Date:31/05/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/05/31/stories/2003053102101400.htm

International

Pressure mounting on Iran

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA May 30. While the debate on whether to engage or confront Iran after the Iraq-war is not yet over, the United States, followed by Britain have already intensified their political pressure on Teheran. The U.S. has a long list of grievances against Iran's religious leaders, which can be traced to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which overthrew their ally, the Shah of Iran. But Washington of late has been especially worried about the possibility of Teheran acquiring nuclear weapon status.

Other accusations hurled against Iran are that it is supporting terrorism by giving sanctuaries to top Al-Qaeda leaders. It has also been blamed for attempts to destabilise post-war Iraq by trying to position a pro-Teheran Shia regime in Baghdad. The U.S. post-war administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, has accused Iran of intervention in support of Shia groups friendly to it. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who has been the first Western leader to visit Iraq after the war, has also urged Iran and Syria to stop interfering in Iraq's internal affairs.

While pressure from Washington and London was not entirely unexpected, recent statements from Russia suggesting that Iran should open all its nuclear facilities to closer U.N. scrutiny have caused some surprise. According to agency reports, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Georgy Mamedov, during a meeting with the Iran's Ambassador to Russia said that Teheran should "as soon as possible" sign an additional agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that would allow the latter to scan Iran's nuclear facilities more closely.

The Russian statement, analysts point out, was meant to send a positive signal to the U.S., ahead of the week-end meeting between the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and his U.S. counterpart, George W. Bush, at St. Petersburg. Russia has been collaborating with Iran for the construction of the Iranian nuclear facility in Bushehr under IAEA supervision. U.S. officials, however, fear that Iran could be engaged in manufacturing weapon grade enriched uranium at its secret facility in Natanz in southern Iran.

Iran, on its part, has repeatedly denied that it is engaged in developing atomic weapons. It has also advocated promoting a nuclear free zone in the region that would, in turn, address strong suspicions about the presence of atomic weapons in Israel. Some commentators have also questioned the U.S. insistence that Iran should stall its nuclear programme, by pointing out that the conception of the Bushehr facility by Iran was the result of Washington's past exhortations.

Keen to encourage Iran to preserve its oil reserves for its future use, it was the U.S., during the Shah's regime that encouraged Iran to begin an alternative nuclear energy programme. On links with the Al-Qaeda, the Iranians have rejected U.S. accusations of shielding alleged Al-Qaeda operatives, including Saif-al Adel, who is accused of masterminding the Riyadh blasts earlier this month. Iranians, on their part, are demanding from the U.S., the handover to Teheran of Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the Iraq based Mujahedin Khalq Organisation (MKO) that has targeted Iran during the regime of the ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. One view circulating among Iran-watchers is that some of the main advocates for "regime change" in Iran can be found in the U.S. based American Enterprise Institute and Centre for Democracy in Iran.