Iran Could Demand U.S. Concessions in Nuclear Dispute in Exchange for Help in Stabilizing Iraq

Tehran could seek U.S. concessions on Iran’s nuclear activities if the Bush administration heeds a call to seek Iran’s help in stabilizing Iraq, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 6).

A report this week by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group urged President George W. Bush to engage Iran and Syria in an effort to develop peace in Iraq.

Iran, however, would probably want something out of the deal besides a peaceful neighbor, said Mark Fitzpatrick, a nonproliferation expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

Iran would likely seek U.S. acceptance of Iran’s nuclear program, a move that Washington was unlikely to make, said Fitzpatrick.  More feasible, he said, would be a U.S. assurance not to attack Iran and an easing of sanctions.

One Iranian political group offered a clear set of demands.

“If the United States lifts sanctions against Iran, recognizes Iran’s nuclear rights and releases Iran’s foreign assets in the U.S., then we can be optimistic about [a] possible active role of Iran on the security in Iraq and other regional issues,” said Mojtaba Bigdeli, spokesman for Iranian Hezbollah, a political group that supports Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Jim Krane, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, Dec. 7).

Meanwhile, China urged U.N. powers to move slowly toward imposing sanctions against Iran for its refusal to meet a Security Council demand to freeze its sensitive nuclear activities.

Representatives from the five permanent council members and Germany met unsuccessfully this week to see if they could agree on a set of sanctions.  China and Russia have balked at the U.S.-backed measures proposed by France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

“The issue should be settled peacefully through dialogue and consultation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said yesterday.  “The actions taken by the Security Council should be conducive to this goal, and it is our belief that we should give more time to diplomacy” (Agence France-Presse/Channel NewsAsia, Dec. 7).

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