Interviewed by Pyotr Lyukimson , Israel, exclusively to VK
On September 28, Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani discussed the Iranian nuclear issue by phone (it was the first conversation between the presidents of Iran and the United States since 1979). On the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to New York to meet with Obama, and on Tuesday he will address the UN General Assembly. Before his hdeparture, the Israeli prime minister banned making any statements on Iran before his speech for all the ministers. According to Netanyahu, Israel's position on the Iranian issue must be extremely formal and uniform - one that will be announced by him personally. In Israel, where there is complete freedom of speech, and every minister has the right to his own point of view, sometimes dramatically different from the point of view of the head of government , the prime minister resorts to such instructions in exceptional situations, we can say, emergencies. It now remains to wait for the speech by Netanyahu and see whether it is something extraordinary .
Recently, Vestnik Kavkaza wrote about the opinion of the Israeli politicians and journalists to Rouhani’s recent speech at the UN General Assembly . See “Israel does not believe Rouhani”.
Now, the recent statements by the Iranian leader are commented on by the representative of the academic science - one of Israel's leading experts on Iran, lecturer at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Open University of Israel, Dr. Vladimir Mesamed .
- Mr. Mesamed, is, in your opinion, such attention to Hassan Rouhani’s statements by the Western media helpful?
- It's only natural that at the annual 68th annual session of the UN General Assembly, the speech delivered by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on September 24 attracted the attention of the world community. This could only be so. After the flow of demagoguery and anti-Israelism , which was heard every autumn in New York from the recently departed president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , everyone in the world want to know to what extent the power in Iran changed and whether the reformist reputation of a person who from the first day of power declared that he is determined to achieve a change in attitude towards Iran in the world is justifies. Rouhani said back in June that the basic principles of practice of the future government are, he said , " fairness, justice and moderation ." As for the foreign policy of the country, he said, "a moderate course will not mean surrender and capitulation". He emphasized the fact that the international activities of the new Cabinet will be flexible enough, its steps will be weighted and will be subject only to national interest. All negotiations will be conducted with regard to the equality of the parties and mutual respect". However, as people have said many times here in Israel, Rouhani ‘s soft rhetoric should be confirmed by real actions, and a change of tactics implies a revision of the practical approaches to the implementation of Iran's nuclear program.
Meanwhile, today, after a few months , there are no practical differences between the approaches of Iranian conservatives and Rouhani. The only difference is in the used vocabulary. Rouhani portrayed as a novation his declaration on the possibility of direct talks with the U.S. on the Iranian nuclear program. But it was not denied by the Ayatollah Khomeini - the late founder and chief ideologue of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The desire for direct contacts with the United States was not motivated by a desire to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue. It originally covered only civil war in Syria, the prospects of which just should be discussed with the United States. In this situation, reasonably, Iran's nuclear issue has moved to the background, transforming itself into a non-essential one, and this is what the Iranians wanted.
For Rouhani, it is important to get economic sanctions against Iran lifted, so he is looking for the chance and is trying to bring to the West the idea that he is looking for ways to interact . So what did Rouhani say from the podium of the UN General Assembly? There was nothing new. Here are some quotes (in my translation from the original Persian text - VM )
- "We proceed from the need for peace and security in the world, believing that it is achievable".
- "Iran does a lot for this, becoming a haven of peace in a troubled sea of regional storms".
- "Iran has replaced political means, preferring to play in a new way , but not everyone in the world accepted this, and not all agree to comply with the new realities of the political agenda. I want to state with full responsibility that those who talk about the Iranian threat in themselves pose a threat to constantly pumped up threat and tension. Iran is not a threat, and, more than that, by all its actions, it has demonstrated its commitment to a just peace and comprehensive security . "
- "In contrast, the West has unleashedan inflammatory propaganda campaign demonizing Islam and Shiism, as well as its stronghold - Iran, which in itself is a threat to the global , regional and human security."
Now, let us talk about the nuclear issue. Here are the latest examples of the reasonableness of Iranian approaches in this direction. On the eve of departure to New York, Rouhani said his country was ready to dismantle the nuclear facility in Fordow in response to the partial and gradual lifting of sanctions. The same day, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, former Foreign Minister Salehi said that he had not knew this before.
After that, In New York, Rouhani said that his country is ready in three months or in a maximum of six months to conduct complex negotiations and reach a solution to the nuclear issue. The same day, the chief Iranian negotiator on nuclear issues, Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said at a meeting with the six international mediators , including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, that during the year Iran will complete negotiations .
Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing ? Let's listen to the reaction of Netanyahu to Rouhani’s speech at the UN: "This Iranian president’s speech is part of Iran’s verified strategy that seeks to buy time and get closer to a nuclear weapons capability." And I completely agree with that.
- How was the denial of the Holocaust by Iranian leaders built, and what goals did they pursue by this denial?
- Like all presidents before him, Rouhani raised in his speech the topic of the Palestinian- Israeli peace process, and, of course, it is tied to the theme of the Holocaust. But before answering the question, I will note that we should not use the word "denial" in relation to Iran's policy towards the Holocaust. It is more logical to use the term "revision" . In recent decades, an innovation - the idea of including the Holocaust subject in the anti-Israeli track in Iran's foreign policy – can be more and more clearly traced. Exploiting the legacy of the Holocaust is more or less usual for Iranian politicians, including the new president Hassan Rouhani . The leitmotif of using the idea of the Holocaust in an anti-Israeli policy is reflected in the words of the current spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that, speculating the number of Jews killed by the Nazis , "the Zionists have created the conditions for the occupation of Palestine and continuing their crimes against its people". As you can see, they recognize the Holocaust . But,, the Iranian media say, the Holocaust is created by Zionist propaganda in the West to create positive sentiment towards the Jews and to raise money for their needs from the West. In the Iranian media it is often said that the idea of such an indisputable thing as Holocaust are necessary for Zionists to justify the idea of the State of Israel and to attract sympathy of the world community on the side of the Jewish state. In general terms, the reflection of the ideas of the Holocaust in Iran represents a synthesis of the two approaches - the traditional anti-Zionist policy of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian anti-Semitism existing for many centuries.
To be continued
