Iran Regional Ties And Economy Need A Nuclear Deal - Tehran Media

According to the research conducted in 2022 across 13 Muslim-majority countries by the US-based pollsters, Saudi Arabia's leadership received the approval of 39% of those surveyed, against just 14% for Iran.

The Kingdom showed sharply higher support still both in Kuwait, where a 47%-point approval difference illustrates close ties between Gulf Cooperation Council countries and OPEC partners, and also Libya, where Saudi Arabia enjoys a 41-point advantage in popularity.

Saudi Arabia has greater popularity in all countries polled, stretching from Morocco to Pakistan. The difference is most muted in Turkey, where the advantage is just three points.

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There is a relatively small approval gap in the Palestinian Territories of 12 points, but still Saudi Arabia is more popular there despite Iran’s all-out support for the resistance groups.

Most countries where Iran has had the greatest influence give Tehran low marks, including Iraq (86% disapproval), Yemen (80%) and Lebanon (73%).

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After the 1979 revolution, the theocratic government of Iran quickly formed enemies throughout the Middle East when it demanded overthrow of Gulf monarchies and secular Arab governments. The Islamic Republic’s support for Shia minorities in Sunni-majority countries placed it at odds with the countries in the Middle East.

After seven years of hostility that fueled conflicts across the Middle East, Tehran and Riyadh agreed to end their diplomatic rift and reopen their diplomatic missions in March.

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Middle east expert Ghasem Mohebali told moderate conservative news website Khabar Online on April 18 that the agreement does not mean disputes between Tehran and Riyadh have been settled. The effectiveness of the agreement will be tested only after the two countries' embassies reopen in May after seven years.

In the meantime, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has welcomed an invitation to visit Riyadh and has on his part invited King Salman to visit Iran, which is yet another sign to indicate willingness of both sides for détente.

Mohebali says the Tehran-Riyadh agreement only shows that relations are back on track for normalization. The two sides, he said, have many differences. The conflict in Yemen is only one of them. The two countries also have their differences over Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the Persian Gulf, and, of course, Iran's nuclear program. They also need to discuss their regional rivalries in a way to prevent further tensions in the future.

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Both Iran and Saudi Arabia can help establish a stable government in Yemen, the Iranian analyst said. As regards Syria, Saudi Arabia needs to bring back Damascus to the Arab League. The impact of this return on the region is also important. And then we need to see what happens to foreign forces in Syria.

Mohebali said the issue of Bahrain is also one of the main challenges facing Iran and Saudi Arabia, with the latter concerned about Iran's influence over Shias in the small kingdom and its interference in that country. Bahrain is next door to Saudi Arabia and developments there affect its security.

However, the two countries have also some shared interests in the areas of oil, energy and security. These can be the topics of the next round of talks between Tehran and Riyadh.

Mohebali added that the revival of ties will also impact regional countries' attempts to settle the post-Arab Spring problems. For all of those countries security is the most important issue. The region's security is also equally important for the United States, Europe and China.

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Meanwhile, according to a report published on the moderate Entekhab news website, many questions have been raised about the impact of the Iran-Saudi deal on Iran's foreign policy. How it will affect Iran's other international dossiers including the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, the JCPOA. The rapprochement can affect Iran’s key foreign policy issues in two different ways, the report said.

The first possibility is rationality extending to other matters in the regime's decision-making system, and leading to major steps toward settling the nuclear issue, negotiations with the United States, and even reaching détente. This is a desirable scenario that could put Tehran back on the right track and even lead to an improvement in governance and restoring the broken ties between the regime and the people.

This is possible only if the regime follows a realistic approach based on national interests. It will mark a serious change in Iran's approach to domestic and international issues.

The other scenario, which is probably more likely within the Iranian government is to interpret the ties with Saudi Arabia within an unrealistic framework. The advocates of this scenario will interpret the restoration of ties based on their own ideological points of reference, and as they have done so far, reiterate that Iran has imposed its will on Saudi Arabia and see the whole dynamics as Riyadh's alliance with Tehran against the United States. They might even think that Iran no longer needs to return to the JCPOA. According to Entekhab, this would be yet another miscalculation by the Iranian regime.

In other words, while Saudi Arabia uses the rapprochement with Iran as part of its strategy of moving toward sustainable development in the digital age by reducing unnecessary regional tensions, Tehran might mistake the restoration of ties with Riyadh for an ideological alliance.

Eslami said Tuesday that the talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency are pursued and experts report daily on the progress.

Meanwhile, in a communique, G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan reiterated Tuesday that Iran should never develop nuclear weapons.

“We call on Iran to fulfil its legal obligations and political commitments regarding nuclear non-proliferation without further delay,” G7’s final communique said.

Additionally, the G7 ministers expressed concern over Iranian destabilizing activities in the region and weapons transfers to Russia.

During a trip to Tehran in early March, IAEA's director Rafael Grossi said he reached an agreement to ensure Iran's full cooperation and said more meetings would take place soon.

His visit came amid discussions with Iran about uranium particles enriched to up to 83.7% purity, very close to weapons grade, at its Fordow enrichment plant.

Iran claims its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. However, the US and its allies suspect that the Islamic Republic is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. The US imposed strict economic sanctions on the country in an effort to force it to change course.

Iran signed an agreement with six major world powers in 2015 in exchange for relief from US, European Union, and UN sanctions on its nuclear program.

However, former US President Donald Trump reneged on the deal in 2018, restoring harsh US sanctions, which resulted in Iran violating the deal's nuclear limits.

The suspects were spreading superstitions to undermine the Baku government under the guise of religious activities, Azerbaijani Ministry of Interior sources told the APA news agency.

The alleged agents are also accused of promoting drug trafficking.

This is the latest in a series of arrests in Azerbaijan of groups affiliated with Iran's Intelligence Ministry in recent weeks.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have been strained in recent months after Baku announced plans to open formal diplomatic ties with Israel.

Azerbaijan closed its embassy in Tehran after an armed attack on it in January.

Earlier this month Azerbaijan expelled four Iranian diplomats over what it called “provocative actions”, possibly referring to several military exercises carried out by Iran's armed forces on the border over the past year.

Tehran accuses Baku of harboring Israeli intelligence and military elements that plan to use its territory in a possible attack against Iran’s nuclear installations.

Around a quarter of Iran’s population is Azari, with analysts and activists disagreeing over the closeness of their cultural and linguistic links to their neighbors to the north.

Olivier Vandecasteele has been held in the Islamic Republic since last year on spurious charges of “spying and cooperation with the United States, money laundering and smuggling $500,000 out of Iran.”

An Iranian court sentenced the humanitarian worker to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes, it was announced in January.

Vandecasteele, 41, has been employed by Médecins du Monde, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and Relief International. He worked for humanitarian organizations in Iran for more than six years before leaving the country, but was lured back by “a girlfriend” and was detained in February 2022.

He has been subject to torture, according to Amnesty International, and is being held in solitary confinement in a windowless basement cell without access to adequate healthcare and fresh air.

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib confirmed on Tuesday that she had notified her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian of the transfer request.

In a social media post, she said: "I condemned his detention conditions and requested a visit by our ambassador to Iran."

A swap is being discussed between Brussels and Iran for Iranian official Assadollah Assadi, jailed in Belgium for masterminding a plot to bomb an Iranian opposition event near Paris in 2018.

In response to a legal challenge by an Iranian opposition group, the potential prisoner exchange was held up for months.

Belgium's Constitutional Court rejected a request to annul the prisoner exchange treaty with the Islamic Republic in March.