Osama al-Hatimi: Arab unity pivotal for defeating Iran's regional project
Osama al-Hatimi is an Egyptian writer who specializes in Iranian affairs.
He says Iran works to narrow the scope of negotiations with Western powers over
its nuclear file and the return to the 2015 nuclear agreement.
It wants at the same time, he said,
to overlook other equally important issues, including its interference in
regional states and its ballistic missile program.
Al-Hatimi added in an interview with
The Reference that Iran works hook and by crook to strengthen its
negotiating position to make the most gains and save the reputation of its
regime among Iranians who suffered greatly because of the policies of this
regime.
He touched on many important aspects
of Iran's internal and external crises. Here is the interview in detail:
Sir, tell us about the
extent of Iranian intransigence as far as the Vienna negotiations are
concerned?
I think Iranian negotiators did not
go to Vienna without specifying exactly what they want. They first wanted to
lift the economic sanctions that have been resumed since August 2018, three
months after former US president Donald Trump announced his country's
withdrawal from the nuclear agreement that was concluded in 2015 because of Iran's
failure to fully fulfill its commitments to the agreement.
Iran, on the other hand, said Washington
was the one that breached the agreement and withdrew from it. It said this
deprived the resumption of sanctions of justification. Iran also called on the
US to retract the sanctions.
Tehran seeks to persuade those
negotiating with it in Vienna limit discussions about returning to the nuclear
agreement without addressing other issues not included in the agreement, such
as Iranian interference in regional states and its ballistic missile program.
These are the two files that Tehran may see as red lines. There is no room for
negotiation here.
Based on the foregoing, Tehran is
doing everything in its power to strengthen its negotiating position to get the
utmost gains from the negotiations.
Can Tehran achieve a surprise
nuclear breakthrough?
If the intrusion here is intended
for Iran to obtain what makes it a member of the nuclear club, and to possess
nuclear weapons, then I think Tehran is keen not to do that at the present time.
Iran realizes the danger inherent in this adventure. The US and other countries
will not allow Iran to do so for a simple reason: this contradicts the
functional role entrusted to Iran in the region. Until this moment, this role
remains the main determinant of the American, and perhaps Western, strategy in
dealing with Iran.
How will Washington
react then?
I think Washington anticipates such
a possibility and works diligently not to make it happen, especially since
there is a third party, namely Israel, that closely monitors developments in
this regard. Perhaps drawing specific lines that would be an explosive approach
to the situation, and the entire region would bring in a state of war.
I do not think anybody would be
happy to see this happening because such a scenario will have dire consequences
for the region.
Why is the Biden
administration betting on the diplomatic track alone with Iran?
Biden does not want to lose Iran as
one of the most important cards for blackmailing Arab Gulf states.
