By Ruan Zongze
President Hu Jintao, in his telephone conversation with
US President George W. Bush on June 1, pledged to maintain the
working of the international non-proliferation system, and urged a
settlement to the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic channels
and negotiations.
On the same day, officials from the United States, Russia,
China, Britain, France and Germany met in Vienna and reached a
consensus on a package of proposals on urging Iran to stop uranium
enrichment, which was proposed by the EU3 (France, the United
Kingdom and Germany).
The proposals state that sanctions would be imposed on Iran
within the framework of the United Nations Charter if the country
refuses to co-operate, stopping short of mentioning specific
articles in the charter that lead to possible military action.
Under the agreement, the five permanent members of the United
Nations Security Council will meet to discuss new measures to be
taken. This contrasts with the previous position, in which the
Iranian nuclear issue would be automatically submitted to the UN
Security Council if Iran refused to halt uranium enrichment, for
the Security Council to authorize punishing sanctions against the
country.
US President Bush said at the White House on June 1 that the
issue would not be reported to the UN Security Council on the
condition that Iran suspends enriching uranium. But he warned that
the international community would act together against Iran if that
country ignores the wishes of the international community.
Iran's nuclear program has been a key issue since the country
resumed uranium enrichment last year, with the United States taking
a very hard line on it. However, US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice announced on May 31 that the United States would join other
countries to have direct negotiations with Iran on condition that
Iran halts its uranium enrichment activities.
Rice's remarks surprised many people. Her announcement signifies
that noticeable changes have taken place in terms of US policy
towards Iran. It came as the international community has constantly
been urging the United States to negotiate directly with
Teheran.
Washington has now sent out a positive signal that it is willing
to have direct dialogue with Teheran, despite the fact that it
still sets some preconditions.
As if to accompany this development, Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki indicated on May 30 that the country was ready
to resume negotiations with relevant parties. On the same day, the
spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry reiterated that Teheran would
not halt uranium enrichment.
Iran is staging multilateral diplomacy to regain the initiative
in the face of mounting pressure from the international community,
while also pursuing its nuclear undertakings according to plan.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated last month at
the Bali summit of eight large Muslim countries that Iran has the
right to a nuclear program and said that Western countries would
not give Iran a chance, in a bid to win over sympathy and support
from the public in Muslim countries.
In the final analysis, the conflict between Khomeinism and Bush
Doctrine lies behind all of the maneuvers on Iran's nuclear
program.
Ayatollah Khomeini masterminded Iran's Islamic revolution in
1979, which toppled the monarchy of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
Khomeini formally came to power on February 11, 1979 and became the
country's supreme spiritual leader.
An institution that incorporated Islam and secular power into
one whole was created by the constitution enacted shortly after the
revolution. Amendments were made to the constitution in April 1989,
emphasizing that Islam, the republican system and the absolute
power of the supreme leader were never to be altered.
Iran has a 5,000-year-old civilization. The ancient Persian
Empire was in its heyday in the sixth century BC. But Iran was
humiliated greatly in the last two or three centuries, being
repeatedly dismembered and occupied by world powers and eventually
becoming the semi-colony of the British Empire and Czarist Russia.
This descent into the abyss of disgrace lends a grievous and
indignant hue to the Iranian national characteristics, which finds
an expression in strong nationalist feelings and a thirst for
national revival.
Driven by its ambition, Iran hopes to gain an important position
in the Middle East and, in turn, reclaim the status of an
influential major power in the world arena. And the possession of a
nuclear capability seems vitally important in this regard.
The Islamic revolution in 1979 and Iranians' strong anti-US
feeling were closely associated with this nationalist complex.
Iranian students stormed the US embassy in Teheran on November 4,
1979 and took 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days. Many
Americans regard this as a humiliation that ranks only second to
the defeat of the United States in the Viet Nam War.
With Khomeini in power, Iran was bent on exporting revolution,
spreading Islamic culture overseas and expanding Iran's influence.
In the ninth presidential election in June 2005, Mahmoud
Ahmadinehad, a conservative candidate and former Teheran mayor,
emerged victorious and was sworn in as the new Iranian president on
August 3.
Ahmadinejad is likely to regard Iran's gaining of major-power
status as the best way to secure further support from the
grass-roots and conservative elements that helped bring him to
power.
The United States has found itself in a "post-Cold War era"
since George W. Bush took office in 2001.
The September 11 attacks struck the country like a bolt from the
blue as the United States was relishing its status as the world's
sole superpower. When the dust of the terror assaults settled, the
United States found that it was much more vulnerable than expected.
Hence, countering terrorism became an overriding task.
One pre-emptive strike was launched after another in the wake of
September 11. The United States hoped to seek absolute security
through these wars. The focal point is the Middle East, although
this massive anti-terror undertaking covers all parts of the
world.
This strategy, which involves components including force,
pre-emption rather than reaction and countering terrorism with
democracy is labeled the Bush Doctrine. It is obvious that the
United States, under the guidance of the Bush Doctrine, wants to
re-draw the political map of the Middle East. In such
circumstances, Iran is threatened with marginalization. It is
against this backdrop that the battle between the two doctrines has
started.
Iran is a big country in the Gulf region whose influence should
never be trifled with. The United States placed heavier pressure on
Iran because it feared that the situation in Iraq would get
increasingly volatile.
In view of all this, the battle between Khomeinism and the Bush
Doctrine is expected to impact on the peace and stability of the
Middle East and the Gulf region for a long time to come.
The author is deputy director of China Institute of
International Studies.
(China Daily June 5, 2006)
