The debate about Iran's quest for nuclear energy is wholly enmeshed in the politics of US-Iran relationship. Iran is a signatory to the NPT and its additional protocol. It has obligations; it has rights. The focus of the west is on obligations, of Iran on rights. The North-South divide is reflected in the board of governors of the IAEA, with Russia and China supportive of the non-aligned who apprehend, as Washington Post put it, that "big powers are trying to keep the developing countries from using nuclear energy to produce cheap electricity".
IAEA director-general told the board that "Iran continues to fulfil its obligations under the safeguards agreement and additional protocol by providing timely access to nuclear material, facilities and other locations". A special verification case, however, "requires additional transparency measures" to "compensate for the confidence deficit created". The resolution acknowledges that the negotiating process had "made good progress in the last two years"; its demand that access be provided to individuals and documents is reminiscent of the Iraq WMD case in which a litany of lies, now documented, were used to justify aggression. Nations too can be history-sheeters.
The Indian vote, despite the sophistry of official explanation, is reflective of the good-behaviour norms that have been prescribed for us.. India once had used the expression 'nuclear apartheid' to describe the NPT. India, cornered on a human rights question in 1994, had benefited from a decisive Iranian intervention. Principles and recollections, presumably, have no place in politics!
ElBaradei has stressed the need for diplomacy and negotiations. His suggestion about a global approach to fuel cycle activities, as also about assured supply of reactor technology and fuel needs to be pursued. The Iranian President's offer of negotiations with a more representative group, and his repeated assurances about the peaceful nature of its programme, are worthy of consideration. Coming weeks would show if the Iranian bark and bite are in consonance.
The author is a former Indian Ambassador to Iran, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations and Vice Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University. He is presently Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, September 28, 2005
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