What WikiLeaks Reveals: Iran is the threat, and it’s not just Israel saying so

By: Zach Paikin

The European Union (EU) is set to resume negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program, despite Iran’s repeated refusal to commit to a peaceful deal. Indeed, this summer, Iran shunned France in favor of dealing with Turkey’s Islamist government regarding its uranium enrichment.

However, the recent revelation of hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic documents by WikiLeaks proves that many Arab regimes understand the severity and the imminence of the Iranian threat. Several Arab countries, notably Saudi Arabia, have urged the United States to attack Iranian nuclear facilities as soon as possible.

Iran’s nuclear program threatens to spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, with countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan having taken preliminary steps toward beginning a nuclear program of their own. WikiLeaks has effectively informed us of a simple fact: The Mid-East consensus is that Iran is the biggest threat to regional stability and peace.

Yet the EU still believes that diplomacy and negotiations are the way to move forward vis-à-vis Iran, despite the fact that Iran now has the ability to enrich enough uranium to weapons-grade level for one nuclear warhead within months. (In order to fire a nuclear weapon, uranium enrichment – traditionally 25 kg – needs to be followed by the construction of a warhead and of an effective delivery system.)

Iran has clearly proven to be intransigent on the negotiations front, so much so that the Obama administration has shifted its focus from negotiations to sanctions. These sanctions, although weaker than they could be, have begun to sink in to the Iranian economy and go beyond what the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has demanded.

It should be noted that the fourth (most recent) round of sanctions against Iran passed by the UNSC failed to hit Iran’s central banking system nor its ability to import or export oil and gas, nor do they de jure prevent the sale of surface-to-air missiles to the Islamic Republic. (These missiles would serve the purpose of deterring an attack against their nuclear facilities.)

Several countries have unilaterally decided to sanction Iran over its refusal to cooperate on the nuclear issue. Canada, for instance, has invoked the Special Economic Measures Act(SEMA) and has seized Iranian assets in the country.

At the same time, the international community’s inability to effectively respond to the Iranian threat is due to the narrowness of the approach. Sanctions so far have dealt merely with Iran’s nuclear program. In reality, Iran poses a fourfold threat to international peace and security: nuclear, genocidal, terrorist, and human-rights.

- The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), for instance, has contributed largely to Iranian state-sponsored terrorism abroad as the chief sponsor of Hezbollah, Hamas, and other militias. WikiLeaks recently revealed Iran’s relationship with Al-Qaeda as well. Despite this, many leading economies have failed to freeze the IRGC’s international assets.

- The regime has engaged in massive repression within the country’s borders. Last June, post-election popular protests were met by violent force and murder of opposition activists. Yet the UN General Assembly Resolution on human rights violations in Iran has failed to sanction the perpetrators of these violations.

- Iran’s calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state amount to an incitement to genocide. Yet not one nation party to the UN Genocide Convention has referred this issue to the Security Council nor has it been brought before the International Court of Justice, despite the fact that it is their obligation under international law to act in the face of such incitement.

It is clear that the European Union, the United States, and other members of the free world need to take advantage of all the options provided to them by international institutions if they are to effectively combat the Iranian nuclear program. This would not only foster a more cooperative international environment, but also save lives by reducing the possibility of military action against Iran.

The pro-democracy forces in Iran are counting on us. It is our responsibility to prevent nuclear-weapons proliferation, to end genocide, to fight terrorism and to ensure human rights. This time, the world can’t afford to mess up.

Additional Resources:

-Take Initiative on Iran News and Updates