Iran nuclear issue has great implications for world powers

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-07-17

From left, China's foreign minister Wang Yi, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius,
German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, EU foreign policy chief Federica
Mogherini, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, UK foreign secretary
Philip Hammond and US secretary of state John Kerry in Vienna, July 14. (File
 photo/Xinhua)

The recently concluded talks between Iran and world powers on the country's nuclear projects are not just about the use of nuclear power, but also different parties' interests in the Middle East, according to Guangzhou-based South Reviews.

Iran reached an agreement on its nuclear program with the five permanent members of the United Nations–the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom–and Germany on July 14, after missing several conclusion deadlines since 2014.

After he took office, US president Barack Obama offered an olive branch to Tehran and decided to improve bilateral diplomatic relations through nuclear talks, the magazine said.

However, the US Congress does not see Iran's nuclear program as the only issue associated with the country, and several US lawmakers threatened to introduce new economic sanctions against Iran when the recent round of talks began, the magazine said.

With the US entering the 2016 presidential campaign season and Republicans in control of both houses of Congress, it is unclear whether US lawmakers will pass the Iran deal, the magazine said.

It is not just about Iran's nuclear program, the magazine said, citing Rand Corporation political scientist Scott Warren Harold and several Iranian military officials who have said that the authority of the Iranian government was built on anti-Americanism.

Although Iran wants to become a strong and prosperous country, the reality is that it has become isolated like North Korea and the nuclear talks presented a chance for the economic sanctions to be lifted, the magazine said.

Cornelius Adebahr, an associate in the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has argued that the nuclear talks were driven by the recent developments in the Middle East. A deal with Tehran is vital to the Western powers' efforts to deal with the situations in Syria and Iraq and to transform Yemen, he said.

In its report, the magazine said China's influence in the Middle East is growing, while that of the US is waning.

The changing balance of influence is due to the fact that the two powers share increasingly similar interests in maintaining regional stability and ensuring non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, according to the magazine.

The history of China and Iran involves no conflicts, which has been an advantage for Beijing.

While China is concerned about its energy security, it is also building a rail network in Iran, which will help the country better integrate into local markets under Beijing's Silk Road initiatives, according to Harold.