In a recent article headlined "Iran's Anger!", senior Saudi journalist Tariq Al-Homayed expresses puzzlement over a Reuters report which stated that Iran is likely to respond with "anger" if the International Atomic Energy Agency officially rebukes it for its lack of transparency regarding its nuclear activity. The talk in the Western media about Iran's possible fury, he says, is merely a Western excuse for avoiding any serious action against this country. This reluctance, he adds, plays into the hands of Iran, which has repeatedly proved that it is not committed to agreements or international decisions, nor is it deterred by sanctions or rebukes. Its only goal at the moment is to buy time until it can obtain a nuclear weapon.
Al-Homayed states further that the example of Russia shows how difficult it is to curb the ambitions of a nuclear power. Once Iran achieves this status, the region will be like a time bomb, he says, and concludes: 'Iran understands only the language of force. If it becomes a nuclear state, then the region will head steadily towards a real disaster.'
The following are excerpts from the English translation of the article, published June 8, 2022 in the English edition of Al-Sharq Al-Awsat:[1]
Tariq Alhomayed (image: marefa.org)
"Reuters reported that the United States and the European Troika sent a draft resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors to criticize Iran for not fully answering the agency’s questions regarding uranium traces at undeclared sites.
'The United States, France, Britain and Germany are pushing for the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors to rebuke Iran for failing to answer longstanding questions on uranium traces at undeclared sites,' Reuters said, adding that the step was likely to 'anger Iran.'
"What kind of anger are we talking about here? And what will it entail? Is talking about Iran’s 'anger' an accurate expression, or a mere justification for Tehran’s manipulative positions on the nuclear file?
"Since the beginning of Khomeini’s era, the Iranian approach shows that Tehran is not committed to any decisions, agreements, settlements, or the outcome of any negotiations, but only seeks to exploit the time factor until it obtains its desired goal.
"With regards to the nuclear file, Tehran is evidently following the same path, manipulating time and even reaching its goal of acquiring a nuclear bomb, regardless of whether former US President Donald Trump is to blame for withdrawing from the 2015 agreement, or not.
"The Iranian plan is clear. Everyone knows that the regime in Tehran says something but does the opposite. In fact, this regime is determined to reach the nuclear goal, even if the Supreme Leader talks about a fatwa that prohibits the acquisition of a nuclear bomb.
"Iran has been living under the weight of US and international sanctions for a long time; neither its policy nor its position has changed. It does not want to be a member state that respects the laws of the international community because it is determined to reach its set objective – obtaining a nuclear weapon.
"Therefore, spreading the expression of Iran’s 'anger' in the media is nothing but a means to pressure the West and the United States, or can even be a Western-American leak to justify the lack of a serious approach towards the Tehran regime.
"Moreover, Iran’s 'anger' is a mere promotion of a fictitious subversive force – an anger that will not be translated into action. The Tehran regime is receiving slap after slap from Israel - not in the region, but inside Iran itself - with no Iranian response.
"The reason is clear: Tehran does not want a real war with Israel, or a confrontation that leads to that war, because its main goal now is to obtain nuclear weapons. In addition, Tehran knows that it will be difficult to engage in a military confrontation with Israel.
"Thus, Iranian actions will be confined to our region and our Arab countries. It would be enough for the West to absorb the lesson of the war in Ukraine, and the difficulty of dealing with a nuclear state, namely Russia. Our region will be like a time bomb, not to mention the inevitable nuclear arms race.
"Iran understands only the language of force. If it becomes a nuclear state, then the region will head steadily towards a real disaster."
[1] English.aawsat.com, June 8, 2022.
