home > by publication type > daily analysis > Iran's Leader Makes the Rounds
Email
| Prepared by: |
|---|
Ahmadinejad meets with a panel of CFR members. (Don Pollard)
For the president of a state the United States has sought to isolate and sanction, it has been a fruitful week for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president used his opening day address at the UN General Assembly to reassert his country’s right to develop “peaceful nuclear technology.” He sought to focus attention on the failings of the UN Security Council (PDF), which he said has been abused by the United States and Britain, among other powers. He pressed this and other points in a string of interviews with such U.S. media bastions as TIME magazine, CNN, and NBC, and in an exchange with senior members of the Council on Foreign Relations. Having been rebuffed by U.S. officials, the New York Times opined: “Mr. Ahmadinijad had a Plan B."
Washington has refused direct meetings with Iranian representatives until Tehran—with whom it has no diplomatic relations—has verifiably suspended uranium enrichment. President Bush on Tuesday repeated U.S. concerns that Iran is illicitly developing nuclear weapons, telling Iranian people from the UN podium their leaders were also using the country’s resources to “fund terrorism and fuel extremism.” A mid-summer UN Security Council resolution called on Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program or face the threat of sanctions.
But an August 31 UN deadline lapsed with no action. Key Security Council members have now agreed to create a new deadline for uranium enrichment suspension in early October, the fourth such deadline in four months (WashPost). China and Russia have made it clear they do not support sanctions, seen by Washington as a crucial point of leverage, and recently France has voiced doubts. U.S. officials have taken pains this week to assert they are seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis over Iran’s nuclear program. Analyst Sanam Vakil writes that Iran’s relationships with China, Russia, and India have given it strategic partners “willing to accept its nefarious activities and willing to deal with it on a quid pro quo basis” (Washington Quarterly) (PDF). In effect, he says, Iran has cleverly played off East-West divisions in the Security Council.
Indeed, the start of the UN General Assembly has been marked by the feistiness of a number of U.S. bete noires as well as criticisms of Washington from more friendly nations. Most prominent has been that of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who in his Wednesday speech called Bush “the devil” and added to some of the calls for a reorganization of the UN Security Council. Venezuela is eager to join the Council next year, where it could be a disruptive presence and complicate any U.S. moves to press Iran on its nuclear program (LAT). In another speech, Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe accused the United States of preventing timely action to stop “the massacres and wanton destruction of civilian infrastructure in Lebanon” (PDF), a reference to the Israeli strikes against Hezbollah forces during the summer. During his address, Bolivia’s Evo Morales brandished a coca leaf and said the United States was using the war on drugs in South America as a pretext for “neocolonialism” (Reuters). Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva, though far less blunt, also included some criticism of the United States in his speech, saying the hundreds of billions of dollars used to oust Saddam Hussein could have been far more effectively put to use to lift people out of poverty (PDF).
Weigh in on this issue by emailing CFR.org.
Explore international efforts to curb nuclear proliferation with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1.212.434.9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
In War of Necessity, War of Choice, Richard N. Haass contrasts the decisions that shaped the conduct of two wars between the United States and Iraq involving the two presidents Bush and Saddam Hussein, and writes an authoritative, personal account of how U.S. foreign policy is made, what it should seek, and how it should be pursued.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba’s unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
As Ray Takeyh shows in Guardians of the Revolution, behind the famous personalities and extremist slogans of Iran is a nation that is far more pragmatic—and complex—than many in the West have been led to believe.
Complete list of CFR Books
This report finds that nuclear weapons will remain a fundamental element of U.S. national security in the near term, and makes recommendations on how to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. deterrent nuclear force, prevent nuclear terrorism, and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR
Complete list of Task Force reports
The Canadian oil sands present an important challenge to policymakers: they promise energy security benefits but present climate change problems. Michael A. Levi assesses the energy security and climate change effects of the oil sands and makes recommendations for U.S. policymakers within the context of broader bilateral relations with Canada.
This report explores an important element of the maritime policy regime: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Author Scott G. Borgerson examines the international negotiations that led to the convention, the history of debates in the United States over whether to join it, and the strategic importance of the oceans for U.S. foreign policy today.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
To request permission to reprint or reuse CFR material, please fill out this permissions request form (PDF), referring to the instructions on page 1.
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.