Sir, – The remarks made by Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney during his recent trip to Palestine (News, November 3rd) are disappointing.
Urging both sides to “lower tension and prevent further deterioration on the ground” ignores the stark imbalance between a military occupying power and a defenceless people. This is also misleading as it ignores the systematic violation of human rights being perpetrated against the Palestinians. It is hard to imagine how this statement reflects the genuine support Irish people have consistently demonstrated for the Palestinian cause.
Echoing the so-called “sceptics in Israel” who have “zero trust” towards Iran is also a misjudged position, particularly since Israel has been the arch enemy of the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) from day one and has spared no effort in undermining it.
Expressions of concern about Iran moving “closer to being able to produce a nuclear weapon” sound like further Israeli-speak reflecting Netanyahu’s phobia and paranoia. In contrast to Israel (which has never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and has never denied being in possession of hundreds of atomic bombs, Iran is a signatory of the NPT. It has also permitted comprehensive and rigorous inspections of all its nuclear facilities which have proven that Iran has never been close to developing a nuclear weapon.
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When it came to the JCPOA’s implementation, Iran’s trustworthiness has been repeatedly verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency. It was only in 2019, one year after the US had withdrawn from the deal in violation of international law and the EU had demonstrably failed to implement its obligations under the agreement, that Iran invoked Article 36 which stipulates that each country’s commitment to the deal is conditional on all parties’ fulfilment of their obligations.
To date neither the US nor the EU have secured the full implementation of the deal. The US violated the deal openly and the EU breached it practically. Given this context, Iran is entitled to receive assurances that this time round we are not replaying the same game.
Ireland’s role as the facilitator of the UN Security Council’s resolution 2231, concerning the JCPOA, is an administrative rather than substantive role.
Nevertheless, it requires prudent diplomatic positioning that wouldn’t harm the impartiality which Irish foreign policy is renowned for. – Yours, etc,
Dr MASOUD ESLAMI,
Ambassador,
Embassy of the Islamic
Republic of Iran,
Blackrock, Co Dublin.