Ali Akbar Velayati, an envoy of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, background right, listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, foreground, during talks in Moscow on February 8, 2007. Russia's foreign minister on Thursday urged Iran to show good will in resolving the dispute over its controversial nuclear program as a senior Iranian envoy held talks in Moscow.
Photo: AP
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Iran Consults with Russia on Security
// Prior to Summit in Munich
Yesterday Russian President Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with Ali Akbar Velayati, the personal envoy of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran is making a concerted effort to convince Moscow to lend its support in Iran's standoff with Washington. To show the seriousness of its intentions, Iran yesterday carried out a test of a Russian anti-aircraft Top-M1 missile system, and the country's top spiritual leader threatened to strike "at American interests around the world." Tehran is making its bid for the goodwill of the Russian president on the eve of an international security summit in Munich, at which President Putin is scheduled to give the keynote address.
Yesterday in Moscow Ali Akbar Velayati, a former foreign affairs minister who is one of Iran's most experienced diplomats, met with a number of top Russian foreign policy officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and National Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov, before meeting in the evening with President Vladimir Putin. And while the official line from the Russian negotiators was neutral and cautious, Mr. Velayati was effusive in his compliments: "The steps that Russia is taking have the unconditional support of Iran," declared the Iranian leader's official envoy. "Russia, as an important world power, and Iran, an important regional power, in the future will play a key role in the evolution of this sensitive region."
On his visit to Moscow, Mr. Velayati also brought the Iranian leader's answer to a letter from the Russian president that was delivered to Ayatollah Khamenei last week by Igor Ivanov. According to Kommersant's sources, in the oral reply that he gave to Mr. Ivanov immediately, the Iranian leader suggested that Iran and Russia create a strategic alliance against their common enemies and share responsibility for the future of the Middle East and Central Asia. He also expressed interest in founding a gas OPEC. Russia did not give an official reply at the time, although Vladimir Putin replied noncommittally that he would think about it.
This is not the first time that Tehran has tried to snag Russia in its embrace. For example, Iran clamored for an invitation last summer to join the Shanghai Cooperative Organization (SOC), a request that was vetoed by Kazakhstan's unwillingness to expand the SOC. This time, Tehran has clearly decided to make a real effort to nudge Russia into a partnership, which explains Mr. Velayati's apparent mission: to develop Ayatollah Khamenei's vision of a lasting bond between the two friendly nations.
Of late the political elite in Tehran has come up with its own version of the current world order, which is based on the premise that the US is so weak that it is in no condition to counter the rise in world politics of a powerful anti-American pole, as the center of which Iran sees itself. In order to make this idea as convincing as possible, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is traveling the world, drumming up support for the ranks of the anti-Americans. His most important success thus far has been his recent trip to Venezuela, where he hailed President Hugo Chavez as his brother.
The Iranian leadership believes that America's attempts to quell Tehran's ambitions are doomed to failure. President Ahmadinejad called the recent UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran a "scrap of paper." Although Russia voted for the resolution along with the other permanent members of the Security Council, Tehran considers Moscow the "weak link" in the hostile international community and hopes to entice Russia over to its side.
Ali Akbar Velayati's recent visit was accompanied by a series of moves by Tehran that were designed to encourage Moscow to agree to a strategic alliance between the two countries. At the same time that the Iranian ayatollah's special envoy was attending talks in Moscow, the Supreme Leader himself was observing tests of Top-M1 anti-aircraft missile defense systems, as well as of short-range "ground-to-ground" missiles, that Iran purchased from Russia in January. Thrilled by the launch of the missiles, Ayatollah Khamenei declared that if the US dares to attack the Islamic Republic, in reply Tehran will strike at "American interests around the world." "The enemy should know that any invasion will be followed by a multi-pronged reaction against the aggressors and their interests around the world," said the Iranian leader.
Iran has also been tossing new challenges at the West. The Iranian Ministry of Information (the official name for the Iranian Intelligence Services) announced the capture of 100 American and Israeli spies, and the country's Foreign Affairs Ministry pounced on Great Britain in response to Tony Blair's accusation that Tehran is destabilizing the situation in the Middle East. "The insolent and unprincipled comments made by the British prime minister exceed the bounds of diplomatic ethics and testify to the intransigence of the British leadership," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini. "During several years of talks between Iran and the European Troika (Great Britain, France, and Germany) concerning the nuclear issue, the British government played a destructive role by creating obstacles to the success of the negotiations. In recent years, the British government, in collaboration with Washington and the Zionist regime of Israel, has imposed three wars on Middle Eastern countries that have claimed thousands of innocent lives and caused massive destruction and insecurity, as well as an upsurge in terrorist acts," claimed Mr. Hosseini. Nevertheless, Tehran has officially spoken in favor of continuing talks with the European Troika.
"We are counting on resolving the crisis surrounding the Iranian nuclear program by negotiation. I am certain that we will be able to find a fair solution within the framework of international rights, as long as there is goodwill," said Sergei Lavrov yesterday at his meeting with Mr. Velayati. Meanwhile, however, the Iranian authorities have long maintained that their understanding of goodwill does not include even the slightest concessions on the main issue: the development of a nuclear program. For the last several years, the idea of the "Iranian atom" has been included among the country's highest and most dominant national priorities, and Tehran has no intention of renouncing that idea. As recently as Monday, Iran celebrated a national holiday, called the Day of the Development of Nuclear Technology by Young Iranian Scientists, one of dozens of holidays associated with the nuclear program.
The UN Security Council ultimatum expires on February 21, the date by which Tehran is supposed to cease its uranium enrichment activities. Tehran, of course, intends to ignore the ultimatum. "Our answer to the UN Security Council is that tomorrow we will begin the install 3,000 centrifuges in Natanz, and we will go forward at full speed," said Iranian Security Council secretary Ali Larijani. "Pressure from the West will not only have no impact on our plans – it will make us even more driven in pursuit of our nuclear goals." For Ali Akbar Velayati, the goal of yesterday's talks in Moscow was clearly to convey Tehran's decisiveness to Moscow and, even more importantly, to suggest that Russia support Iran, so that the two countries can then stand together against the onslaught of the West.
Vladimir Putin, in his meeting yesterday with the Iranian emissary, took a phlegmatic approach. "I will allow myself to express hope that during the consultations both we and the other participants in the process, particularly our Iranian friends, will succeed in finding a solution to the difficult questions that we are trying to resolve," said the Russian president. It is not yet clear how much of an impact Mr. Velayati's visit had on the mood in Moscow.
Today Mr. Putin will head off to the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy, where he is scheduled to give a the keynote address. He will be joined in Munich by leaders from the EU, the Middle East, and Iranian Security Council secretary Ali Larijani.
Judging by the tone of recent pronouncements by Russian officials on Iran, Tehran can count on at least some measure of support. During Sergei Lavrov's recent visit to Washington, for example, the Russian foreign minister said that Moscow looks upon Washington's foreign policy course with concern and does not share its policy of isolating countries, especially Iran, that are "key players in the resolution of the Middle Eastern dilemma." If the personal envoy of the ayatollah succeeded in finding the key to Vladimir Putin's heart, the Russian president just might be moved to say something even more decisive on the subject.
Mikhail Zygar
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 09, 2007
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