Successful Hosting Of NAM Summit Checkmate Western Attempts To Isolate Iran: Analyst

Islamabad, Sept 5 – A Pakistani analyst has said that the successful hosting of the 16th Non-Aligned Summit by Iran last week enabled it to checkmate the Western attempts to isolate it politically on the international scene. Javid Husain in an article published in daily ‘The Nation’ on Tuesday said that since the advent of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has been the target of sustained political, economic and military pressure by the West led primarily by the US and the UK. “This is in marked contrast with the pre-revolution era when Iran under the Shah was a close ally of the West. During those days, the US was building up Iran as the regional influential to act as the guardian of Western interests in the region,” he said. The analyst added that Iran under the Shah used its enormous oil wealth to buy from the US and other Western countries advanced technology for its economic development projects and highly-sophisticated weapon systems for strengthening itself militarily. Javid Husain said Washington supported even Iran’s plans to acquire full nuclear fuel cycle facilities, which would have provided it with, inter alia, uranium enrichment capability, precisely something that the US is trying to deny to Iran currently. He said this cosy US relationship with Iran changed radically after the Islamic Revolution. “The revolution was the outcome of the Iranian people’s resentment against the despotic rule of the Shah, gross Western interference in Iran’s internal affairs and unjust exploitation of its economic resources by the Westerners,” he added. He said the real US goal is change of government in Iran more than anything else. “This goal explains the US-engineered UN Security Council sanctions against Iran ostensibly because of its nuclear program,” he said. Javid Husain went on to say that Iran has stood its ground and refused to yield to the US and some West European countries’ the demand for suspending its uranium enrichment activities. He noted the unfortunate reality, however, is that great powers, despite all their professions of adherence to the principles of international law and morality, actually base their decisions on strategically important issues on cold-blooded calculation of their national interests. “The successful hosting of the 16th Non-Aligned Summit by Iran last week enabled it to checkmate the Western attempts to isolate it politically on the international scene,” he added. The analyst said the presence of the representatives of 118 NAM member states, including 29 heads of state or government, at the summit was an indirect expression of solidarity with Iran. He said Pakistan must continue to support Iran’s right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. “We must also call for dialogue and reject the use of force to resolve outstanding issues concerning Iran’s nuclear program as President Zardari did at the Tehran NAM Summit,” he added. “Finally, we must pursue vigorously mutually beneficial projects for Pakistan-Iran cooperation, like the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, irrespective of the US pressure in recognition of the reality that the security and the economic well being of the two neighboring Islamic countries are closely interlinked,” he said./end