Jeddah: An agreement reached this month to curb any Iranian attempt to get an atomic bomb appears to have effective safeguards, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said yesterday.
But Adel Al Jubeir said Tehran’s support for regional “terrorism” remains a concern. His comments came a day after US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter landed in Saudi Arabia as part of a regional tour aimed at reassuring Washington’s allies over the nuclear deal.
Riyadh and its Gulf neighbours share with Israel a concern that Iran, made wealthier under the agreement, will be more able to support its regional proxies. They have also worried that Iran could still be able to develop an atomic weapon — sparking a regional nuclear race — despite the agreement reached this month with six major powers led by Washington.
But Jubeir said the deal includes an effective inspection mechanism, as well as a provision to reinstate sanctions if world powers feel Iran has not met its commitments.
“The US side assured us of the agreement, and we are now in consultation with the US government for the details, but in general it seems these goals are also achieved,” Jubeir said at a joint news conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.
Jubeir repeated his country’s position that Iran should take advantage of the deal to develop its own country and not to sow regional disorder, which “will be confronted firmly”.
In a related development, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini will visit Iran and Saudi Arabia next week, her office said yesterday. The talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday will cover “regional issues, in the aftermath of the agreement reached on 14 July on the Iranian nuclear issue, as well as international issues of common interest,” a statement said.
In Iran, Mogherini’s visit on Tuesday “will provide an opportunity for exchanges on the implementation of the agreement, on which the High Representative will continue to play a coordinating role, and on regional and bilateral issues,” the statement added.
The EU played a leading role in talks between Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, Germany and Iran, holding the ring during years of tortured negotiations which finally produced an accord last week on preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Mogherini hailed the accord as a “sign of hope for the entire world”.
Earlier this week, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel became the first top Western official to visit Iran after the nuclear deal. Gabriel, who is economy minister and deputy to Chancellor Angela Merkel, said the accord paved the way for improved political and economic ties but his talks were marked by sharp differences over Israel, which Iran does not recognise.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday he planned to visit Iran “next week” and expected to hold talks with President Hassan Rowhani. “I will be there next week,” Fabius told French radio. “My colleague (Mohammad Javad Zarif) invited me. I was invited before but didn’t go but now I think everything is in place for me to go.”
Meanwhile, protesters poured into New York’s Times Square late on Wednesday to denounce the Iran nuclear deal as a threat to Israel and global security, demanding that the US Congress reject the pact.
Speakers, including Republican politicians called on Congress to throw it out, whipping up the crowd that included supporters of right-wing Jewish and evangelical Christian groups. “We’re here as Americans to speak with one voice to say stop Iran now, reject this deal,” said George Pataki, the former three-term Republican governor of New York.
“This is a God-awful deal, this must be rejected. Congress must do its job and stand up for the American people, stand up for our safety and say no to this Iranian deal,” he said.
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, co-organizer of the Stop Iran Rally, claimed that there were 10,000 people in the crowd. Protesters held up US flags and placards denouncing the deal. A spokesperson for the organizers said protesters had packed an entire block on both sides of Seventh Avenue.
Recent polls have suggested that of the 79 percent of Americans who heard about the deal, 48 percent disapprove. Organisers played a montage of news reports about bombings around the world carried out by extremist groups linked to Iran. “Iran has been killing Americans for 36 years,” it said.
Scholar and Democrat Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor, appealed to fellow liberals to side with Republican opposition. “It is a bad deal for Democrats. It is a bad deal for liberals. I am here opposing this deal as a liberal Democrat,” he said. He called the deal bad for America, bad for world peace and bad for the security of the Middle East.
The Republican-majority Congress has 60 days to review the deal. The Congress can pass a motion of disapproval, but President Barack Obama can then veto that. An override of the veto requires two-thirds approval in both the House and Senate.
Agencies
