Western countries can no longer form an alliance against Iran easily, thanks to the nuclear deal signed in 2015 with major world powers, a lawmaker said.
“Iran’s position in the world is better than the time when they [western countries] could easily build international alliances against us,” Ali Motahari, a deputy parliament speaker, said in a recent talk to ICANA.
He made the statement in reference to the US-sponsored conference on Middle East, which is due to be held in the Polish capital Warsaw on Feb. 13-14.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had earlier said the so-called “Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East” would include “an important element of making sure that Iran is not a destabilizing influence”.
Later, a senior US official, previewing the conference to reporters, said that Iran would not be a specific agenda item.
“It’s important to underscore that this is not an anti-Iran meeting or coalition-building exercise,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
This was after invitations to the conference received a cool response from other countries, including US allies.
Federica Mogherini, the EU diplomatic chief, said she would not attend the summit due to previous arrangements. Russia has also turned down the invitation because of the event’s “one-country” focus and failure to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
US Retreat
Motahari described the shift of approach as Washington’s retreat from its anti-Iran plan at the conference.
“The Americans announced at first that they would hold an anti-Iran meeting, but later backed away from their position by changing the title of the event,” he said.
This shows, according to the senior lawmaker, that “the western unity is shattered” and such differences of approach between world powers result from “Iran’s sound policies”.
When the February summit was announced, Iran reacted by summoning Poland’s charge d’affaires to “protest the anti-Iran, so-called peace and security conference”.
A lawmaker says Iran’s “sound policies” have accentuated differences between the US and its western allies, forcing Washington to shift the focus of a planned conference in Warsaw from Iran to broader Middle East issues
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the reasons provided by the Polish government for co-organizing the summit were unacceptable and that the Poles “must be mindful of the consequences”.
Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Maciej Lang later visited Tehran to solve the dispute and clarify his country’s stance on the issue.
He described his talks with Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as “constructive”, hoping the conference would have a positive impact on relations with Iran.
“For Poland, this conference is not against any country,” he assured.
Iran was under international sanctions, endorsed by the United Nations, over its nuclear activities until 2015 when it finally reached an agreement with the world, which was formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The US last year withdrew from the deal and reimposed sanctions unilaterally. Other parties, however, have remained committed by refusing to join Washington in its anti-Iran pressure campaign. Their response to the recent US call is another instance of the difference of approach toward Iran among countries.
“One could say the US rowback … and many countries’ refusal to attend the Warsaw conference … is the outcome of JCPOA,” Motahari said.
