TEHRAN PAPERS

Prospects for Chabahar project

July 12, 2024 - 21:22

TEHRAN - In an analysis, Donya-e-Eqtesad discussed the challenges of the recent agreement between India and Iran and wrote: For India, Chabahar can be an opportunity to evade the economic pressures of the United States, while for Iran, any foreign investment to counter the sanctions is welcomed.

One of the main obstacles is the U.S. sanctions against Iran, including Iran's blacklisting by the FATF and Iran's lack of access to the SWIFT international electronic payments system. Iran's president-elect, Masoud Pezeshkian, pointed out these issues, but his ability to solve them is still uncertain. On the other hand, the United States is trying to undermine China's international transportation project that expands to Central Asia, Russia, and European countries through Pakistan, and supports initiatives that start from India and extend from Iran and Central Asia to Europe. For this reason, the United States may ignore any economic gains Iran makes from Chabahar.

Jam-e-Jam: The need to continue the 3 successful strategies of the 13th government

In an article, Jam-e-Jam addressed the need to continue the successful strategies of the 13th government and said: In the first strategy, the 13th government has provided infrastructure to establish relations with neighbors, which can work for the 14th government. The second strategy was balancing the foreign policy and using the existing global capacities. By becoming a member of Shanghai [Cooperation Organization] and BRICS and having economic exchanges with countries that oppose Western sanctions, Iran was able to overcome the isolation they had created for us. The third strategy is to increase the economic cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With this strategy, the embassies had a mission to introduce the economic capabilities of our country to other countries and also gain a good understanding of the economic capabilities of other countries. Therefore, according to the fact that Pezeshkian has raised the slogan of establishing relations with all countries, to realize his slogans, he can use the appropriate strategy that the 13th government has implemented.

Siasat-e-Rooz: No change in the U.S. approach

In a situation where the West has failed in implementing the scenario of sanctioning Iran's elections, a series of positions have been put forward by American statesmen regarding negotiations with Iran, and it was shown that they are far from any meaningful diplomatic solution. Several points of the Americans' positions can be evaluated. First of all, the emphasis of some presidential candidates on solving the country's problems outside the borders and lifting the sanctions seems to have created the illusion of Iran's need to negotiate with Western countries. Therefore, their claims that they do not want to negotiate without changing Iran's behavior can be seen as the result of these positions. Second, the American authorities' emphasis on nuclear, missile, drone, and regional issues shows that there has been no change in the Americans' approach to the goals of the negotiations, and they all seek to remove all these capabilities and even Iran from the regional equations. Thirdly, it should be noted that the claim of the Americans that they do not want to negotiate is more of a forced thing than a voluntary thing. Due to its elections, the U.S. cannot officially enter into negotiations, and the claim of unwillingness is just a form of deception of public opinion and disturbing the mental relaxation of Iranians.

Shargh: Israel's focus on the strategy of the 14th government

In an interview with Mashaallah Shamsolvaezin, a senior analyst of regional issues, Shargh discussed the foreign policy of the 14th government regarding Palestine and Lebanon and said: First, we need to see what Israel's reaction is to the reformers' regaining power and Dr. Pezeshkian coming to office. This issue depends on where Iran's behavior and decisions will reach in the Middle East region, especially focusing on Palestine and Lebanon. On the other hand, it should also be considered that the Israelis are waiting for the Islamic Republic of Iran to enter a new chapter of negotiations with Europe and the United States of America for an agreement and JCPOA. What is certain is that if the de-escalation foreign policy of Pezeshkian is realized, it can reduce the intense fear of Israelis towards Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and in this situation, Tel Aviv will have no choice but to change its policy towards Tehran because Israel will finally conclude that with the political dynamics inside Iran, there is no way for them to change the Middle East policy.