With the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announcing the failure of negotiations with the Iranian side on the nuclear file to reach any agreement between the two parties, the international reaction to this issue, which is considered one of the most thorny issues in the world, are escalating. Especially with Tehran’s pursuit of its nuclear program and the restriction of inspections by the IAEA delegation.
Rafael Grossi, director-general of the IAEA, has confirmed that his efforts during his visit to Tehran did not result in any agreement. Grossi has expressed the IAEA’s concern about the restrictions imposed on its inspectors since last February by the Iranian government, which he considers seriously impede its verification activities on the nuclear file.
The threat of war and the generals’ conversation
Commenting on the failure to reach an agreement, General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the US Central Command, notes that the US is fully prepared to take the military option against Iran’s nuclear activities.
“Diplomats are in the lead on this, but Central Command always has a variety of plans that we can implement, if directed,” he adds.
McKenzie links the US’ preparations for military action to Tehran’s closeness to acquiring a nuclear weapon, he said, stressing that his country’s forces are ready for a military option if the nuclear talks fail.
In addition, the American general asserts that his country, despite what he described as “Iranian intransigence”, continues to take diplomatic routes with Iran. At the same time, he stresses that the Central Command has various plans regarding Tehran and is ready to act in case of receiving orders from the Political Administration.
It is noteworthy that McKenzie’s statements coincide with the White House expressing its regret over the lack of progress between Iran and the IAEA. The White House described Tehran’s latest position in negotiations with the IAEA as a bad sign before resuming discussions on the Iranian nuclear file scheduled in Vienna next Monday.
Robert Malley, the US special envoy to Iran, has stressed in a press statement that his country would not sit idly by and remain silent if Tehran began to come close to making a nuclear bomb.
“If Tehran chooses not to return to the nuclear deal, we will have to discuss other endeavors, including diplomacy, to counter its nuclear ambitions, to see what Tehran will say in the nuclear talks, but the signals from it are not very encouraging,” he says.
The Israeli response to the failure of the negotiations was not very different from the American, according to what was revealed by Ruth Wasserman Landa, the Israeli Knesset Member, who has pointed out that Benny Gantz, the Israeli Defense Minister, is scheduled to discuss the Iranian nuclear file with international officials, without revealing whether the Israeli minister will discuss the issue of military action against Tehran’s facilities.
Landa also has stressed that the Iranian nuclear file has an international and regional dimension, not only for Israel, but for all countries concerned with the issue, and there is great sensitivity towards this file in general.
Extortion attempts, misunderstanding and crucial months
Iran’s obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement, described by Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan, the representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the IAEA, are attempts to blackmail the international community through disturbing activities. He stresses the importance of confronting Iran’s policy of exploiting its nuclear program as pressure cards on the world.
“This calls for a tougher stance by members of the Agency’s Board of Governors to resolve these issues and restore the Agency’s ability to carry out its work to provide the necessary assurances about the peacefulness of the Iranian nuclear program,” Bin Sultan added on Twitter.
In the same context, the Saudi prince believes that Iran is currently required to fully comply with the safeguards agreement, and not to escalate in line with the demands of the international community during the resumption of the Vienna talks, especially in light of the tireless efforts of the Director General of the Agency to resolve these issues and ensure the peacefulness of its nuclear program and its uses.
For his part, journalist and writer Hatem El-Sir Siengo believes that Iran, by its actions, has made the international community unite in confronting it and sends it a direct message that patience is running out, and that the concerned countries now want a final solution to the nuclear file or go to the UN Security Council .
“This is the main message that the portfolio of the Director-General of the IAEA carried on his last trip to Tehran and it was communicated to whomever it may concern, and the ball now is in the Iranian court and its players do not have long to delay, given that the match is about to end and the referee’s whistle can sound at any time announcing the end of the game and returning the file to the UN Security Council,” he adds.
Simultaneously, Israeli historian Dan Shiftan believes that the coming months will be critical to Israel’s national security, because US decisions toward Iran will shape the future strategic environment for many years to come.
“The West and the Americans failed to understand Iranian behavior, because they assume that the slogans raised by Tehran are empty, claiming that its leaders are rational, and they will act in a pragmatic manner from the moment they have something to lose,” he explains.
“The major countries take a minor stance on the Iranian regime in the nuclear file, and give it negligent opportunities that it does not deserve. Iran has never committed to the nuclear agreement with the major powers, and these powers know this well, but they ignore it and give Iran one opportunity after another,” says Sami Al-Murshed, a political analyst at Tweet on Twitter.
He points out that this is a minor policy, and its results will revert to everyone in the future, and Iran is exploiting this complacency with its violations to the worst, as he described it.
It is noteworthy that the superpowers had held several talks last year with Tehran in the Austrian capital Vienna regarding the nuclear file, but all of these talks did not lead to an agreement on the crisis, given that Tehran requires the lifting of all international sanctions imposed on it before reaching an agreement, amid international accusations of the Iranian regime’s secret nuclear activities.
Several Iranian nuclear facilities, including the Natanz nuclear facility, have been subjected to a series of attacks believed to be Israeli over the past months. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president, has revealed that the attacks on the Natanz Facility led to millions of dollars in losses.
