The United States sees the planned global summit on the Middle East in Poland as a litmus test to gauge its allies' readiness to align themselves with anti-Iran policies of the Trump administration, says a former diplomat.
Ali Khorram also told the Iranian Diplomacy website in a recent interview that the United States is seeking to assess the international community's willingness to support its confrontation with Iran in Poland's summit on the Middle East.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, while on a tour of nine Arab capitals, said on Friday that the United States and Poland plan to host a “global ministerial on Mideast peace” next month in Warsaw, attended by “dozens of countries from around the world”.
“We will build out the global coalition” with countries “from Asia, from Africa, from Western Hemisphere countries, Europe too, the Middle East of course,” Pompeo said in a Fox News interview in Egypt, according to the Washington Post.
Particular focus, he added, would be on “making sure that Iran is not a destabilizing influence”.
Khorram, who is an international affairs analyst, said Washington will be emboldened to take further steps against Tehran if it succeeds in achieving its objectives in the upcoming conference.
“So Tehran, particularly the diplomatic apparatus, should carefully provide the necessary clarifications because America’s attempts to build consensus against Iran at the Poland summit could put Iran in a bind in the future,” he said.
Common Values
Asked why Poland decided to jointly host the meeting with the US, the expert said the rightwing government in Poland, headed by President Andrzej Duda, is keen to forge closer ties with Washington.
US President Donald Trump made Poland his first destination during his tour of Europe in 2017. Some political experts interpreted the visit as an endorsement of Poland’s policies and a snub to the EU, with which Warsaw has a strained relationship.
Khorram added that Poland, which is a major NATO ally, can do with some reassurance from the US at present.
“Poland has always relied on the security umbrella of NATO and the United States to counter perceived Russian threats,” he said, noting that Warsaw wants to convince the Trump administration to establish a permanent US base in the Central European country.
Trump said in September that the United States is considering a request from Poland for a permanent US military presence in the fellow NATO country, acknowledging that he shares Poland’s concerns about possible Russian aggression.
Poland has repeatedly requested a permanent US military presence on its soil. The United States currently rotates troops through the country temporarily.
Khorram said Warsaw’s hosting of the Iran-focused international conference could also be interpreted as an effort to bridge the gap between Washington and its traditional European allies, namely Britain, France and Germany, which was created after Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Tehran and world powers.
The European signatories to the accord did not agree with the US decision to leave the agreement and reimpose sanctions on Iran, and have been trying to save the accord, which they see as crucial to Europe’s security.
