While Russia and the European Union firmly support the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue, the United States is trying by means of sanctions to provoke Iran to move away from the provisions of the nuclear deal, and then blame it for the failure of the Vienna agreements, Valdai Club expert Alexander Maryasov says.
On Saturday, August 5, the inauguration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was held. He was elected to the second term on May 19. The ceremony was attended by guests from almost a hundred countries, including several heads of state and Federica Mogherini, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. According to observers, this indicates the stable position of Iran in the international arena, despite the US attempts to isolate the Islamic Republic through political and economic sanctions.
The key issue of Iran's foreign policy remains the fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed in 2015, and aimed to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem, which Rouhani regards as one of the most important achievements of his government. Alexander Maryasov, Russia's ambassador to Iran in 2001-2005, discussed this in an interview with www.valdaiclub.com.
"Because of the sharply negative attitude of the Donald Trump’s administration to the nuclear deal with Iran, its future is becoming increasingly foggy," Maryasov said. - The US is looking for an excuse and tries to provoke Tehran to withdraw from the JCPOA. In particular, Washington is trying to present Iran's development of its missile program and its anti-terrorist activity in Syria and in the whole region as a "violation" of its obligations under the JCPOA, which, of course, is not true."
According to Maryasov, the US sanctions are aimed to provoke Iran to depart from the provisions of the nuclear deal and then to blame it for the failure of the Vienna agreements. "It's hard to predict whose nerves will be stronger: there are a lot of "hawks” on both sides," the Valdai Club expert said.
Maryasov stressed that Russia firmly supports the JCPOA and its strict implementation by all the participants. "Tehran is still doing so, and we support such a line," he said. Strengthening of the US sanctions and other pressure on Iran will undoubtedly lead not only to further aggravation of the Iran-US relations, but also to the strengthening of the general tensions in the Middle East region".
The European Union also fully supports the JCPOA. In an official statement following the visit of Federica Mogherini to Iran, it is pointed out that the implementation of the JCPOA is confirmed by the six International Agency for Atomic Energy reports and by the economic results following the lifting of nuclear related economic and financial sanctions. During her visit Mogherini discussed bilateral cooperation between the EU and Iran in various fields, confirming interest in expanding the dialogue.
It is obvious that the new round of confrontation with the outside world, which the United States is trying to promote, will hamper the achievement of the domestic political goals proclaimed by Hassan Rouhani, and at the same time will play into the hands of his opponents in Iran itself. According to Maryasov, the increased pressure, economic sanctions and military threats will contribute to the preservation of the Iranian regime, will strengthen the "besieged fortress" ideology. On the contrary, eliminating threats of a political, economic and military nature will create conditions for the democratic development and progress of the country.
"Since the entire election campaign in Iran was held under the slogans of improving the socio-economic situation of the country and its population, the main tasks of the Hassan Rouhani’s government will undoubtedly be struggle against unemployment, especially among the youth, raising the minimum cost of living and incomes of the most helpless strata of the population. "This will require, among other things, the attraction of foreign investments and advanced technologies. Another important area of President Rouhani's activity is the active development of trade, economic and political ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the outside world," Maryasov concluded.
