How Tehran wants to fix the world

Iran wants to enter into “serious and targeted” negotiations with major nations on a wide range of issues, including nuclear energy, Tehran said in a new package of proposals. These were outlined in a letter from Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon. The “Proposed Package for Constructive Negotiations” included offers for talks on nuclear disarmament and the peaceful use of atomic technology.

Tehran also proposes creating “enrichment and nuclear fuel production consortiums in different parts of the world – including

Iran” and calls for “improved supervision” by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The package also seeks talks on worldwide economic, political and security issues, including cooperation to help Palestinians “find a comprehensive plan – one that is sustainable, democratic and fair”.
Kaveh L Afrasiabi spoke to Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s ambassador to Japan on the package. Prior to his appointment, Araghchi led the Iranian delegation at the first round of United States-Iran dialogue on Iraq’s security.

Kaveh L Afrasiabi: What is the purpose of Iran’s package of proposals that deals with contemporary international issues and problems?

Seyed Abbas Araghchi: This package represents where Iran stands on important regional and international issues and first and foremost clarifies our understanding of the nature of some of the most important problems in the world today – on political, security, economic and energy levels, and on the question of the peaceful use of nuclear energy – and the prudent responses to them that in our opinion calls for drastic changes in terms of a paradigmatic shift in both the analysis of issues as well as the policy prescriptions.

KA: What is your reaction to some skeptics, especially in the United States, who argue that Iran’s package is simply a propaganda tool in reaction to the package of incentives that the Iran Six nations [the UN Security Council’s five permanent members – the United States, France, Russia, China and Britain, plus Germany], have prepared to submit to Iran?

SA: Unfortunately, Iran’s intentions are often misinterpreted in the West. This is partly because of an arrogant, Western-centric approach that looks down on other countries and underestimates their ability to initiate solutions for global problems, as if those countries always act reactively, when in fact our initiative demonstrates the fallacy of this approach.

Asia Times