The talks over Iran’s nuclear programme are entering the final stages but, if indications are anything to go by, the negotiations are making progress. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, visited Tehran on Thursday to meet Iranian officials in an attempt to reach a deal on the remaining issues. The United States and five other big powers — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — want Tehran to grant access to military sites to inspectors from the IAEA and to answer IAEA questions about previous nuclear work that may have had military purposes.
For the Gulf states, there is every reason to be cautious when it comes to making deals with the regime in Iran. Indeed, Tehran has been actively meddling in the internal affairs of Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen while at the same time trying to negotiate an end to international sanctions over its nuclear programme.
Let’s be clear: Tehran has the right to develop a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes, as long at it abides by verification and inspection protocols. What is not acceptable is that Tehran uses its nuclear expertise to enrich uranium into weapons-grade fissile material.
But now is the time when Tehran must make concessions to convince the world that its intentions are truly peaceful and that means allowing inspectors into its facilities for verification purposes. Hardliners may not like that — but that is the price for doing a deal. That is the reality now.
