02-14-06,9:14am

Weeks of international tension, imperialist bullying and threats on the one hand and ill-advised gamesmanship by the reactionary rulers of Iran have finally culminated in the representatives of the European Union (EU) agreeing to report Iran’s nuclear file to the United Nations’ Security Council. According to press reports, after the meeting of the Security Council’s five permanent members, three European countries: Britain, France and Germany, representing the EU, have asked the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to submit to the United Nations’ Security Council a report on sections of the Iranian nuclear program that might have a military purpose. According to these press reports Russia and China are in agreement with this decision. The Guardian newspaper, published in Britain, has reported that Russia’s agreement has come with two conditions: first, a one-month reprieve for the governments of Russia and China to negotiate with Iran; and second, the IAEA is to prepare a report for the Security Council rather than officially referring Iran’s case. Subsequently it has been reported that Russian and Chinese delegations have traveled to Iran.

Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign Minister, has made a distinction between reporting and referring Iran’s nuclear file to the Security Council. Mottaki has explained that “referring” means the IAEA would step aside and the Security Council would directly consider and decide on the ways to deal with Iran. However, “reporting” would entail returning the file to the IAEA [after the Security Council’s meetings on the issue] for a decision on the matter.

The ruling reaction has provocatively threatened the European countries and the United States with the taking Iran out of its previous agreements. The “Emrouz” Press Agency reported that at the end of the Iranian Parliament’s open session on February 1st, a statement was read out, signed by 212 parliamentary members on the recent development of the Iranian nuclear file: “One of the most important demands of the world community is that the rights of all nations be based on international principles, as well as respected and considered without threats and pressures from the big powers. Peaceful nuclear activities within the framework of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty’s Section 4 and Section 3 of IAEA’s constitution are the unequivocal rights of all the countries that are members of these two important international bodies. We, the representatives of the great nation of Iran, warn the government that it does not have the right to negotiate with any powers over the Iranian people’s inalienable rights; nor should it succumb to any bullying. Should the Rulers’ Council take such a step (and compromise), the government is obliged, on the basis of the decisions of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament), is obliged to cancel all voluntary suspensions and resume all peaceful nuclear activities.” Ahmadinejad, the reaction’s handpicked President has also declared: “We will not forego our rights. In case of referring Iran’s file to the Security Council, according to the laws passed by the Parliament, the Islamic Republic of Iran will have to suspend all voluntary implementation of the protocols.”

Over the recent weeks, Tudeh Party of Iran has warned of the dangerous consequences of the games that the reactionaries play with our national interests. We have stressed that Iran’s national interests in developing a peaceful nuclear capability cannot be defended with provocative policies and empty threats. We have also indicated that the reactionaries’ goal in pursuing such a strategy is to create an artificial crisis, and use the threats by foreign powers to justify the repression of the freedom-loving and peaceful forces of our country. The vicious assaults on the drivers of the Bus Company (in state ownership), the arrests of hundreds of workers and union activists and the increasing aggression towards the student movement all clearly demonstrate the ruling reaction’s policies and tactics. As we had previously stated, referring Iran’s file to the Security Council is against our country’s national interests, and could have grave consequences in the long run. Providing an excuse for the imperialist countries, whose military forces are stationed in our neighboring countries, is fundamentally an anti-patriotic and self-destructive policy. We are concerned that the hardship resulting from pursuing these will only be borne by the people of our country. The experience of the horrific policy of “war, war until victory” (adopted during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s) brought endless disasters, such as hundreds of thousands of dead and injured for our people, while, after the recapture of Khoramshahr (south-western Iranian city bordering Iraq) from the Iraqis, the Iranian regime could have imposed its demands on the defeated Iraqi army through a negotiated settlement. The current policies are a reminder of the unwise and anti-patriotic past and present policies of the regime’s rulers that can once again engulf Iran in another disastrous and dangerous confrontation. The continuation of the provocative policies by the reactionaries can only benefit the extreme right in the Bush administration, the right-wing Israeli government and all other right-wing and war mongering forces. Such policies not only do not safeguard Iran’s rights in developing a peaceful nuclear capability but they weaken Iran’s diplomatic status in future negotiations by antagonizing world public opinion. In this tense and dangerous situation, only returning to negotiations and building trust can protect the country’s national interests in pursuing its legitimate right to develop peaceful nuclear power.

Undoubtedly, the current policies are a serious threat to our people and Iran’s national interests. Creating an excuse to provoke confrontations will only make the task of reversing policy and returning to the negotiating table ever more difficult. The problem can only be resolved by resuming negotiations with the IAEA. Currently, many of the non-aligned countries and even a number of European countries are ready to support Iran’s right to pursue peaceful nuclear development, provided the Iranian government adopts sensible policies. Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa, in his talks with Ahmadinejad, with reference to South Africa and other non-aligned countries’ efforts with regard to this issue, stated: “We support the Islamic Republic’s right to attain peaceful nuclear technology. That is why we have been trying to convince other countries, as well, to reach a peaceful conclusion without any confrontation.”

The return to the negotiating table must be well-intentioned, and not a ploy to buy time. This is the only way of reducing the tensions and finding suitable means of achieving Iran’s national interests. We must not let the reactionaries inflict serious damage to Iran’s national interests with such dangerous policies.