Deal with Iran

Iran’s contested nuclear programme is once again under the spotlight. Tehran reportedly has disconnected some of the monitoring cameras over its enrichment sites, as it believes that IAEA — the UN-led nuclear watchdog — is not being nice to it. Though the Western nations, especially the US, are always up in arms against the clandestine nuclear programme, of late Iran has been accused of non-cooperation. This tug of war is neither new, nor has any far-reaching implications provided the fact that status quo prevails, and the Islamic Republic is well under the threshold of going nuclear. But the fissures of disagreement push the détente of understanding in rough waters, and lead to fears that the revolutionary regime may one day unilaterally walk out of the P5+One international accord plunging the region in a catastrophe of its own.

This sudden change of heart from Tehran to snub the IAEA has come as a retaliatory measure. A recent resolution submitted by Britain, France, Germany and the US called upon the watchdog to censure Iran. Though the reasons for offending it are not clear, it is widely believed that the consensus to further the composite dialogue between the major powers and Tehran since President Joseph Biden came into power is making no headway. Iran has officially stated that it has no ambitions to build a bomb, but it is unrelenting when it comes to upping its scientific infrastructure by making use of nuclear energy. This coupled with its supersonic armament programme, the biggest in the region, is a point of discord and the bad blood lives on.

A spontaneous and workable solution is the need of the hour. The West should revisit its monitoring programme to buoy confidence with Iran. The 2015 P5+1 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is an unprecedented treatise in recent history and it should see the light of the day. A respite from harassment on the monitoring count will enable the regime to focus on its sluggish economy and contribute towards peace and stability in the region. Decades of crippling sanctions from Washington and its allies have done no service for regional peace, and have rather upped the ante of nuclearisation.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2022.

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