By Reza Shafa
To counter the international pressure, the regime’s Majlis (parliament) has come up with a new directive issued to the foreign ministry.
Following are excerpts from the text of the document:
– To offset the U.S. influence in the area, Iran must turn to Russia and India for much needed support. Regional cooperation with both countries could provide the strategic balance Iran desperately seeks in its standoff with the United States;
– Tensions between the two neighbors, Pakistan and India, put Iran in a position to receive some concessions from both sides;
– The most important gain in Iran’s relations with India would be over the nuclear dispute with the UN Security Council. The subcontinent is highly respected in Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) since India was a co-founder of the organization in the 1950s. A number of NAM’s members are currently also on the IAEA board of governors. Next step, according to the directive, would be to obtain the nuclear technology from India which already is a nuclear power;
– In addition to counterbalancing the Russian support with that of the U.S. domination in the region, as far as Iran is concerned, It wants to solicit long rang missile technology, such as S-400, from that country to upgrade the missile system of its own;
It is important to mention that S-400, with a maximum rang of 400 kilometers, is a new generation in missile technology that the Russian air defense system has been equipped just recently.
To follow up with the directive, the Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Australia, Mehdi Safari, flew to New Delhi on September 7, to meet with India’s foreign minister and national security adviser on the nuclear confrontation.
The mullahs’ representative in his visit asked the Indian officials to back the regime in the nuclear discussions in the IAEA and in return Iran will mediate, in its favor, in the border disputes with Pakistan.
All of these are done to get the mullahs off the hook in the nuclear face-off with the international community.
Reza Shafa is an expert on the Iranian regime’s intelligence networks, both in Iran and abroad. He has done extensive research on VAVAK (MOIS), IRGC’s Intelligence Office, and Quds Force among others. Currently he is a contributor to NCRI website.
