Balanced politics in the Ukraine war
Iran’s stance on the Ukraine war is the first clear example of the application of a “balanced foreign policy” in the field of diplomacy, which has been repeatedly emphasized by our Foreign Minister Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, on the one hand, links the roots of Russia’s intervention in Ukraine to the West’s intervention in NATO’s expansion to the east and Russia’s traditional “near-outside” sphere of influence and security threat to the country, and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities In conflict and finding a peaceful solution within the framework of the rules of international law; Such a policy is defined as “active neutrality” in the international relations literature, according to which a country neutralizes the tensions and rivalries of the powers involved in a crisis in favor of relative security and lasting national interests. Iran’s abstention in the UN General Assembly is an example of the application of “smart” foreign policy and realism based on the national interests of the country.
In three crises over the past two decades, Iran has pursued a policy of “active neutrality.”
Indeed, the Ukraine crisis is not an immediate threat to Iran’s security and national interests because Iran does not share a border with Ukraine where the war and the flood of migrants and refugees continue to flow to Iran. The volume of Iran’s economic exchanges with Ukraine is not significant either, although Russia’s threat to cut off energy exports to Europe even adds to Iran’s importance in supplying energy to European countries. Finally, this war does not take place in the traditional sphere of influence of Iran, ie West Asia (Middle East), and is more a conflict between the great powers to determine the scope of influence and geostrategic influences on the trends and equations of their world politics.
But because the two sides involved in the crisis, namely Russia and the equation of the West (US and Europe and its allies such as Japan, Korea, etc.) with the two main and current issues of Iran’s foreign policy, namely the forthcoming nuclear talks and Iran’s regional policy, including in crisis Syria, the crisis in Afghanistan and the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh are directly related, the issue is also important for Iran, and therefore our country in practice can not be a neutral country in the traditional sense; In particular, Iran should pay special attention to the Eurasian Economic Union and the implementation of the North-South Corridor economic initiative by pursuing a policy of “regionalism” and strengthening relations with the “neighborhood” and economic integration and transit for its economic growth. In which Russia has a key role.
Iran’s recent abstention at the UN General Assembly is an example of the use of “smart” foreign policy and realism in the national interest of the country.
The fact is that Iran has common interests with Russia in preventing the expansion of NATO and the infiltration of the Western equation into the Eastern Mediterranean, which includes the Eurasian region, Shamat, the Persian Gulf, South Asia and Afghanistan. The issue becomes even more important when the Western equation constantly speaks of the need to form an “Arab NATO” consisting of conservative Arab regimes with the participation of Western countries, which is in fact in direct conflict with Iran’s geopolitical interests in its traditional spheres of influence in the region.
The policy of the West in the Middle East after the Arab developments has been such that it has tried to implement its pro-government governments in the geopolitical environment and Iran’s neighborhood in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Afghanistan, etc. with the help of its regional allies.
In this sense, the West, with its hostile policies and strategic insecurity, is forcing Iran to choose friends who are in conflict with the West. So when it comes to NATO’s reach into the East, Iran is in the East equation, but when it comes to bilateral relations with Ukraine and adherence to international rules on avoiding war and violence, Iran is completely neutral and acting within its national interests, because Ukraine is not an enemy country for Iran, and instability and war in the region are ultimately to the detriment of the country’s national security.
The fact is that Iran is an independent country and a regional power that attaches the most importance to its first political-security and economic circle in the neighborhood and the larger region of West Asia in the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Shamat, Afghanistan and South Asia, Central Asia and Caucasus and the Caspian Basin.
The historical determinism of strategic loneliness and the special geopolitical position leads Iran to pursue an independent and balanced policy. Russia and the Western equation must understand this. In this sense, the possible connection of the nuclear talks to the issue of the Ukrainian war by Russia, which is presented in the media in the form of “Russian hostage”, has no strategic and meaningless value, because it is in Russia’s interest to conclude the nuclear deal. Let us not forget that Russia also needs Iran in any case as a gateway for political-security and transit economy to the Middle East.
Iran’s independent policy sends a message to both sides of the Ukraine crisis that our country is not taking a stand at the expense of the interests of one of the parties involved.
Active neutrality in the form of a balanced policy has three aspects: first, independence, which means avoiding conflict with the great powers. In other words, such a policy sends a message to both sides that our country is not taking a stand at the expense of the interests of one of the parties involved.
Second, the constructive role, however, Iran realizes that it is in an insecure environment. Therefore, in order to maintain stability, which is necessary for the country’s economic development, and also to prevent the increase of the role of foreign actors (whether Western or Russian) in the political-security environment, which ultimately leads to weakening the role of Iran’s regions, naturally and in any situation To play a constructive role.
Third, being pragmatic means that Iran seeks to adapt crises to the geopolitical environment and to secure its national interests, acting only on the basis of its fixed and macro-strategic principles and values.
Historically, Iran has pursued a policy of “active neutrality” in three crises over the past two decades. First, in the first Gulf War and Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1991-1991, Iran adopted an active policy of neutrality, condemning Saddam’s Ba’athist regime and at the same time trying to offset the security damage caused by the US invasion of Iraq.
The possible connection of the nuclear talks to the issue of the Ukrainian war by Russia, which is presented in the media in the form of “Russian hostage”, has no strategic value and is meaningless.
In the 2001 Afghan crisis, Iran declared relative neutrality in the war and partially cooperated with the United States in overthrowing the Taliban, but in the post-conflict period and the prolonged US presence in Afghanistan and the resulting threats to national security, strengthened anti-Taliban tendencies. An American came to the country, which eventually led to the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan after twenty years.
In the 2003 Iraq crisis, Iran, while supporting the overthrow of Saddam, pursued its neutrality with the aim of neutralizing the US threat and pursuing its own interests in the crisis, and sought to manage the post-conflict situation in favor of the Iraqi state-building process. Pursue your national security and interests.
Following the policy of “active neutrality” in the Ukraine war now sends a message to the two sides in the crisis, Russia and the Western equation, that Iran is an independent regional player with the aim of influencing its political, security and economic issues. It cannot be to the benefit or detriment of the parties to the crisis; Such a policy is also in line with the foreign policy approach of the head of state, which is based on a balanced, intelligent policy and dynamic diplomacy.