuclear power programme would be the real target of non-proliferation pressures in spite of the NPT obligating states to provide such assistance in this matter.

In substance, therefore, the issues involved are more political than technical in nature. Involving the EU, therefore, was an astute move which provides France and Germany with a say, not necessarily along the lines taken by Washington. Russia has also clearly indicated that it would continue to deal with Iran on nuclear technology for peaceful purposes within the legal regimes in place. There would be no legal barriers to such activity once Iran accepts the additional protocol. The Iranian episode proves once again that the international community needs to re-examine the nuclear non-proliferation regimes objectively to ensure that this does not retard legitimate developmental activities in developing countries.