Supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds real power in the Iranian government, is reported to have said August 12 that resistance to the strongest global players reaps benefits. The comment was allegedly made during a meeting between Khamenei and the president of Algeria.
Strategy Validation
The comments seem to indicate that Iran is satisfied with its strategy of the past five years. That strategy has been one of stalling and minimal cooperation with the international community over the controversial nuclear issue.
The United States and other western nations have offered Iran a series of incentives packages designed to get Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium. Iran has consistently maintained its right to nuclear technology and has adamantly refused to halt the uranium enrichment process.
Global Divisions
The United States, France, and Great Britain have gradually ratcheted up the rhetoric regarding punitive actions that could be taken against Iran. Russia and China, which both have significant financial interests in Iran, have thus far refused to go along with stringent sanctions or the consideration of military action against Iran. The five nations make up the permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.
The United Nations has already enacted three rounds of sanctions against Iran, but their effectiveness has been limited because of Russian and Chinese objections to many of the measures introduced in the assembly. Western nations have threatened Iran with a fourth round of sanctions from the Security Council if Tehran does not comply with international demands.
The European Union has imposed some limited unilateral sanctions as well.
Tehran Not Blinking
Still, even with the threat of additional sanctions looming, Iran is not backing down. Only the United States and Israel have entertained the military option so far, and it is not likely that America’s European allies will agree to a strike that could lead to conflict with Iran.
The lack of a serious military threat thus far has allowed Iran to continue rejecting diplomatic overtures from the west, instead pushing for negotiation sessions to be held sometime in the future. Given ongoing military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Israel’s continuing battles with Hamas militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, not to mention the threat of attacks by Hezbollah, it is unlikely that a military operation could even be attempted.
With force essentially out of the equation, Tehran will continue to be emboldened to negotiate on its own terms. And there is not much the United States or Europe can do about it.
