As the second deadline for reaching an agreement in the nuclear accord with Iran and the world passed yesterday, it is incumbent upon both the Iranian camp and the P5+1 (United States, Britain, France, Russia, China plus Germany) to ensure that their focus remains on the bigger picture. While Iran has said it has set no deadline for the talks, the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the talks could go on until tomorrow.
The discussions must not be putrefied by trifles. The reference here is to Iran’s last-minute manoeuvre of pressing for the United Nations arms embargo — a parallel deal which the US is against as it wants to curtail Tehran’s regional military ambitions — to be lifted. It is imperative that the bigger picture of the discussions, centred on Iran’s uranium stockpiles and the lifting of economic sanctions, is not diluted by offering sweetheart deals to the Iranians. The logic is straightforward: Irrespective of whether the arms embargo is lifted, Tehran and the Iranian people are winners in more senses than one. The focus should be on ensuring that both parties, who are restless to ensure that success is achieved despite the presence of innumerable grey areas, do not contaminate the substance of the main negotiations.
The Iranians are mindful that the Obama administration is fighting the clock, vis-a-vis the accord being presented and cleared by US Congress and could concede on last-minute demands being facilitated in its haste to ensure a historical success. Iran’s logic on the easing of the arms embargo rests on the fact that Russia and China are waiting in the wings to carve out defence deals and Tehran is leveraging this opportunity to try and rupture the solidarity displayed by the negotiators. Obama needs this deal as much as Iran. The call of the hour, however, is to ensure that the agreements are pure in spirit and execution.
