To break the deadlock: Japanese mediator at negotiating table between Washington, Tehran
Break the deadlock
The Japanese news agency quoted diplomatic
sources as saying that Washington sent a message to Tokyo requesting that it
informs the results of the summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
and the Iranian President. Therefore, Japanese and Iranian officials are
arranging for Rouhani's visit.
On December 2, 2019, Abbas Araghchi, the
Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, visited Tokyo as a
special envoy of President Rouhani, where he met the Prime Minister of Japan
and delivered a written message from the Iranian President.
Araghchi announced that the necessary
preparations for a possible visit of Rouhani to Tokyo are under way at the
present time, according to the Iranian news agency ISNA.
It is reported that he was preceded by the
expected visit of the Iranian President, a visit by the Japanese Prime
Minister, Trump's ally, Iran in June 2019, to become the first Japanese Prime
Minister to do so since 1978, in the hope that he could mediate the dialogue
between Tehran and Washington.
Impasse
After Iran defied the countries of the world
on November 7, 2019 and resumed uranium enrichment at the Fordow nuclear
facility, after it froze it under the nuclear agreement, Washington began to
impose more sanctions that negatively affected the Iranian economy, which
prompted the Iranian government to take the decision to raise gasoline prices
for three folds to resolve its economic crisis.
The people rejected and carried out protests
in several Iranian cities on November 15, 2019, demanding the cancellation of
the government’s decision, which was rejected, but the people were confronted
with arrest and killing.
Therefore, the Iranian approach to Japan at
this particular time is an attempt by Tehran to resolve its economic crisis, in
order to reduce the American pressure on it, as this visit, if it takes place,
will be the first for an Iranian president since October 2000.
Therefore, he indicated that the Washington
Institute for Middle East Studies in his analysis on November 21, said that Iran
has reached a dead end, and that it is on its way to negotiate with the United
States, and that this is because of the protests that took place in Iran and
led the Iranian government to use all available means to mitigate American
sanctions.
Find a broker
For his part, Ahmad Qabal, a researcher
specializing in Iranian affairs at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and
Strategic Studies, explained that Tehran is searching for the most influential
mediator after the failure of European attempts to enable Iran to overcome the
effects of US sanctions, while relying on the possibility of starting direct
negotiations with America, similar to North Korea's experience, given Trump's
policy and his sometimes conflicting positions.
Kabal said in a statement to the Reference
that Japan made strong efforts in cooperation with France to maintain the
nuclear agreement with Iran, and although it did not succeed in most of them,
it represents the most effective diplomatic and international track “if we take
into account Japan's interests and strategic relations”.
