Ephraim Halevy
Photo: Avigail Uzi
Moving on two tracks
US keeps up economic campaign against Iran, while boosting military presence
Part 3: Iran
Iran and the US are conducting two parallel relationships that ostensibly appear contradictory. The American deputy treasury secretary who deals with matters relating to intelligence and economic warfare is visiting Israel and conducting talks on strengthening the campaign against Iran in the economic sphere.
A day prior to that, the Iranian president concluded an historic eight-hour visit to the Saudi king, Washington's ally in establishing an anti-Iranian front in the face of Tehran's nuclear military ambitions.
- Part 1: Afghanistan
- Part 2: North Korea
The agenda of the two revolved around the arenas in which all Shiite-Sunni conflicts are taking place, including Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan, and served as an advance move for the two, who are seeking the title of "regional power" ahead of the Iraq conference slated to be held in Bagdad this Saturday.
The permanent members of the Security Council concluded a round of additional consultations that day aimed at drafting a new proposal against Iran, and according to various signs, the economic pressure on Iran's leadership is beginning to have an impact.
Iran is ostensibly attentive to the damages caused by its policy of "bad mouthing" by its president with regards to Israel. In an interview published in February in the Swiss Le Temps journal, Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor on international affairs to Iran's supreme leader Khamenei, sounded a new tune.
No 'red lines'
The man who served as his country's foreign minister for 17 years said that the Holocaust is an historic fact and should not be tampered with. He also said that Palestine's fate should be determined by its Jewish, Muslim, and Christian residents, and thus reiterated Ahmadinejad's predecessors stance that what is accepted by the Palestinians would be also accepted by Iran.
Velayati also alluded that Iran has no "red lines" regarding its nuclear ambitions. In other words: Iran's ambitions for nuclear military capability may be negotiable.
Velayati's senior position is unquestionable; what weight his voice carries against his president is yet to be clarified. Meanwhile, both the US and Saudi Arabia are conducting their policies towards Iran in two parallel lines.
Alongside strengthening the economic campaign, the US is increasing its military presence in the Persian Gulf. A second aircraft carrier has arrived there, and some say a third is on its way. The tension on the Iran-Afghanistan border is rising as is Iran's fear of a threat from the east.
The series of talks between Prince Bendar bin-Sultan, the king's national security advisor, and Ali Larijani, who holds the portfolio on Iran's nuclear talks, bred the Iranian-Saudi summit conference and perhaps also contributed to the temporary calm between Nasrallah and Siniora in Lebanon.
As tensions over the threat posed by Iran rise, the efforts to engage in talks are being stepped up, alongside an effort to create a joint operative agenda.
If steps towards real cooperation between the US, Saudi Arabia and Iran are made, we must ask whether Israel is preparing for such an eventuality.
